Pickleball taking Yuma by storm

There's a new sport in Yuma that's causing quite a racket.

Pickleball, a combination of badminton and table tennis, has become a popular activity in the county, drawing dozens of players each day to the Yuma Readiness and Community Center. Though it's become a thriving sport recently, the city of Yuma has been offering classes and gym hours for pickleball for quite some time.

“This is our fourth winter season of pickleball,” Parks and Recreation Instructor Lynnae Ericson said. “Since we started, it's quadrupled in numbers. It's probably the most popular, fastest-growing game out there, particularly for older citizens. It's not as hard on you as tennis or badminton. It's a little smaller court to cover than a tennis court and a shorter racket.”

Though the majority of Ericson's pupils are over the age of 50, she said that pickleball has become a popular sport for players of all ages.

“I have a friend who just finished teaching a unit at the junior high school, they're playing it in elementary through high school,” Ericson said.

The concept for pickleball is simple. Two teams of two players play on a court that's about half the size of a badminton setup. With small rackets, the teams volley a small plastic ball that looks like it was pulled out of a Chuck E. Cheese ballpit.

The team that is serving is the only one that can score. Games are played to 11 and must be won by a two-point margin.

Ericson said she became familiar with the game when she was teaching Physical Education.

“It's a downsized version of tennis,” she said.

Phil Kemle has played pickleball for the past four years. A resident of Creston, British Columbia, Kemle spends his winters in Yuma and has always looked for ways to stay active.

Playing pickleball was exactly what he was looking for.

“It can get pretty invigorating when you get going at it. It's a good sport for us older folks and probably some of the younger ones too,” Kemle said.

He happened upon it while playing badminton at the Readiness Center. Kemle admitted his skepticism at first, but it looked like a fun game to participate in.

It wasn't long before everyone else was joining in.

“It's just taken off like wildfire.”

Pickleball is hosted at the Readiness Center, Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Table tennis is also offered (Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 1-3:30 p.m.) along with badminton (Tuesday and Thursday, 1-1:30 p.m.).

Anyone interested in participating should call the Parks and Recreation office at 373-5239.

Matt Maxson can be reached at mmaxson@yumasun.com or 539-6880.