Just a few of us who like to have FUN while playing pickleball; left to right: Todd Williams, Ellen Forbes, Kelly Blickenstaff, Patricia Koepp, Tom Blickenstaff, Rick Paradee, Mike Kovalchik, Doug Williams
Doug Williams
In short, it’s an exciting, wildly-popular and fast-growing exercise game for active adult communities. A combination of tennis, badminton and table tennis, it’s played on a smaller court (with a slower, “whiffle- like” ball), so you don’t have to run so much! (Perfect for the, ahem, “senior” set.) In fact, nearly 70% of all players are 60 years old or more!
We laugh and we support one another, even while trying our best to win the game. While it is frustrating when the ball doesn’t go exactly where you hoped it would, we just laugh and say, “Oh no,” and then try to do better on the next shot!
We like to compliment our opponents throughout the game with a “nice shot” or a “good get” when they do well, AND we never leave the court without shaking hands, fist bumping or touching paddles saying, “Good game.” (That’s all part of the FUN.)
The sport’s popularity extends to both genders almost equally: 53 percent of players are male, and 47 percent are female, which makes it easy to form “mixed doubles” where both men and women join together in friendly competition. And the best part is that the women are as good as (if not better) than the men!
Did you know that the 2017 USA Pickleball Association National Championships will be held right here, only 30 minutes down I-10 to Casa Grande, Arizona, on Saturday, November 11-13?
Did you know that the former ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s Club changed its name to the Fun Lakers? Many pickleball players agree with that assessment, so we printed up some t-shirts to emphasize that we quite enjoy having FUN while playing pickleball. If you’d like to have one of the FUN t-shirts, just email [email protected] for details.
Did you know that the recent IronOaks Amenity Survey concluded, “There is a tremendous amount of support for pickleball – nothing else was even close.”
Did you know that Sun Lakes Country Club has four lighted, permanent courts, Cottonwood/Palo Verde also has four lighted, permanent courts and IronOaks has two permanent courts where we feature QUIET Paddles, QUIET Balls and even a QUIET Wall!
Pickleball is a most fascinating active adult game, so come on out and join us! Just be sure to stay out of the “Kitchen” (a/k/a the no-volley zone).
You won’t regret getting great exercise, and especially the really good FUN!