When it comes to racquet sports and I bring up the sport of pickleball, many friends look at me with a puzzled face, “pickleball?”
Although the sport is very young, with its first recorded game played just 41 years ago in Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA, pickleball has started to snowball massively across the UK over the last decade with 49 official Pickleball England associated clubs in the country.
Pickleball is defined as a fun sport that combines elements of badminton, tennis and table tennis. It can be played both indoors and outdoors on a badminton sized court and a slightly modified tennis set. Two or four players use solid paddles made of wood or composite materials to hit a perforated polymer ball over a net.
CommunityAd caught up with Martin Hobbs from Cranbrook Pickleball club to find out more about this wonderful sport…
What first attracted you to the sport of Pickleball?
I was first attracted to it as it is a bat and ball sport and I have always played tennis, badminton and table tennis.
When did the Cranbrook Pickleball Club first start?
2015 was the year I started Cranbrook pickleball. It was not easy getting people to play at first but when people tried it, they loved it and told all their friends about it so it grew from there.
To someone who may not have played the sport, how would you describe it?
A mixture of tennis, badminton and table tennis.
What would you say is the club’s biggest achievement through its history?
Our biggest achievement was winning lots of Gold, Silver and Bronze medals at the German Pickleball Open in 2019.
Have you noticed a progression of numbers in pickleball over the last 5-10 years?
Yes, pickleball has exploded all over the UK in the last 5-10 years.
How has the pandemic affected the club and have you returned to training? Is there also any news on when your season can return?
Yes, we have been affected as Cranbrook Sports Centre (the Weald Leisure Centre) had to close and as I write this it has still not yet reopened*. Some of our group have been able to play on tennis courts if they have access to them.
Are you currently looking for any players and if so, how can people get involved?
We are one of the biggest pickleball groups in the UK so we have plenty of players but anyone can come and have a go at the sport when the Sports Centre reopens as we have four drop-in sessions a week where you pay at reception and then play.
Do you think the sport of pickleball can ever compete with the likes of squash, badminton and tennis for popularity and what do you think would need to be done for this to happen?
Yes, it could be as popular as other sports. In the next few years there needs to be more clubs set up and then we can have local leagues competing with each other rather than a South East league which covers a very large area.
Do you have a future vision for the next 5-10 years of where you would like Cranbrook Pickleball Club to be?
Yes, we will continue to grow and play in the South East league and play in many more overseas tournaments in the next 5-10 years.
Cranbrook Pickleball Club
The Weald Sport Centre, Angley Road, Cranbrook TN17 2PN
Training times & days
Sundays 9:30am to 11:30am
Tuesdays 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Wednesdays 12:00pm to 2:00pm
Fridays 9:30am to 11:30am
For more information, e-mail Martin at: [email protected]
*The Weald Leisure Centre is now re-opened, for more information please visit their website.