Popular pastime puts players in a pickle

What began 56 years ago on Bainbridge Island, Washington, pingponged around the world, and landed on Wrangell's shores just a few years ago.

Now, pickleball is becoming popular among local players of all abilities.

The sport, played on a 20-foot by 44-foot court with a tennis-type net in the middle, was invented in 1965 by friends Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum. According to the official USA Pickleball website, the game was named "pickle ball" by Joel's wife, Joan, in reference to "thrown-together leftover non-starters in the 'pickle boat' of crew races," since the game was comprised of various equipment from other sports.

Pickleball grew quickly in popularity, with its founders forming a corporation to keep the integrity of the sport intact. The first tournament was held in 1976, and in 1984 the United States Amateur Pickleball Association was formed, and the game spread across the nation.

In 2010, an international federation was formed to encourage growth across the globe. It's now played in 33 countries, including Holland, Armenia, China, Poland, New Zealand and Belgium.

The appeal of the game is that almost anybody can play.

"The great thing about pickleball is that the court is small and you are on teams of two, so it does not require much running," said Heather Howe, a high school teacher, who happens to be five months pregnant. "So far, I have been able to keep up with everyone while pregnant. I anticipate I will be able to keep playing through most of my pregnancy."

Howe began playing about a month ago and had no idea what to expect. She has looked forward to playing Thursday nights at the community gym, and she's encouraged her friends to play as well. "It has been a relatively easy game to learn and I love the friendly competition," she said. Though she has no dreams of going pro, Howe did tell her husband a pro paddle would make a great Christmas gift.

The game uses paddles similar to those in pingpong and a ball somewhat like a whiffle ball. The ball is volleyed back and forth by players (individuals or teams of two) until one side reaches 11 points, winning by a two-point lead.

Chris Johnson was introduced to pickleball by his sister in Arizona and promptly fell in love with it. Having been a tennis player for many years, he enjoyed the similarities but on a smaller court with less impact. He bought a net with Mayor Steve Prysunka and started playing.

They began playing locally about four years ago and, in the beginning, Johnson said it wasn't very popular, only drawing eight or nine people.

"Then it started growing a bit, and this year it's really caught on. We've had as many as 18 or 19 people in here," he said. The borough's parks and recreation department bought another net and more paddles and balls, and the games are now held twice a week on Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and on Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Johnson said the rules are easy and players can learn quickly.

"I started playing pickleball after my body wouldn't handle racquetball anymore," said John Deruyter, a retired psychologist. He played racquetball for 50 years. "I just couldn't keep up anymore, it hurt too bad."

Deruyter, 70, said a good buddy of his talked him into playing pickleball, and he found that the skills from racquetball transitioned to the low-impact sport.

"It's much lower impact, and there are no walls to run into," he said with a laugh. "What I've discovered playing pickleball is that I can still get really good aerobic exercise ... without the pain."

Sebastian Pomeroy moved from Ogden, Utah, to Wrangell with his wife, Lindsay Pomeroy, after he was hired to work for Crossings. The couple started playing after finding the game listed on the parks and recreation website about a month ago, but the 26 year olds weren't strangers to it.

"We played pickleball a lot at home before we got here in September," Sebastian Pomeroy said. "There's a handful of folks who are competitive, but most are still learning."

The cost to play is $5 per session, and the program runs about eight weeks at a time.

"We're getting big enough to where we might do some ratings, and Lucie (Robinson) is planning on having an end-of-the-season small tournament with some pizza and prizes," Johnson said. "We just have to see how this progresses. Sometimes there's a lot of interest, sometimes there's not as much interest."