Pickleball is America’s fastest growing sport. From July 13th – 16th, you can play pickleball at Fenway Park. If you don’t want to play, you can always watch as both professional and amateur tournaments will be played. There will be twelve temporary courts set up in the outfield for the the professionals, and you, to play on.
So what is pickleball anyway?
Pickleball is a sport you play with a paddle. It combines a little tennis, a little ping-pong, and a little badminton. It can also be played as singles or doubles.
It’s been around how long?
If you’re like me, you thought that pickleball is a new thing. A sport that’s only been around for a few years. Well, boy are we wrong! Pickleball has actually been around since 1965. It was actually started out of boredom. Joel Pritchard, a congressman from Washington State and Bill Bell, successful businessman, were trying to find something for their families to do who were just sitting around.
According to USA Pickleball: The property had an old badminton court so Pritchard and Bell looked for some badminton equipment and could not find a full set of rackets. They improvised and started playing with ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. At first they placed the net at badminton height of 60 inches and volleyed the ball over the net. As the weekend progressed, the players found that the ball bounced well on the asphalt surface and soon the net was lowered to 36 inches. The following weekend, Barney McCallum was introduced to the game at Pritchard’s home. Soon, the three men created rules, relying heavily on badminton. They kept in mind the original purpose, which was to provide a game that the whole family could play together.”
So I can play pickleball at Fenway Park?
You sure can! From Fenway Park’s website: Fenway Park is hosting pickleball from July 12 through 16, featuring professional and amateur tournaments as well as open play for fans. Twelve temporary courts will be set up in the outfield over the five-day period. Pickleball at Fenway Park is in collaboration with Pickle4, a newly formed organization partnered with the US Open Pickleball Championships focused on developing America’s fastest growing sport.
Inside pickleball at Fenway Park
Our very own sports guy Leroy was there to experience it first hand. About the experience, Leroy says, “To be honest I didn’t think much of the game, but after playing, I have to admit that I was wrong. I’m a competitor and as I played the better I got and the more competitive it became. The best part was realizing that it really doesn’t matter how old you are or if you’re a beginner or pro. It’s just flat out fun!” I also want to give a big shout out and thank you to Franklin Sports for inviting me to play!
