Pickleball is a crunchy new sport

PLAYING DOUBLES: Debbie Thompson returns the ball while her partner watches.

Pickleball is the newest sport to hit South County, more specifically Lake California. It involves two to four players and uses half a tennis court, oversized ping-pong paddles, and a perforated plastic ball.

Pickleball has standard rules that are similar to ping-pong, but also comprised of different tennis rules, which make it a variation of both sports.

"We started playing pickleball here in late July of this year," said resident Joyce Angello.

According to Angello, the game is easy to learn up front and then once you have game play down, learning the strategy of the game follows. Many senior citizens prefer the game to tennis, because it is not as strenuous and easy to learn.

"People with arthritis, older injuries, or who aren't as mobile as the young kids, can pick up this game. It's great aerobics and we all just play for fun," said resident Gloria Dicky.

Dicky learned to play the sport in Palm Springs, and thought it would be a great addition to the Lake California community. She and resident Carroll Borland, who also knew how to play pickleball, convinced the Property Owner's Association of Lake California the game would be a great activity for the community and asked them to supply balls, paddles, nets and marking paint to transform one of their current tennis courts into two pickleball courts.

Due to Borland and Dicky's efforts, there is now a group of 20 residences that meet every Tuesday and Thursday to play pickleball. Borland, along with other players of the game, teach newer players the rules and form, and most are now playing the game without further instruction.

"When I first heard about it, I thought it sounded like fun. Easy and fun," said Debbie Thomas, a Lake California resident.

Pickleball was invented over 20 years ago in the backyard of former U.S. Rep. Joel Pritchard in Seattle, Washington. Pritchard's family and friends improvised a game on a badminton court using sawed-off badminton rackets and a lightweight perforated plastic ball to replace their damaged badminton equipment. The name "pickleball" came from the family's dog, "Pickles", who loved chasing and carrying off the ball.

Pickleball is catching on across the states and there are more than 75,000 players across the country. Many senior community centers and parks and recreation departments are offering the game, which is also played in the Senior Olympics.

For more information on pickleball visit the USA Pickleball Association's website: http://www.usapa.org