With summer just around the corner, the people of North Dakota cannot wait to get some sun, which makes it the perfect chance to try or get back into the fastest growing sport in America over the past four years, pickleball.
According to usapickleball.com, there are now 15,910 courts in America, with 4,000 new courts built in 2024.
The popularity is nationwide and has reached the great city of Grand Forks.
“I’ve been into racquet sports most of my life,” Grand Forks Herald sportswriter Brad Schlossman said. “I played and coached tennis for a long time. One day, a friend of mine, Scott MacMillan, told me I should try pickleball with his group. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it was a racquet sport, so I told him I’m down. I tried it one day, got addicted and kept coming back.”
Pickleball seems to have caught the attention of all racquet sports lovers.
“I’ve always loved racquet sports,” UND student Jackson Lawrence said. “I used to play tennis and one day decided to give pickleball a shot. Turns out I like it even better.”
But it is not only for the former racquet sports player or fanatic.
“I started playing pickleball by just hopping on the bandwagon,” UND student Jake Marciniak said. “I never played racquet sports growing up but found it to be not only a good workout but super fun to play with friends.”
According to pickleheads.com, the average age of a pickleball player is 34.8 years old, but it is only getting younger as the 25-34 year old age group has the most participants at 2.3 million.
One million more children have also started playing the sport in 2024.
People flock to and find love for the sport for many different reasons.
“It’s a great combination of competition, exercise and fun,” Schlossman said. “I love to compete and we usually play every point as hard as possible. But when the point is over, we can laugh at ourselves and don’t take it too seriously. People generally realize we’re out there for fun. Because most points end with everyone at the net a few feet away, it’s a very social sport and easy to make friends. So, when you’re playing, you compete and get exercise while also having fun and making friends.”
According to the SFIA, pickleball is a game for all with 19.8 million players in 2024, and a split of 59.1% male and 40.9% female participants. If you can move, you can play.
“I love the fast pace but close proximity,” Lawrence said. “Less running than tennis and more action. I also love how all ages can play. My mom and I play all summer together.”
Symington Park and the Abbott Sports Complex are among the handful of places with pickleball courts waiting to be played on in Grand Forks.
According to the SFIA, pickleball participation has grown 311% over the last three years. Why not hop on the hype train?
The game is a great mixture of exercise, social time, and competition. You will never know if it’s for you unless you try it.
“I just love being outside and social in the summer… the exercise is just a bonus,” Marciniak said.
Elijah Andrews is the Dakota Student Sports Reporter. He can be reached at [email protected].
