Southern Alberta Summer Games has people in a pickle


BY GREG PRICE Taber Times


area will feature a sport that is sweeping North America in increased popularity, especially among senior citi- zens. Pickleball is a paddle sport


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that combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis. Two or four players use solid paddles made of wood or composite materials to hit a perforated polymer ball, similar to a Wiffle Ball, over a net. The sport shares features of other racquet sports, the dimensions and lay- out of a badminton court, and a net and rules somewhat similar to tennis, with several mod- ifications. Pickleball was invented in the mid 1960s as a children's backyard pastime, but has become one of the fastest growing sports in the United States, making inroads into Canada as well. Southern Alberta Summer Games chairs Sandy and Kim Jones have taken up the sport for the last five years and have high hopes an introduction of the sport for the first time Taber has hosted the Games will increase awareness. “We are snowbirds and in our community


there’s a group that plays everyday for three to four hours,”said Sandy Jones, of the months they spend in Arizona from November until the middle of March. “It’s something fun that seniors can do and not hurt themselves. It is really a growing sport. The tournaments down there are huge.” Jones’words are echoed north of the border


as well here in Canada. According to a January 2018 Edmonton Journal article, Pickleball Alberta had 2,200 members across Alberta, with Pickleball Alberta having only been in existence for two years. There were 30 new pickleball courts that opened across the greater Edmonton area in 2017. In looking to revamp some of its recreational facilities, Barnwell is looking into the possibility of building some pickleball courts for its resi- dents. The pickleball court is similar to a doubles badminton court. The actual size of the court


he 2018 Southern Alberta Summer Games in the Taber


is 20X44 feet for both doubles and singles. The net is hung at 36 inches on the ends, and 34 inches at cen- tre. The court is striped like a tennis court, with no alleys; but the outer courts, and not the inner courts, are divided in half by service lines. The inner courts are non-volley zones and extend seven feet


from the net on either side. “It’s a combination of badminton, tennis and ping pong. You can play singles, but most people play doubles,” said Jones. “It has been played twice before in the Summer Games, including Lethbridge last year. Taber was excited to find someone who was willing to chair it. I set up nets for people just to see what it was like and try it and they loved it. It is a game that you can catch on fairly quickly to. Our grandkids come and visit us and they love the game. Any age group can enjoy the game.” There are a few unique rules that players must abide by, like any sport. “You have to respect the ‘kitchen’ area in


front of the net. You have to let the ball bounce in that area before you can hit it,” said Jones. “Playing with a wiffle ball, the reason why I think it’s not played as much up here, compared to the U.S., is the wind makes it hard to play unless you have a sheltered area. A lot of places are putting lines on their tennis courts where courts are protected or they are playing indoors.” Indoors will be where the pickleball event is


played at the 2018 Southern Alberta Summer Games, as four nets will be set up at the Taber Community Centre Auditorium. Pickleball will be featured on July 5 and 6 of


the Southern Alberta Summer Games. “We restricted it at first, but then got a lot of phone calls, so we opened it up,” said Jones, adding the introduction of pickleball to Taber in the Southern Alberta Summer Games will make it a legacy sport, with residents being able to play the sport long after the Games is over with equipment purchased. “It really is a sport any age group can enjoy.”


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