Talk of kids, grandkids, work and other parts life fill the pickleball court in North Myrtle Beach.
The players, all of various ages, are really into playing the game, but they've already learned the rules and got the moves down, so they can play and talk at the same time.
“They have indoor courts, but we prefer to be outside. It’s healthier,” Cissy McCoy, a player who frequents the J. Bryan Floyd Community Center’s outdoor courts in North Myrtle Beach, said. “My whole day is better when it starts with pickleball. It gets our age group moving.”
There's laughs, high fives and eminent friendship blooming on the court. Most of the players are not competitive and are just there for a good time.
That's what makes pickleball so appealing. It gets folks out, active and socializing with people in the community.
The game is young, though it's spreading widely in the Southeast.
In 1965, according to USA Pickleball, the first game was played on a badminton court by Joel Pritchard, a congressman from Washington state and businessman Bill Bell. The two were looking to give their families something to do together.
The racquet sport caught on quick and now it's played in all 50 states.
And the sounds of shuffling feet and the thunking of balls against a paddle are not hard to find along the Grand Strand.
Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America, especially across the southeast, according to Brandon Mackie, co-founder of Pickleheads, an organization that is a resource for pickleball players.
“It’s a sport that spans all ages,” he said. “It takes five minutes to learn the rules and you can be winning a game within your first 20 minutes of playing.”
Imagine a tennis court, but smaller. The game involves four players most commonly, but you can play singles which is just one on each side of the net, and each player has a paddle, and the players volley the ball. The rules and scoring system are different from tennis and pickleball can be played inside or outside.
Municipalities throughout Horry County are making pickleball courts more common.
Myrtle Beach Spokesperson Mark Kruea called the courts at Midway Park “pickleball central.” The city does not have any plans underway to add more but the courts at Midway were just added to last year, he said.
Both Conway and North Myrtle Beach, however, have plans to add more courts.
In Conway, there are currently three indoor courts at the Conway Sports and Fitness Center and the city is planning to add more courts to Collins Park, city spokesperson June Wood said.
The city anticipates using state parks and recreation funds to pay for the project.
In North Myrtle Beach, the city’s budget outline has $1 million set aside to add eight to 12 courts across from the J. Bryan Floyd Community Center.
That budget will not be official until the start of the fiscal year and that $1 million includes money collected through donations to the North Myrtle Beach Pickleball Association, city spokesperson Donald Graham said.
Pickleball player Barry Balmer said that on weekends at the J. Bryan Floyd Community Center there aremany people waiting to play.
“We need [more courts] desperately,” he said.
Pickleball draws in both tourists and locals.
“Visitors look for pickleball courts. Our stops are based on where we can find pickleball when we travel,” player Larry Wolter said. “We have friends coming next week and their first question was, ‘Will there be pickleball?’”
Mackie said that cities willing to make the investment into pickleball will surely see more active citizens.
“It’s a community and a social outlet,” he said.
Comments