Pickleball offers sport for all abilities
By Lethbridge Herald on January 6, 2025.
Margaret Miles attempts to make contact with a low shot during the Grand Opening tournament at Pickle Point Centre on Saturday.
Herald photo by Justin SewardJustin Seward – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – sports@lethbridgeherald.com
Pickleball appears to be this continent’s fastest-growing sport and the newly opened Pickle Point Centre is showing how the sport is accessible for those with physical limitations and why people are joining the sport.
Ilsa Wong, head coach, says there are plenty of benefits to pickleball for those who might have difficulty with more challenging sports such as tennis.
“We already have rules for wheelchair pickleball,” says Wong. “In the past, I’ve done a session with the Special Olympics, so there’s lots of people of all abilities who can jump on a court and we can teach them some aspects of pickleball. Maybe they’re not playing a game, but they’re playing a version of pickleball where they’re putting the ball over the net or they’re hitting targets.”
Coaches adapt their lessons to fit whoever is in front of them, depending on the level of ability, he says.
“If a player is having trouble getting to a ball, we might say, ‘okay, we’re going to play with two bounces.’So you get two bounces and everybody else plays with one bounce. So there’s ways that we can modify the sport, which is also nice, that allow people of all abilities to play in the same context or court as everybody else.”
Julian Sanchez, also a Pickle Point coach, sees it as a great idea to have players with physical limitations coming in.
“Bringing people with limitations would open people’s minds to see how lovely this sport can be,” said Sanchez. “And bringing (those) kind of people would allow us to show more people what pickleball is about.”
Pickleball can be considered a combination between badminton and ping pong on a smaller playing surface than tennis.
“The whiffle ball is a smaller, lighter ball that we’re hitting … with and so you don’t need as much strength as you might in some other sports,” says Wong. As such, it requires less physical speed and strength to serve and return the ball. The smaller surface area of the court makes a difference as well, with less wear and tear on the body.
“The stress on the joints is very low, which makes it very accessible for all ages,” said Sanchez. “It also improves cardiovascular health, it helps agility, it helps balance as well. So I think that accessibility is really, really what encourages a lot of new players to come into the sport.”
Pickleball can become more competitive depending on physical ability, with games such as King and Queens ladders, competitions with the centre and going up to tournaments.
“Pickleball’s a sport that you can get reasonably good at in a short amount of time,” says player Shaun Wojtowicz,”which is great because then you can play the game at a reasonably high level and then it’s still difficult enough.
That said, he adds, “it takes a lot of time and patience and work to get really good at it.”
Pickle Point Centre is located at 1820 31st Street N. in Lethbridge.
16-15
The 1x bit apk download was incredibly easy, and I had the app running within minutes. It’s so convenient to have all my favorite casino games and betting options in one place. The app is stable, secure, and works smoothly without any glitches. Honestly, it has improved my gaming experience tenfold. The quick deposits and withdrawals are a huge plus too.
Everything going on and this is what you lead with??
Jesus we need a real newspaper