City of St. Peters NEWS RELEASE Communications Department One St. Peters Centre Blvd. P.O. Box 9 St. Peters, Missouri 63376 PHOTO CAPTION: Jack Zdvorak (right), the USAPA’s pickleball ambassador for southwest St. Charles County, leads a pickleball demonstration at the St. Peters Rec-Plex. Nov. 21, 2014 Pick Up a Pickleball Paddle at the Rec-Plex and Try this Growing New Sport What’s pickleball? That’s a question that people are starting to ask more and more around St. Charles County and in particular the St. Peters Rec-Plex, where this growing sport has found a new home. The short answer: Pickleball is a paddle sport that mixes in elements of tennis, badminton and ping pong. The USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) says that pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America, probably because almost anyone can play. The Rec-Plex will begin to offer pickleball on Dec. 2, 2014, in the open play gymnasium. Drop-in play will be available each week on Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon. The activity is FREE to Rec-Plex members, or a $4 drop-in fee for the general public. The Rec-Plex will provide two courts and all the equipment for open play. At 20 by 44 feet, a pickleball court is the same size as a doubles badminton court. That’s smaller than a tennis court, but the net is lower to the ground much like tennis. Players use a racket similar to, but larger than, a ping pong paddle, and hit a plastic ball with holes about the size and feel of a whiffle ball. The most common way to play pickleball is doubles, or two to a side, which reduces the amount of ground a player has to cover. This allows just about anybody from any age group to participate. People with mobility issues or past surgeries find the sport easier on their joints than tennis, says Jack Zdvorak, the USAPA’s pickleball ambassador for southwest St. Charles County. “You can be 75 and play pickleball because it’s not necessarily about how hard you hit the ball, it’s about strategy and placement,” Zdvorak said. The number of places to play pickleball has doubled since 2010, according to the USAPA. More experienced players also can compete in pickleball tournaments. Zdvorak says that a major reason that pickleball is growing so fast is that it’s a great social activity and something that spouses, families and even grandkids and grandparents can do together. He says that the Rec-Plex is a perfect place to help introduce this growing sport to the area. “If you can find something that you can play and have fun, and laugh, and get good at it right away, you’re going to keep doing it, aren’t you?” he says. Learn more about pickleball and rules of play at usapa.org.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 21:13:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015