Frank vividly remembers the very first pickleball games that he and his family and friends enjoyed playing that idyllic summer \u2013 and for many summers to come. Contrary to popular belief, Frank says pickleball was not named after a family dog.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother was a big fan of crew, the rowing sport,\u201d explains Pritchard. \u201cSometimes, extra rowers from different teams are thrown together into one boat, just to give them a chance to compete. They call that a pickle boat. Well, our new game was a little like ping-pong, tennis, and badminton all mixed together, and my mom came up with the name pickleball because it\u2019s the same sort of mixed-up fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the next 20 years or so, pickleball remained a little-known oddity \u2013 growing at a snail\u2019s pace in popularity, far from the public spotlight.<\/p>\n
Things began to change in the latter part of the 20th century, as retirement communities flourished and older adults sought new \u2013 and entertaining \u2013 ways to remain active.<\/p>\n
Healthy Fun<\/h3>\n
\u201cThe best thing about pickleball is that it\u2019s one of the few sports that grandparents, grandchildren, and parents can all play together \u2013 belly laughing and enjoying themselves \u2013 while getting a great workout the entire time,\u201d says David Dutrieuille, National Pickleball Director for Life Time.<\/p>\n
More than just a good time, several studies have concluded that playing racket sports regularly can add years to your life.<\/p>\n
\u201cPickleball is the ideal exercise for many older adults,\u201d says Dutrieuille. \u201cIn addition to being a great cardiovascular workout, pickleball can help improve your quality of life. Balance, agility, and upper- and lower-body strength are just the beginning. Because pickleball is such a social sport, it can also improve your mood, emotional health, and overall well-being. We\u2019re seeing explosive growth at Life Time for exactly these reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/pickleball-od-f-playing-750.jpg\")
<\/a>Woman playing pickleball. Photo: Life Time<\/p><\/div>\n
Rapid Growth<\/h3>\n
According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America, with a 39% increase in participation over the past two years. Currently, nearly 5 million Americans play pickleball, and there\u2019s serious talk about it becoming an official Olympic sport in 2028.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the only downside to the sudden rise in pickleball\u2019s popularity is the high demand for court time. Several major metropolitan cities \u2013 including Seattle, Minneapolis, Virginia Beach, and Honolulu \u2013 have recently constructed public courts to meet that demand.<\/p>\n
Health clubs are also building new pickleball courts at a record-setting pace. The most ambitious example may be Life Time,<\/a> which currently boasts more than 200 courts at its athletic country clubs and projects a total of more than 600 courts nationwide by the end of 2023. With open court times, lessons, and leagues for people of all ages \u2013 including kids \u2013 Life Time is fast becoming the nation\u2019s premier pickleball destination.<\/p>\n Man playing pickleball. Photo: Life Time<\/p><\/div>\n Pickleball is also gaining momentum in the tournament space. In fact, the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) will host 15 tournaments in cities like Las Vegas, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Orlando this year, each drawing thousands of spectators and more than 1,000 amateur and professional athletes competing for an average of $150,000 in prize money per tournament.<\/p>\n The entry fee for amateurs in many PPA tournaments is only $35, and players can compete against others of similar skill levels in age groups including 50+, 60+, and 70+, making tournaments accessible for those who want to compete, as well as providing opportunities for others to watch the world\u2019s top players.<\/p>\n Contemplating the rapid growth of the game and projections that participation levels will only continue to climb, Frank Pritchard is simultaneously flabbergasted and not the least surprised.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s mind-boggling to imagine that this strange, little game that my father helped invent is now being played all over the world,\u201d Pritchard says. \u201cBut when I think about how much fun we had that first summer \u2013 and how hard we laughed \u2013 I guess I shouldn\u2019t be surprised. The adults had just as must fun playing as my young friends and I did. It may have taken several decades to catch on, but it sure is a game for everyone these days.\u201d<\/p>\n Why playing America’s fastest growing sport could add years to your life!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12932,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160,161],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2022","category-fall-2022-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12874"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13078,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12874\/revisions\/13078"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>Competitive Tournaments<\/h3>\n
Full Circle<\/h3>\n
Mark Daly is associate director of public relations for Life Time<\/a>, where he plays pickleball at least twice a week.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"