By Mitch Larkin, Trilogy Funds Property Analyst and Asset Manager
After hanging up the togs some months ago, I thought it would be some time before I stepped back into sport, but as they say, it’s hard to ignore those competitive juices. I decided it was time to see what all the fuss is about with Australia’s fastest growing sport and test my hand at pickleball.
So, what is pickleball? How did it become so popular? Is it really Australia’s fastest growing sport? Will it be in the 2032 Olympics? And can a retired swimmer be good at a sport like pickleball?
I answer all your burning questions.
Birthplace on Bainbridge
The origins of pickleball can be traced back to 1965, in the yard of Joel Pritchard, a former Washington congressman, on Bainbridge Island, a 35-minute ferry journey off the coast of Seattle.
After playing golf one Saturday, Joel was at his summer home with his family and friends and challenged the group to create their own game. After pulling together broken paddles, racquets and a wiffle (a sport that’s a variation in its own right) ball, and utilising the home’s badminton court, the first iteration of pickleball was born.
Joel’s wife, Joan, is largely credited for naming the game. A former rower, Joan was familiar with the term ‘pickle boat’, the concept of a skiff formed with rowers who didn’t make the selection cut for competition. Joan contended that the newly created sport was comprised of different elements of other games, and thus, dubbed the sport ‘pickleball’.
How to play
The sport is played on a badminton-sized court with a paddle, perforated ball and follows a similar format to tennis, albeit, with its own rules and intricacies. Underarm serving, no-volley zones either side of the net and a simple scoring system make the sport easy to pick up, even for a former athlete who feels more comfortable in the water.
Fastest growing sport on earth?
From casual backyard beginnings, pickleball has seen exceptional growth across the nearly 50 years of its existence, with people now running to the nearest court. ‘Exponential growth’ is no hyperbole, with the number of new players in America in 2022 greater than the total number of players the year prior. It is little wonder why pickleball was touted as America’s fastest growing sport in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
This popularity abroad has seen the game explode onto the scene in Australia. The Pickleball Australia Association launched in 2020 and has already surpassed 220 clubs and 13,200 members – although it’s estimated that 25,000 people play casually nationwide.
Who is playing?
The smaller court and lower net compared to tennis requires less running and stress on joints, making it more accessible for a broader age demographic. The light ball and paddle facilitate a game-pace that is also accessible for a broad range of people, with games often won through clever strategy and skill, rather than pure strength or speed.
While the average age of an Australian pickleball player is 58 years old, the ease, inclusivity, social aspects and relatively low barriers to entry are rapidly driving growth in the sport across all age groups.
Pickleball is also more than a social sport.
Major League Pickleball (MLP) has expanded from the United States to Australia and has the backing of several of our homegrown sporting heroes. Some of the stars who have invested in ownership stakes in MLP teams include former world number one golfer Adam Scott (Gold Coast Glory), cricket legend Steve Smith (Sydney Smash), and NBA champion and Olympic hero Patty Mills (Brisbane Breakers).
So, can we expect pickleball to make an appearance at the Brisbane 2032 Olympics?
It is fair to say, in recent years the Olympics has inched away from its roots, moving beyond the track, field and pool and introducing a range of less traditional sports. Over the last decade we have seen rugby, surfing and skateboarding added, with breaking most recently kangaroo hopping its way into Paris 2024. With the rapid growth in pickleball popularity, it is not far-fetched to think pickleball has a chance to feature in the Olympics in the future.
The sport’s international governing body, the Global Pickleball Federation, is currently pursuing International Olympic Committee recognition, which would pave the way for pickleball to throw its paddle in the ring of sports to be included in Brisbane 2032.
With the backing of fellow Olympians both locally and abroad – including Lebron James, Naomi Osaka and Chris Evert – it is only a matter of time before the sport serves an ace over other mainstream sports.
The 2024 Trilogy Funds Australian Pickleball Championships
So why am I and Trilogy Funds talking about pickleball?
With such rapid growth of the sport, it’s time to decide once and for all who rules the courts. Trilogy Funds is sponsoring the 2024 Trilogy Funds Australian Pickleball Championships, which will be held between 2 and 7 October on the Gold Coast, Queensland.
These championships are the largest gathering of Pickleball players in the Southern Hemisphere. Early registrations have already exceeded 1,200 participants, which far exceeds the 700 competitors across both the singles and doubles competitions last year.
The 2024 Trilogy Funds Australian Pickleball Championships brings together players of all ages and skills and offers inclusive opportunities for players of all abilities to complete alongside some of the best homegrown and international talent. You never know, you might come face-to-face across the net with a washed-up Olympian.
To learn more about the ‘festival of pickleball’, visit the Australian Pickleball Championships website.
