This exciting game offers fun for all ages
Thanks to a new grant from USA Pickleball, local kids will be able to have a ball, literally.
“It’s going to impact hundreds of kids,” USA Pickleball Ambassador Engagement Manager Eddie McDonald said.
“It’s not just going to impact the kids at the Boys and Girls Club, it’s going to impact their families as well.”
The new grant gives the Boys and Girls Clubs of North Georgia 72 wooden paddles, 200 pickleballs, three portable nets, educational resources and a connection to USA Pickleball Gilmer County Ambassador Fabrizio Tapia.
The items in this grant are worth nearly $1,772 in value, Tapia said. They will ship to Gilmer sometime in the next few weeks.
“[Pickleball] is good for all ages and skills,” Tapia said.
This fact has helped make pickleball one of America’s fastest-growing sports. It was intentionally designed to be easy to play for people of all ages, Tapia said.
“Ever since COVID came along, it has really boomed,” McDonald said.
Like badminton and tennis, the game is played over a net. But it’s structured, so it requires less athleticism than these sports.
Even the elderly and those with disabilities can enjoy pickleball.
“It was born as a family pastime,” Tapia said. “And it developed into a sport.”
Tapia said that pickleball has become so popular than in 10 years, it’s likely to be an Olympic sport.
Every year, USA Pickleball, the sport’s governing body, gives out grants to local groups to buy pickleball equipment and build pickleball courts.
“It’s good for the county, it’s good for the kids, because they’re doing a physical activity. They’re learning something new that can open doors for them, just like tennis does,” Tapia said.