Estimated reading time: 2min 40sec
Your friends are suddenly less available in the evenings. Your neighbours seem to be out more often. Heck, even your parents are into it. What’s going on?
Pickleball, that’s what: the court sport that’s sweeping the nation (and taking over its tennis courts.) But what exactly is it?
Pickleball was invented in the backyard of Joel Pritchard on Bainbridge Island, Washington, in 1965 to entertain children who had grown bored of their summer vacation. They improvised with equipment they had on hand: ping-pong paddles, a wiffle ball, and a badminton net. By combining the rules of existing racquet sports, the game of pickleball was born.
And why pickleball? Joan Pritchard coined the term after a “pickle boat,” which in rowing refers to a boat that is crewed by leftover oarsmen, just like pickleball was made up of parts “leftover” from other sports.
Any way you slice it, pickleball might be the fastest-growing sport in North America, indoors and outdoors—including in the Fraser Valley. And one of its top spots is Abbotsford’s TopSpin Pickleball Club. The Fraser Valley’s only indoor pickleball club, it caters to players of all skill levels—from classes for those who have never played pickleball before, to top-level pickleball tournaments that see players compete from all over British Columbia.
Co-owner Brock Coutts opened TopSpin last year after some time spent with friends just finding space wherever they could put up a net. “We were renting a gym in Greendale,” Coutts recalls, “and we thought it best to find a better place. So we found this warehouse and renovated it, put two courts in here; and it’s now something dedicated for pickleball.”
Since then, TopSpin has become not just a place to play, but a real hub for learning and socializing around the sport, and nurturing the pickleball community. “We’ve taught lots of people the game,” Coutts says. “We host lots of corporate events, team building events, so we get to introduce the game to lots of people in those settings, [thereby] growing the game.”
One of the reasons pickleball is so popular, according to Coutts, is the accessibility of the game right from the start. “It doesn’t matter what skill level you have,” Coutts says. “There’s lots of different steps. You can be 20 and fit and go and play a couple 50-year-olds and get beat. It’s just fun to see in that sense, where there’s no limitations on it.”
Coutts cites practice, practice, practice as the number one way to improve your game, and leveling up by playing better players. Luckily, that’s not hard to do at TopSpin. “We’ve been blessed with a lot of really high-level play here,” Coutts says. “The Valley is full of great talent. We’re lucky enough to have [Canadian pickleball pro] Steve Deakin play here quite often. Being one of the best players in Canada, it’s great to see his level of play.”
And if you’re going to step onto the pickleball court, you better know your pickleball slang. Coutts cleared up a few terms for us:
- Dink shot: a soft and controlled shot that falls shortly after it clears the net, ideally at your opponent’s feet.
- Banger: a player that likes hitting the ball—HARD
- Kitchen: the 7-foot section up at the net, into which a player cannot enter unless the pickleball bounces first. Also known as the “No Volley Zone,” It encourages finesse over power by eliminating smashes at the net.
- Getting pickled: losing a game without scoring a single point.
So whether you’re a seasoned pro or just curious about the game, head on down to TopSpin Pickleball Club the next time you’re in the mood for a pickle(ball)!
