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BUYERS WAITING | ALL PRICE BRACKETS Brett Hanwright 0427 621 985 herveybay.eldersrealestate.com.au
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Mix table tennis and badminton and you get the new....pickleball IT MAY have a silly name, but this new sport has developed a serious following around the country and in Hervey Bay. Pickleball is a low impact paddleball sport that combines badminton, table tennis, and tennis elements. Games are played with two or four players using solid paddles to hit a lightweight ball over a net. The sport shares features of other racket sports; the dimensions and layout of a badminton court, with a net and rules similar to tennis. The sport has had a gradual introduction into Australia since 2015. Invented in the US in the mid-1960s as a backyard children’s game, pickleball has spread worldwide and arrived in Hervey Bay last year. Hervey Bay pickleball player and state gold medalist Sue Brooks said she loved that it’s more of a strategy game than a power game. She said there were so many benefits for people of all ages and abilities. “There’s less running than tennis because you’re on a smaller badminton size court and it’s a very social game.” “We have people in their 70s playing as it’s kinder to the body than a lot of other sports.” “We started playing in Hervey Bay over a year ago then COVID hit and we had to stop
Hervey Bay pickleball champions for a while.” The players were excited to start playing again at the end of the year and went from strength to strength in a short amount of time. Several Hervey Bay pairs competed in the July Queensland Pickleball Championships in Brisbane, scooping several medals. Pickleball and PCYC manager Brendan Lee said he would love to see the game grow in Hervey Bay and Australia. “It’s in a growth phase in Australia with Queensland leading the way with around 1100 registered players so we are at the pinnacle of pickleball in Australia, and most of the top-level players come from Queensland.” As one of the younger players
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Page 28 | Hervey Bay Advertiser | August 26, 2021
at the PCYC, Mr Lee said the game appealed to him as it is a slower ball game but requires strategy and skill. “It's a great sport for the whole family.” He said the game has attracted people with backgrounds in high level tennis, badminton and squash who are now starting to see the excitement in the sport and getting involved in it. He said he sees the potential of people having pickleball courts in their back yards as they are small and easy to set up. Two places in Hervey Bay offer Pickleball, the PCYC in Pialba and the Dundowran Tennis Courts. For more information, visit the Fraser Coast Community Pickleball Facebook page.