Forget tennis and forgo badminton. Pickleball is moving through the nation one shortened tennis court at a time. Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines the gameplay of badminton, tennis, and table tennis. The game itself is relatively new, and has been introduced to select PE classes at CHS. PE teacher Karen Rudolph was the first to incorporate the sport into her curriculum with fellow PE teacher Rosalinda Castillo following. Rudolph’s freshmen and sophomore classes played their pickleball unit in the second triad of 2013. Castillo’s classes play the game sporadically when they have extra time.

“It’s very competitive when you get into it. It feels amazing when you win,” freshman Antonia Perez said.

The small-scale tennis game of pickleball originated in the 1960s in Bainbridge Island, Washington. The founders of the sport were three fathers, Joel Pritchard, William Bell, and Barney McCallum. They were inspired to make a game that was completely new, fun and accessible for their children. The creators lowered their badminton net, made some plywood paddles, and experimented with various balls until they settled on a wiffleball. Now with its national tournaments and a rapidly expanding senior player community, pickleball is gaining more popularity as a competitive and recreational sport.

“It was fun watching all the students play, because everyone at every level had an enjoyable experience,” Castillo’s student teacher Max Retzlaff said.

In traditional versions of the game, pickleball is played on a badminton sized court with a lowered net. There exists a seven foot no-volley zone on each side of the net. Professionals play with an actual pickleball instead of a wiffleball, and these pickleballs come in many brands and shapes for indoor and outdoor play. Players use paddles slightly larger than the table tennis variety. The sport can be described as a mixture of ping pong and miniature tennis and can be played in singles or with a partner.

To play the game, Rudolph’s students walked to the nearby tennis courts near the CHS parking lot. They used professional pickleball paddles and regular tennis balls donated from the CHS girls tennis teams. In Rudolph’s adaptation of the game, students played for a certain amount of time instead of the traditional first to eleven point system.

“It’s fantastic because it utilizes facilities that we already have such as the tennis courts and recycled balls from the tennis teams,” Rudolph said.

After Rudolph and Castillo’s classes finished their pickleball unit, they reported positive feedback from students and plan on repeating it next year. For an overlooked sport, the fun that has been produced is immeasurable.

“If students are laughing, having a good time, and trying, you’ve got half the battle won,” Rudolph said.

Along with the reprise, plans are being made to add other unique sports such as road tennis into the PE agenda. The game is played with a table tennis sized net set up on the ground with players forced to stoop while playing. It is another racquet sport that is only played individually, unlike tennis and pickleball. Road tennis is bound to be an exciting event for next year’s students along with newly recognized pickleball.