Last weekend it took Rick Trauth, who is no spring chicken anymore, only five minutes to set up the net, grab his racket and his wiffle ball and get the first serve across the net at the newest set of pickleball courts in the valley, located at Lewis and Clark Park in Stevensville. Trauth is excited about bringing the new game to his hometown.
A longtime resident of the Bitterroot, Trauth raised his girls here (now in their 30s) and is excited about the cross generational aspects of the game.
“It’s a game for young and old alike,” said Trauth. “The whole family can play.” He said there are rules and it can become very competitive, “but on the whole,” he said, “it’s just a whole lot of fun.” He said the current US Open Pickleball Mixed-Doubles Champions were a team composed of a 62-year-old woman partnered with a 13-year-old boy.
The game not only accommodates all ages, it also accommodates the physically impaired. There is a special set of rules for those using wheelchairs in the game and special rules for mixed games where those using wheelchairs play along with those who are standing.
Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis. Two or four players use solid paddles made of wood or composite materials to hit a perforated polymer ball, similar to a wiffle ball, over a net.
According to Wikipedia, the first Pickle Ball game was played in Bainbridge Island, Washington in 1965 at the home of Joel Pritchard. Although some sources claim that the name “Pickleball” was derived from that of the Pritchards’ family dog, Pickles, the name actually came from the term “pickle boat,” referring to the last boat to return with its catch.
Pritchard’s wife is quoted as saying, “Somehow the idea the name came from our dog Pickles was attached to the naming of the game, but Pickles wasn’t on the scene for two more years. The dog was named from the game.”
Pickleball is touted today as the fastest growing sport in America.
The new Pickleball courts have been painted onto the asphalt of the old tennis courts, which can still be used for all other purposes. There are basketball hoops erected at the north and south ends of the tennis courts as well.
Trauth’s plan is to leave the necessary equipment which includes three nets, some rackets and some wiffle balls, that will be stored on site with a combination lock. The equipment can be checked out at town hall and it only takes minutes, literally, to set up the nets and be ready to play.
Trauth’s enthusiasm for the sport is visceral. He has a vision and is ready to put the energy required into raising funds to re-surface the old asphalt with a smooth “tennis court-like” finish. He also has plans to offer a few clinics to provide instructions and a little training in the new sport.
“It doesn’t bounce like a tennis ball,” he said.
Trauth said with a new smooth surface that it would be “a first class set up.” He said it was the perfect spot for the courts, nestled in the northwest corner of the park between the Bear Mountain children’s playground and the older kids’ Skate Park.
“Now we are making a little place that includes the older people too,” he said. He believes that by next summer the courts would be full on a regular basis.
Anyone wishing for more information about the Pickleball courts can contact the Town of Stevensville at 777-5271.