"We just want people to have fun": The tennis-like sport taking Sheffield by storm
“I've had people say to me that they're feeling quite isolated, but they've found pickleball and they're playing three or four times a week now”
A racket sport crossed between tennis, badminton and table tennis is “snowballing” in popularity in Sheffield, thanks to a non-profit focussed on making the sport as inclusive as possible.
Sheffield Pickleball Club is a “community spirited and completely volunteer run” club that organises social doubles sessions across the city, as far as Dronfield and Rotherham.
Helen Blomfield, co-chair of the club said: “I found tennis just got too expensive. It was ridiculous. I was paying that every £20 for an hour on singles.”
Now, she says she can play four or five times a week because the costs are lower.
“We recognise that there are barriers to sport, so we just want to remove those barriers,” she explained.
“It’s a good entry level sport because it's very easy to get a rally going to start with, so that's quite exciting for people if they've not had any racket sport before. But then, it can get quite technical, fast and fun.
“It's good for your mental health is good for your physical health, it's sociable,” she said. “We just want people to have fun and not realise that they are actually doing exercise. "
Ms Blomfield and Sheffield Pickleball grants officer Pamela Johnson explain the club currently has members from 18 to an 88-year-old, with introductory, mixed ability, intermediate and intermediate plus, including tournaments for people who want to get involved in competitions.
“What I love about it is that we've got such a range of different people playing," Ms Blomfield added. "I've spoken to people that have had health problems, they've had back problems, and they've started playing and that's improved.
“I've had people say to me that they're actually quite low in mood and feeling quite isolated and they've found pickleball and they're playing three or four times a week now.
"They go to the cafe afterwards, so they'll have a cup of tea with each other. They've really made friends.
Ms Johnson said: "There's a learning disabled young person who comes along to a set a weekly session with her carer."
She explained the volunteer hosts have "adapted the game slightly, so she's allowed two bounces and a second serve rather than just one serve."
The club is also dementia-friendly and hosts specific sessions for people with Parkinson's disease.
Sheffield Pickleball Club began just under two years ago at predominantly indoor sports halls using badminton courts.
The organisers approached Sheffield City Council about expanding onto outdoor courts across the city's parks, who covered most of the cost of painting additional court lines.
Sessions took place on 18 outdoor courts over the summer, which Ms Johnson said “made us the biggest pickleball provider of outdoor pickleball activity in the country.”
They also applied for funding from the ward pots, and were granted £3000 in total from central, south and east Local Area Committees (LACs).
The LAC funding went towards introductory eight-week sessions at Millhouses, Graves and Hillsborough parks, including equipment and coaching.
Ms Johnson said: “The weather has been fabulous. August and September were really well attended, and it was a mix of people”
At £3.50 for an outdoor session including all equipment, pickleball competes on price with its peers of tennis, badminton and padel, which can reach £44 for an hour of court hire at peak time.
"They've not just played and gone," Ms Johnson continued. "They've actually wanted to continue and they're looking for indoor sessions that are convenient and close to where they live."
Sheffield Pickleball Club is soon beginning four months of free sessions at Concord Leisure Centre, S5, starting October 9 with funding from the Olympic Legacy Fund.
They say the free sessions every Friday at 11am are "very important" to the club.
Ms Blomfield said: "We want to make pickleball inclusive and make sure there aren't barriers to people playing. So if we offer free sessions, that means that people can have a go and see if they like it.
“In S5, there's quite a lot of barriers to engaging new people for the first time. I think we really want it to be seen as an opportunity for people just to come and have a go.
Ms Johnson added: "Maybe that they're looking to lose weight or they're just looking to move more, we want them to see pickleball as an option for exercise that actually doesn't feel like exercise.
"It feels like a fun hour and a half, two hours where they can come out, do something where they're actually physically moving at a moderate level and feel better about themselves at the end.
"Everything's provided. They literally just have to turn up in a pair of trainers or shoes that enable them to move without slipping or falling.
Ms Blomfield and Ms Johnson say by next spring onwards, they'd like to be running more sessions like Concord in other parts of North Sheffield.
Councillor Marieanne Elliot, who helped Sheffield Pickleball with promotion over the summer, said: "Sheffield Pickleball Club are doing a great job - giving people the opportunity to have a go at Pickleball across Sheffield.
"They are very welcoming and make sure it's accessible to everyone, it doesn't matter if you've never played before."
Sessions can be booked on the app Spond.