Winners are grinners in pickleball.
How many picklers in a pickleball club? In the case of the Southern Peninsula Pickleball Club in Portsea, the number of players – known as picklers – currently sits around the 100 mark. Members range in age from 25 to 86, with many enjoying the social aspect of the club as much as the exercise and skill of the game.
The picklers regularly catch up for coffee.
Pickleball is played on a badminton-size court indoors or outdoors and mostly as doubles, and its rules and terms demonstrate the primarily lighthearted tone of the game. At the start of each match the server holds up the ball and calls “Pickle!” Lose the game 11-0 and you’ve been ‘pickled’. Players can play shots called a dink, a scorpion, a bert or an ernie. It might sound complicated, but it’s actually easy for anyone to have fun straight away – five minutes to learn and a lifetime to master. If you are able to walk around the block, if you can swat a fly, you can play pickleball.
The Southern Peninsula Pickleball Club plays on four outdoor courts at Portsea, protected from the wind and taking full advantage of the nearby barbecues and pavilion. Alternatively, the club has the use of three indoor courts at Sorrento.
Every member is able to select any colour for their team T-shirt, the club proudly touting itself as the most colourful club in pickleball. It’s not the only thing unique about the club: it’s the local pub trivia champion and its members boogie together at the RSL on Sunday band afternoons, catch up for coffee once a month, dine together every other month, have two referees in their ranks, have a member on the Pickleball Victoria board, and run the Southern Peninsula Pickleball League. There’s always something fun happening.
This month, the club is offering the public a taste of pickleball as part of the Taste Sorrento Festival. Expect pickled prizes and chefs aplenty. On June 22, it will host a ‘come and try’ morning for anyone wanting to have a go at the sport, and a ‘come and see’ evening is scheduled for June 24, with spectators invited to watch the league in action.
To connect with the club or for further information on events, go to www.southernpeninsulapickleballclub.com.au and www.tastesorrento.com.au
The Southern Peninsula Pickleball Club is inviting others to join the fun.
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