As the sport grows in Wales, so do the calls for it to be officially recognised
THIS has been an amazing year for sport. As the 2024 Paris Olympics took the world by storm, billions tuned in to see what the world’s best athletes had to offer, and which sport would become their new obsession.
However, one of sport’s fastest growing communities spent the games asking one question: What about pickleball?
Pickleball, described as a mix of tennis, badminton, and table tennis, was invented in Washington state in 1965, and was originally intended to be a children’s game, before being adopted by adults.
It has become America’s fastest growing sport, with more than 13 million playing it in 2023, up five million from 2022, prompting calls for the sport to be officially recognised by the IOC, so that it can be played at the LA Olympics in 2028.
Celebrities the world over have picked up the paddle, with basketball legend LeBron James even investing in his own pickleball team.
‘We thought we’d have a go, and we became addicted’
The pickleball craze recently reached Cardiff, where it has grown rapidly. Roath Park has become a hotbed for the sport, because of the club that has formed there.
I went along on a Sunday morning to see the club’s members in action, and meet its founder, Jonah Fisher.
After being introduced to the sport by, fittingly, an American, Jonah brought pickleball back to Wales with him after a spell away working in Ukraine.
“I was surprised that there wasn’t much pickleball going on near where I lived. So, Kevin Costner style, I decided to build the club and see if people would come, and thankfully people did come.
“We’ve just started building the club up, we only really started up at the end of August, start of September,” he tells me.
The club may be in its infancy, but it attracts a diverse crowd, with a mix of all abilities, ages, and skill levels present. The community spirit among the group is palpable, with the competitive edge balanced nicely with the camaraderie you’d normally see in team sports. Everyone is always smiling.
This atmosphere is intentional “You get all sorts of different characters coming along when you have a club like this. In a way, that’s the fun part.” says Jonah.
“We try to find something for everyone to enjoy, and just encourage people to come along and have a good time for two hours on a Sunday morning.”
The sport’s spread isn’t limited to Roath. In Llanishen, a diehard group of pickleballers meet every Thursday to compete competitively, using a league table system to keep track of the top players each week.
As with Roath, there’s a real bond and camaraderie between the players, which I found out first hand. After the first few rallies, the group noticed that there was an odd number of players, which left them needing a volunteer.
So, onto the court I stepped, not dressed entirely appropriately for pickleball (pleated trousers and a fleece aren’t necessarily the best combination for pickleball), ready to do my bit for my doubles partner.
Through sweat, a backache, and appalling hand-eye coordination, I began to understand the appeal of the sport, and what makes it so addictive.
The speed of the wiffleball leaving your paddle, the saves you lunge for to keep the ball in play, the satisfaction of volleying the ball as hard as you can all make pickleball instantly gratifying, and by the end of the session I found myself wanting to keep playing.
For some, that feeling has carried them all the way to the top of the sport.
On the day that I visited Roath, a group of players chosen to represent Wales at the European Pickleball Championships had been turfed off their usual court at Cardiff Met and joined up with the Roath club for the day.
It’s there where I met Scott Mayo, 27, a pickleball fanatic who, despite being fairly new to the sport, has rapidly become one of Wales’s best players.
“I’ve only been playing for about a year, and my progress has been really good. I think the reason is because I got so addicted to it.
“It was complete happenstance how I came across pickleball. It was a sport I’d never heard of it, it sounded funny, me and my friends thought we’d have a go at it, and we became addicted,” he tells me.
‘To be able to represent was one of the proudest moments of my life’
When we first spoke, Scott was deep in training for the European Championships, which took place in Southampton in November.
I caught up with him after the tournament during which Wales massively exceeded expectations, progressing to the quarter-finals in the over 50s category and picking up a handful of wins in the others.
“It was a massive achievement to even compete, and to win and progress to the quarter finals, which we never expected to happen has been a really proud achievement for all of us.
“It was an unbelievable experience. To be able to represent my country was definitely one of the proudest moments of my life, and of my sporting career too,” said Scott.
‘We’ll get there one day’ – the fight for recognition continues
Those close to the sport believe it’s going to take a long time for pickleball to be recognised as an official sport in Wales.
Sport Wales’s rules dictate that a sport must have had a functioning governing body for more than two years to be recognised and Pickleball Wales was only set up in the past year.
There are growing concerns that without official recognition, and therefore access to funding, the growth of pickleball could be hindered.
This mostly affects grassroots clubs.
“We recently applied for funding to buy some new equipment, but because we aren’t classed as an official sport yet, they turned us down,” said George Tackley, 41, a member of the Llanishen club.
“It’s ridiculous because more people are playing pickleball each week and it’s becoming more and more popular. There are sports like arm wrestling that are recognised when we aren’t.”
However, there is optimism. “I am confident that it will become a recognised sport. Maybe not in the next year, but definitely within five,” said Scott..
“The positive news is that Pickleball Wales is going to be hosting a Welsh Open, which will be the first time a massive tournament like that will be held in Wales.
“We already have enough registered players to be recognised, and it is something that we’re trying to take seriously. We’ve got people looking to grow the sport so I’m confident we’ll get there one day.”
- If you want to try pickleball for yourself, Roath Pickleball Club meets at 10am on Sunday mornings at Roath Pleasure Gardens, and the Llanishen club meets at 5pm on Thursday evenings at Llanishen Leisure Centre.
