Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
Five years ago, the Bedford Parks Department gauged community interest in starting a pickleball league as the sport was growing across the country. However, there wasn’t enough participation for a league.
Fast forward and the city of Bedford now offers league play, clinics to grow the game and is constructing six pickleball courts in Wilson Park that should be complete by summer’s end.
From Linton to Loogootee, Bloomfield, Bedford, Jasper and Washington, communities are investing in pickleball facilities.
A cross between ping pong, badminton and tennis, pickleball can be played at all levels, all ages.
Pickleball has been the fastest growing sport the past three years. Participation nearly doubled in 2022, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA). The sport is played by 8.9 million people over the age of 6 in the US. Initially, the game was favored by retirees, but now the game is growing fastest among adults under 55, according to USA Pickleball.
Friends Shelly Gilbert and Joni Hardwick took up the sport a year ago and play in the beginner division of the Bedford Parks league.
“I work from home so this is my social hour,” Hardwick said. “And if I wasn’t doing this, I’d be sitting on the couch.”
By the end of their match against Curtis and Lisa Jewell, Gilbert and Hardwick had worked up a sweat.
“It’s a good calorie burn and it’s fun,” Hardwick said.
“We have a blast,” Gilbert added.
Gilbert said she’s talked the game up so much that several of her friends have started playing and her 69-year-old mother asked for a pickleball set for her birthday.
Longfellow Park
As the game grows in numbers, cities are quickly adding courts. In 2021, Daviess County Pickleball built eight courts in Longfellow Park. In Greene County, Linton added two courts at Humphreys Park a few years ago and Bloomfield, after receiving a $100,000 Indiana Uplands READI grant, is investing $200,000 for a park renovation that includes two pickleball courts.
Bill Dobson, president of the nonprofit Daviess County Pickleball, said the community raised more than $150,000 to build eight courts in Washington. A $50,000 matching grant and support from the city were key to the project’s success. With so many courts, DCP attracts players from all over southwest Indiana.
At its last tournament, 150 players participated. DCP runs leagues and teaches clinics. To further grow the sport, DCP offers a sports app to players looking for a playing partner.
DCP has players ranging from age 14 to 85 and will hold another tournament Sept. 30-Oct. 1.
Dobson, who played racquetball for years, said he loved the game the first time he played it while on a vacation a few years ago. It was during COVID that Daviess County residents became interested in playing and he approached the local YMCA about starting a league.
“The sport has been around a long time, but COVID put it on steroids,” he said.
Between its low cost, a pickleball set with net runs $50-$60, small court size and ball that travels much slower than a tennis ball, the game is suited for just about anyone.
“You can take three generations and put them on the court and they can play the game and have fun,” Dobson said.
In addition to being great exercise, there’s the social aspect. DCP has a ladder league, which moves players up and back based on skill, so each week players face new people, make new friends.
Bedford’s Wilson Park
The Bedford Parks Department received a donation from the Bedford Recreation Foundation, which Jimmy Jones, Bedford Parks director, said made the pickleball project possible. It’s a worthy investment, he added.
“With a new facility and six courts, we can offer men’s, women’s, co-ed and youth,” Jones said. “It’s great to have a sport that targets that big of an age range and they can all enjoy playing it together.”
When Bedford Parks re-introduced pickleball a year ago, “people came out of the woodwork,” Jones said.
Bedford Parks & Rec has about 20 doubles teams playing in a summer league. An indoor winter league held at a local school also had high participation.
“It’s not expensive, and there’s not a lot of running,” said Gary Dorsett, Bedford Parks recreation director, explaining the appeal. “And we can pair you up with a partner if you don’t have one.”
The pickleball courts will also bring new activity to Wilson Park. The courts will be located in the outfield area of what was a baseball/softball diamond. Once they are complete, leagues will move from the Thornton Park tennis courts.
Loogootee Pickleball Inc.
Terri Smith was on her way home after work when she saw a group of women playing pickleball in a Loogootee church parking lot. They had taped off a court and played daily.
“I would see them playing and thought it looked like so much fun,” said Smith, who played tennis in high school and college. “I was wondering what I would do with myself when I retired.”
Smith had her answer. When she retired, she joined the group and today, as president of Loogootee Pickleball Inc., is leading an effort to build four courts in Loogootee.
In 2022, the Loogootee City Council voted to give the group a site for the courts. The group received a $25,000 matching grant from Martin County Community Foundation and has raised about $15,000 toward the match. A pickleball tournament in June brought in $2,000 and a donor has pledged to give the final $5,000. Their goal is to break ground as soon as they reach $50,000 and continue raising funds for the rest. Fundraisers have included bake sales, raffles and pickleball clinics.
Loogootee has about 60 people who play, Smith said. The group’s recent tournament drew 34 teams, most of them from out of town.
“It’s a lot of fun and the people are so nice, you can’t help but laugh when you’re playing,” she said.
The courts currently in use aren’t fenced, so loose balls have to be chased down.
“But we make it work and the school was kind enough to let us hold our tournament on the tennis courts,” Smith said.
Loogootee Pickleball Inc. is accepting donations for the challenge grant. Mail donations to Martin County Community Foundation, P.O. Box 28, Loogootee, IN 47553. Write “pickleball challenge” on the memo line.
Linton adds two courts
Humphreys Park in Linton recently added pickleball courts, sand volleyball area and outside exercise equipment to foster physical activity and health benefits for its residents.
Bob Evans, president of Pride in the Park, a nonprofit dedicated to improving parks in Linton, said a community survey in 2019 indicated strong interest in pickleball.
Linton didn’t have a dedicated court for pickleball; the nearest courts were in Sullivan.
Pride in the Park built two courts with the option to add two more. The courts are lighted and there is parking and sidewalks.
Evans said a group of retirees plays in the mornings and the courts are well used during evening hours. The game attracts players from the serious to the casual.
Evans said the project is providing residents another option for being active.
“I see a lot of people using it and that may be the majority of exercise they get,” he said. “From a community health standpoint, we’re in a dismal spot as a county. Anything we can do to move the needle is a positive for the community.”
The total cost for the project was $85,000. Evans said a grant from Regional Opportunity Initiatives Ready Communities grant program provided 90% of the funding. Linton also added outdoor exercise equipment.
“We couldn’t have done it if not for the grant,” Evans said. “We had other donations that helped, the city did some site prep work and we did a lot of work ourselves.”
Bloomfield park investment
In Bloomfield, pickleball players were driving to Linton, about a 10-mile drive, to play. Brenda Hughes, president of the Bloomfield Park Board, said residents were asking for pickleball courts, so when the town began to plan a park renovation, pickleball was included.
“It’s amazing how it’s caught on,” Hughes said. “I have a lot of friends and family who play.”
The project also will add an ADA playground, exercise stations and shelter house.
Hughes said the Bloomfield Town Council has been a great help during the park construction. Work on the courts is continuing and Hughes estimates the courts could be ready for players in mid-August.
Mitchell gauging interest
The Mitchell Parks and Recreation board has looked into the possibility of bringing pickleball to Mitchell and provided a statement to SIBR.
“We see the interest in the surrounding communities and hope it’s something we can implement in the near future! We would love to hear more from interested community members at our public parks board meetings each third Monday of the month at 4:30 at City Hall.”
A sport that’s here to stay
Dobson, with Daviess County Pickleball, doesn’t see the pickleball craze ending. Even if the growth plateaus, he believes the game has cemented its place in the sports landscape.
Pickleball, much like restaurants, safe, walkable neighborhoods and good schools, are another amenity that makes a community attractive to new residents.
With the WestGate One microelectronics campus coming to Daviess County and hundreds of new jobs, the community is in a position to see its population grow.
“WestGate is going to be a great asset and those people who come to work are going to want different things to do and pickleball can be one of those things,” Dobson said.