The year was 1965 when, on Bainbridge Island (Washington), a United States senator (Joel Pritchard) and a successful businessman (Bill Bell) decided to combat summer boredom by playing a game of badminton on the old court in the garden of his house. Not finding the rackets or the shuttlecock, Joel and Bill improvised and decided to play with what they had on hand, some old ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. It seems that the experiment worked and from this a new sport was born called Pickleball (in honor of Pritchard’s dog), which, more than 50 years later, has become the fashionable sport in the United States.
And from there it has made the leap to the rest of the world, until reaching Spain, where it is already practiced in almost all regions, and Asturias through Avilés and a school, Paula Frassinetti, which has become an educational center pioneer in its practice in the Principality. Pickleball has been incorporated this March into extracurricular activities in the Primary Education stage with notable success and thanks to the Asturian association created last December and which tries to introduce this sport in schools. It is chaired by an Avilesian, Manuel Álvarez Pereda, one of the five instructors accredited for training in this sport in Asturias.
Due to its origins, pickleball is configured as a mixture of elements from different racket sports, such as tennis, badminton and table tennis. It is characterized by a game dynamic and a hitting technique that is very similar to tennis, although unlike the latter, it is played on a smaller court -16 meters long by 6 meters wide-, with a very light racket and a tennis ball. perforated plastic, and served below the waist. It can be played both in doubles and singles, and it has some particular rules such as a no volley zone two meters from the net and the impossibility of going up to volley when served.
These characteristics make pickleball a simple sport to learn and with less technical and physical demands than other sports such as tennis, although with a very fast pace of play and a high tactical and strategic component. For all of the above, pickleball has become a sport for all audiences, regardless of age or physical condition.
Its audience covers a wide spectrum of players, ranging from players of tennis, paddle tennis or other sports who find in pickleball a new sport in which they quickly feel competitive, to people of any age with little or no previous experience in the field. sport who are looking for a sport they can get into and have fun with quickly and without much risk of injury.
This new modality is adapted to the program to promote sports and healthy living in schools, something that has led to its incorporation into extracurricular activities at Paula Frassinetti in Avilés. “I introduced him to him and we spent a whole week at the school in February with all the Primary students,” explains Manuel Álvarez Pereda.
Such has been the success that it has already been launched at the beginning of this month of March, with two shifts at noon on Wednesdays and Fridays, in which about forty students between three and eight years of age are signed up. The idea of the Asturian association is to offer this sport as an extracurricular activity also in Secondary from next year and extend it to the rest of the schools in Asturias.
in all gyms
«In Madrid, pickleball is already practiced in almost all schools and all regions have it. Until now, due to the limited facilities in most schools, racket sports could not be practiced, and pickleball adapts to the dimensions of gyms and small sports centers,” says Álvarez about a practice that “in the United States is the number 1 above paddle tennis and tennis». There are also associations like the Asturian one in all the regions, and from there a Spanish federation will emerge.
The main problem is the lack of monitors. “In Asturias we are five and more are needed,” adds Manuel Álvarez Pereda. The national association accredits to provide training in this sport. In the case of Colegio Paula Frassinetti, students will have three experts at their disposal.
Although the intention is to extend the practice of pickleball to the rest of Avilesian and Asturian schools, it can also be practiced outside educational centers. For example, in the new complex that will open in the Parque Astur shopping center, where the paddle club that will open its doors soon will have two exclusive pickleball courts.
Those who want to start equipping themselves to practice this sport that is sweeping the United States can do so from 24 euros, which includes the rackets and three balls.
