Hoogeveen“>Pickleball Photo: Marcel Uiterwijk
It is a new craze and Hoogeveen is leading the way in organizing an open tournament. Next Saturday it’s time. In the sports hall on the Valkenlaan, 90 athletes will compete for the title Picklball champion from 12 noon.
Picklball came over from America where already about 4 million people practice this new sport. This popularity certainly has to do with the fact that it is easier than tennis. Pickleball contains elements of table tennis, tennis and badminton and is played on a hard court with a surface similar to a badminton court. The ball is made of plastic with holes. The speed is therefore about a third that of a tennis ball. The ball is hit over the net with a so-called ‘paddle’. This one has no strings, but is made of wood or carbon.
Game very accessible
Pickleball contains many elements of tennis, but unlike that sport, there is less technique involved. As a result, a fun game can quickly be played by young and old. This is probably why this new sport is growing so fast. The Hollandscheveldse Tennis Club saw opportunities here and made the practice cage suitable for Pickleball. Well-attended clinics were held last year. Reason enough for HTC to organize a Pickleball Open. That there was a demand for it is apparent from the fact that registration is closed, all categories are full. 45 couples participate, approximately 90 athletes. Of these, about 20 come from Belgium, 40 from the Hoogeveen region and the rest come from all over the country (Haarlem, Utecht, Melick etc). The tournament is from 12:00 to 19:00.
