LAKEWOOD — Chris Beal is the pickleball evangelist of Lakewood.
Ask her a question about it, and five minutes later you’ll be handed a paddle for a quick lesson. She taught it at Columbine High School in the 1980s.
After years spent on a competitive circuit, in 2009 she convinced staff at Whitlock Recreation Center to mark the gymnasium for the city’s first pickleball court.
So it’s no surprise that she helped convince city officials and nearby residents to install the city’s first outdoor pickleball courts at Green Mountain Recreation Center when the dilapidated tennis courts were ripped out this spring.
“It’s quick, easy to learn and easy to set up,” Beal said. “Once you get a paddle in someone’s hand for five minutes, they’ll either love it or hate it … but most people end up loving it.”
Earlier this month, residents got to break in the two new tennis courts marked for pickleball, along with two dedicated pickleball courts.
“I get here just past seven every morning, and there’s people waiting to get on the pickleball courts,” said Sarah Livingston, the facility coordinator for Green Mountain rec center. “It’s the perfect sport because it’s accessible to everyone.”
If you’re unfamiliar with pickleball, you can be forgiven for assuming it has something to do with pickles.
The sport is something of a mash-up between tennis, ping pong and badminton. It’s played with a paddle and a whiffle ball on a smaller court, and pickleball enthusiasts are quick to tell you it’s actually one of the fastest-growing sports in the nation. New courts opened in Arvada last fall, and a team has been playing in Loveland since 2005.
On a crisp, cool morning last Thursday, about a dozen enthusiasts gathered to play in two-person teams on the newly opened courts.
The group consisted mostly of those over the age of 55, and many said they meet regularly for games. Between sets, they chatted and laughed. Jim Green, 75, said it’s a good way to stay active without the stress of many of their former athletic activities.
Ken Beaudrie, 72, said, “I think what also attracts people to the sport is the friendliness. It can be competitive, but people are excited to help newcomers.”
While the popularity of the sport has exploded within the last five years, pickleball has actually been around for a while.
It got its start in 1965, when a trio of congressman returned home from a game of golf in Bainbridge Island, Wash., to find their kids bored and restless on a hot summer day.
They handed the youngsters ping-pong paddles and a whiffle ball and lowered the net on their badminton court in what was the first game of pickleball.
The USA Pickleball Association, the national governing body, estimates that more than 150,000 people are now playing nationwide. Since 2010, the number of places to play pickleball has nearly tripled, according to USAPA. In March 2010, there were 777 registered facilities in North America. As of January 2014, there were 2,215.
“I think it’ll be a great Olympic sport once it gets to the international level,” Beaudrie said during a break between games at the rec center. “Watching great players would be very exciting.”
Austin Briggs: 303-954-1729, abriggs@denverpost.com
Green mountain pickleball
What: Courts grand opening
When: 9 a.m.-noon July 26
Where: 13198 W. Green Mountain Drive, Lakewood
