Pickleball craze continues to grow in Gatesville

The Gatesville Parks and Recreation Department installed two regulation Pickleball courts at Raby Park, which were opened to the public in November of 2022. Since that time, Pickleball has surged in popularity in the Gatesville area with the formation of the Gatesville Pickleball Club, which can be found on Facebook.

Parks and Recreation Director Seth Phillips said, “There is a need for an additional court, maybe two.” Phillips said he hasn’t spoken with the city manager yet about adding another court, but it is something he would like to do.

“There is room up there next to the other Pickleball courts. At the time we installed them, we wanted to offer additional things for the community to do. Plus, it was the time when Pickleball was becoming more popular, and now its really blown up since that time – not just in own community, but world-wide,” he said.

Phillips continued, “That’s the good thing about Pickleball: It’s for all ages. It’s not a sport where you have to move a lot, it’s not a ball that moves quickly, it’s a slower sport really on a smaller court. It’s a good game. For the public to know, it’s a very inexpensive sport - all you need is a paddle.”

Pickleball was “born” in Bainridge Island, Washington. The founders were Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum. Pritchard’s wife, Joan, a rower, named the game after the poorest performing rowers who populated what crew aficionados called the pickle boat. Many reports that the sport was named after the family dog, Pickles, turned out to be incorrect as the dog was born five years after pickleball was first played in Pritchard’s vacation backyard.

Thousands of pickleball players comprise a wide cross section of the population. Seniors, juniors, adults, men, and women enjoy the physicality as well as the feelings of camaraderie the sport invokes.

Phillips said, “I don’t think Pickleball is a fad; I think it’s something that’s going to hang around. Honestly, I’m surprised it wasn’t included in the summer Olympics. I think it’s something to look forward to in the next Olympics. I think there’s a good chance it will be added in the future because of how fast growing it has become and how popular it is.”

“Now, we’re to the point where an additional court would be really nice.”