YORK, Pa. - If you like dinking in the kitchen, well, we've got the sport for you.
Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America. No, really, it is.
And it's already gaining a foothold in Central Pennsylvania, where the White Rose Pickleball Association (WRPA) has grown to over one hundred members in just a few months.
Vice president Andy Tarburton describes pickleball as a combination of tennis, ping pong, badminton and racquetball.
And once people try it, they're usually hooked, er, speared.
"Since the court is smaller, it's not as much room to cover, not as much running around," explains Tarburton. "So as you start getting older, it's easier on the joints."
Pickleball player Bill Vangreen agrees.
"I used to play a lot of racquetball in my younger days," said Vangreen. "I'm 67 years old and pickleball is easier on your body. It's a good sport for all ages, but especially for people getting up there in years with injuries."
Many WRPA members play five or six days a week on the specially painted pickleball courts at Roll R Way in York. Besides getting a good workout, the players "relish" the social aspect of the game.
"One of the things I've liked is getting to meet a lot of new people," said Deb Lord. "Every week there's people you haven't met, and you get to know them and talk to them."
Tarburton also notices the camaraderie.
"You see people coming out and everybody slapping hands, you know, high-fiving or tapping paddles when they're done playing," Tarburton said. "It's just fun, there's a lot of laughing and giggling out here when we play."
Of course, the obvious question is, why is it called pickleball?
"There are two theories on that," explains Lord. "The widely accepted one is that the people who invented it had a dog named Pickles who would chase the ball, so they named it after him."
"But one of the women who started the game said that wasn't true, and that in crewing, the last boat is a collection of random people, and that's the pickle boat."
Since the game was like a random assortment of different sports, they decided to call it pickleball.
Learning the terminology for the game is part of the fun.
First, there's dinking. It's not a new invention, you see it in tennis and racquetball all the time. But pickleballers have turned it into an art form. You could say it's their "bread and butter" shot.
"It's a strategic part of the game where you dink the ball back and forth over the net softly in order to set up your opponent so you can win the point," said Tarburton.
There's also a part of the court called the No-Volley Zone, or the Kitchen.
According to Tarburton, you'll hear people say 'You were in the kitchen' or 'Your foot was on the kitchen line'. And there's the always popular 'Everything but the kitchen dink.'
Like many things in life, good sportsmanship is essential, because nobody likes a sour pickle.
For more information, contact Andy Tarburton via email at atarburton@aol.com or request to join the WRPA Facebook page. The group plays indoors at Roll R Way Skating Rink (www.rollrway.com) 7 days a week. The rink is located at 940 Vander Avenue in York. Call the rink at 717-843-7500 for additional information.
