CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) – It’s a sport sweeping the nation — USA Pickleball said they’re the fastest growing sport in the country, for the third year in a row.
The popularity of the sport is also growing in the Triangle.
Pickleball is a mashup of ping-pong, badminton, and tennis.
On Saturday, all ages hit the courts in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for PlayTeamPickleball’s East Coast Championship.
“The wonderful thing about Pickleball is how quickly you can go from not playing and just having a great time with people of different levels. There’s not a huge learning curve and it’s just a great way for people to go off the couch and out onto a court,” said Jason Burr, a pickleball player.
Organizer Deb Vincent told NewsNation affiliate WNCN they have players from 18 to 80 years old.
The top winning teams from the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 sessions, from across the Triad and the Triangle, faced each other on the court for three days.
“It’s champions versus champions” explained Vincent. “With 52 teams, and a team is at least six people. So we’ve got about 380 players this weekend.”
While each team is competing for a win, it’s the community that keeps the ball going, and keeps them coming back for more.
“It’s the social aspect. They get together, especially with the teams that we create. The teams get really tight,” said Vincent.
“Players can be young or old, can be male or female. They can be of any nationality, it doesn’t matter. And they come out to the court, they click paddles, introduce themselves, have a great game, laugh and have fun. And then at the end, they collect their paddles, say, good game, and there’s no other sport in the world that even comes close to that,” said Wayne Anderson, a certified referee at the event.
Vincent told WNCN the league has gone from 300 players to more than 2,300 in the 2.5 years they’ve been around the area.
The tournament continued through Sunday.