Have you heard of the fastest growing sport in the country and around the world? It’s pickleball – it’s fun, can be learned quickly, and is a great workout! While the sport originated in Washington state in 1965, it found its way to Fripp Island Racquet Club around 2014. Tennis pro, Troy McMullin, agreed to try it out, painting in pickleball lines on the tennis hard courts, with courts set up to play across the tennis nets. We have come a long way from those early days, now with 4 courts played across portable pickleball nets. Our list of players has grown to over 100 regular and seasonal players from Fripp Island and all over the country and Canada – from teenagers to octogenarians!
Pickleball is a racquet sport, played with a paddle (wooden or composite) and a modi-fied wiffle ball on a badminton size court. With an underhand serve and a small play-ing area, people find it quick to learn the basics and start having fun in no time. The games are played to 11 points and typically take 10-15 minutes to complete. Most locations have a round robin format, switching players after each game. You get to know a lot of people this way, so the game has a social aspect that is appealing. Our round robin is a doubles format, mixing men and women together for games.
The island coordinators for pickleball on Fripp Island are Cesar and Vanessa Penaherrera. They run the weekly round robins (typically 3x week for 2 hours), train new players, help with rules information, and can help evaluate your game. Since the round robin has been cancelled due to the pandemic, several independent groups have formed here to continue to play as safely as possible. The courts are typically in use each morning from 9-12 and most of the day on Saturday and Sunday. The game has become a very popular family sport as families consisting of children, parents and grandparents all join in to have fun. When pandemic conditions improve, we will reopen the round robin and look forward to having you join us! Please contact the Fripp Island Racquet Club for more information and to reserve a court for play: 843.838.1504
