PICKLEBALL may soon be available to play in Hydeaway Bay, at the Gloucester Sport and Recreation Club, thanks to one dedicated local player.
Pickleball is popular in the U.S and has been around for more than 50 years but is relatively new to Australia.
A group of local people from Cape Gloucester have formed a community player group called Gloucester Pickleball, which is affiliated with the state organisation, Pickleball Association Queensland.
There are plans to incorporate the fun game within the Gloucester Sport and Recreation Club, in Hydeaway Bay.
Local player Lorraine Christensen said the sport was suitable for all people.
“It’s a combination of table tennis, tennis and badminton, it’s played on a Badminton sized court, it’s played with paddles like table tennis and the rules, and the layout, are similar to tennis,” Ms Christensen said.
“It’s designed to be very social, very fun and aimed at all members of the family and age groups, it’s very easy to pick up.”
Ms Christensen has taken it on herself to try and get a pickleball court built in Hydeaway Bay.
“We have a small number of people who live in the Cape Gloucester area that have played pickleball before, but we don’t really have anywhere to play; we need a hard tennis court but the recreation club has an artificial grass one.
“Across Australia, a lot of people are interested but there’s very few places to actually play the game, there’s very few dedicated pickleball courts but that’s slowly changing.
“Our small rec club out at Hydeaway Bay would be the perfect area to have a pickleball court, it would add to the benefits of the club….to provide a service and a court for people to play.
“We have the land available to build the courts at the Gloucester Sport and Recreation Club, so I’m looking into that and potential grants.”
“Hopefully, Whitsunday Regional Council can help us as well.”
If you are interest in joining the pickleball team, you can contact Whitsunday Pickleball Group or the Gloucester Sport and Recreation Club through Facebook messenger.
