Pickleball comes to Sisters

Pickleball? What's that? Sisters is about to find out.

At 10 a.m. on Thursday, August 18, in the community of Sage Meadow, located just north of Sisters off Camp Polk Road, a team of four experienced pickleball players will give a demonstration of how to play the game. The public is invited.

Pickleball was started in 1984 by Joel Pritchard, a former lieutenant governor of Washington. It had its supporters over the years, but didn't catch on in a big way until a few years ago. It has now become a popular, fast-growing sport in California and has recently spread to Bend, thanks to a large extent to A.J. and Irene Fraties, who will be two of the four players that will be demonstrating the sport at Sage Meadow.

Pickleball is played very much like tennis, but on a court that is one-fourth the size of a regulation tennis court. Players use a racquet or paddle that is much smaller than a tennis racket, more like an oversized table tennis paddle. A "whiffle" ball is used that is close to the size of a tennis ball. With a smaller court, smaller racket, and a ball that will bounce, but will not travel nearly as fast as a tennis ball, you have a sport that has a lot of the fun elements of tennis, but is much easier on knees, wrists, arms and elbows.

A.J. says that "its rise in popularity is to a great extent from people who gave up tennis due to injuries, but have found that they can play and enjoy pickleball, get the same fun and satisfaction they did with tennis, without the stressing their bodies nearly as much. It's athletic. No matter what age group you're talking about, kids or young adults, or people my age in the 60s - all of these guys can play. And all skill levels can play together."

A.J. and Irene will invite anyone who wishes to try the game to step in and give it a go, once they have given a demonstration of how it is played.

The demonstration will be held at the tennis courts in Sage Meadow, where one court will be converted to pickleball use. Sage Meadow is two miles north of Sisters in the Sage Meadow Community. The tennis courts are located one mile south of the entrance to Sage Meadow on the left, at 69921 W. Meadow Parkway. Call 541-549-0220 for information. Wear appropriate tennis shoes that will give traction and not damage the court surface.

Visit the USA Pickleball Association website at http://www.usapa.org to learn more about the game.