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By Katrina Margolis
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Pickleball has been around since the 1970s, but it has just begun to creep into Walpole. In December, Walpole Recreation created sign-ups for two different times to play the game. Both twelve-week sessions filled up within days, showing the department just how popular pickleball is. Sara Hootstein, the Program Coordinator, said that one session is during the day from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., and another at night from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. “The earlier one is for the retirees, and the later one is generally a bit younger, for people who still work,” she said.
Claire Donahue, a Walpole native, has been playing the game in Maine and New Hampshire for years. She explained exactly what the game is about: “It’s kind of like a mixture of tennis, volleyball and table tennis, I guess. The ball is like a whiffle ball but thicker, and the paddle is just flat. You really have to hit it high.” One of the main appeals of the game is that it’s much slower than tennis, lending itself well to players of an older age. “It begins like tennis where you have one person serve to the opposite corner and then volley, but there are some weird parts to it,” Donahue said.
“The key to this game is to not stay back. When you serve, the ball has to bounce on the other side, and when they return you have to let it bounce on this side and then you run as quickly as you can up to that blue line,” Donahue explained. “You’re not allowed to smash the ball like you can in tennis unless you’re behind that line. The whole idea of it is, you know, give these people a chance.” All five of the players present were Walpole locals, and all were there to play casually. However, like most sports, Donahue said it can get pretty intense. “If you ever watch it on YouTube and watch the championship or anything - oh my god. It’s like watching Federer!”
While in Walpole participants have to sign up, Donahue said one of the joys of the game is that it can be much more flexible than tennis. “The nice thing is you can just show up. In tennis you have to get your partners and everything and know who you’re playing with,” she explained.
“What we did in New Hampshire is there was a line of chairs and it just goes right in order, you play around and people go in. You don’t have to know anyone, you don’t have to organize or anything.” While the game may be new to Walpole, it is certainly not new to the players, and has already picked up steam.
