Three mornings a week throughout the summer, a curious sound can be heard from the outdoor rink on Steventon Boulevard.
The “plink, plonk, plink, plonk” isn’t anything to be concerned about – it’s just Dave Etienne and company playing the fast-growing sport of pickleball.
At first glance, pickleball looks similar to tennis. Etienne says the two sports are quite different.
“It’s actually a faster game than tennis when you get into competitive pickleball,” said Etienne, president of the Flin Flon / Creighton and Area Pickle Ball Club. “It’s something that’s been going now for at least 20 years. It’s a sport that the snowbirds down in the southern United States play extensively.”
Pickleball is played with a ball, a net, a court and rackets, but each of those items is different than their tennis counterparts.
A pickleball is much like a wiffle ball, a hollow, plastic ball with holes. The court is much smaller than a tennis court – 12 feet shorter and six feet narrower.
Pickleball rackets are solid like ping-pong paddles and the net is lower than a standard tennis net.
Organized pickleball games have been taking place in Flin Flon since 2012.
“I chased the city recreation director to get us some equipment and he got us some nets and some paddles and balls,” said Etienne. “We would play in the Community Hall in the evenings when there wasn’t any other activity on.”
Since the sport’s beginnings in Flin Flon, games have been held at the Flin Flon Community Hall, the Steventon Boulevard rink and the Creighton tennis court.
Etienne is seeking to expand the court on Steventon Boulevard. He believes the rink could house as many as four pickleball courts, but it currently has only two due to a large hole in the concrete.
Etienne says the club wants to organize free pickleball clinics.
“We have a qualified instructor with our group,” he said, “and there’s a couple of us who have played in competitions down south who are familiar enough with the game that we could work with them.”
The local pickleball club boasts 16 full-time members and a small number of people who drop in and play occasional games.
Most of the players are retirees, but Etienne stresses pickleball can be enjoyed by all ages.
“You can play it at whatever intensity you want. You can play it for fun, you can play it in competitions,” he said.
Pickleball has been rapidly growing throughout North America, with some competitive tournaments boasting hundreds of players.
Etienne says most players who have tried the sport once have returned to play again.
“It’s a very social sport. It gives people an opportunity to come out and socialize a bit,” he said.
