We use cookies on this website. By continuing to use this site without changing your cookie settings, you agree that you are happy to accept our privacy policy and for us to access our cookies on your device.
Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV Pickleball Growing Pains - Moskalkov
HEADLINE: Pickleball Is Booming and Not Everyone Is Happy
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 04/07/2023 at 8:15am
BYLINE: Maxim Moskalkov
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE:
VIDEOGRAPHER: David Gogokhia
VIDEO EDITOR: David Gogokhia
SCRIPT EDITORS: KEnochs; MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AFP, Reuters, VOA News
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV __ RADIO __
TRT: 3:13
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:
((INTRO))
[[Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the United States. It’s simple and can be played in small spaces so popular with all age groups. But not everyone loves it. Maxim Moskalkov reports.]]
((NARRATION))
Pickleball - indoors and outdoors – this paddle sport is growing across America.
The number of pickleball players in the U.S. grew by 159 percent between 2020 and 2022, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. That totals nearly 9 million players.
The hype is real, says Helen White, with the American Pickleball Association for Northern Virginia and Washington.
((Helen White, American Pickleball Association)) ((Zoom))
“I just finished a week where I taught 15 classes and that would be about 90 students. My youngest was about seven. My oldest was probably in their 80s. The courts are too crowded when you have 20, 30, 40 people waiting to play on a court, that tells you something.”
((NARRATION))
Pickleball is a kind of hybrid of tennis, ping pong and badminton. The court is two times smaller than tennis courts; the net is low, and the ball moves much slower.
Real estate professionals say more residential complexes are adding pickleball courts to attract buyers.
((Robert Ducharme, Condominium Law Attorney))
"It doesn't take much financially to create a pickleball court. A lot cheaper than putting in a pool, a lot cheaper than maintaining a clubhouse, things like that. So, it's financially viable, financially attractive and more and more people get involved in it".
((NARRATION))
But there is one problem. When the paddle hits the ball, it makes a loud whacking noise.
Recently in Chicago, people living next door to a park with a pickleball court created a petition demanding that the court be removed.
One of the signatories, John T., who wished to remain anonymous, told VOA that he lives with his wife and two daughters near the park.
((John T., Chicago Resident))
"Sometimes I feel trapped, like it's, you know, it's beautiful day out. It's 70 degrees out and we have our windows shut and we can still hear it through the windows. I can't even take a nap, it’s just relentless!"
((NARRATION))
In an email to Voice of America, pickleball player Lisa Davis fought back saying: “This is not a children’s park. It is ruled by the City of Chicago as a public park for all residents, regardless of race, age or gender, to use.”
To help solve the problem, Engineer Bob Unetich founded Pickleball Sound Mitigation, a company that researches and advises communities on ways to quiet the game.
Unetich, himself an avid player and a qualified pickleball referee, has already worked with more than a hundred clients from the United States, Canada and Europe.
((Bob Unetich Pickleball Sound Mitigation))
"We began to study paddles and balls to reduce the sound level of paddles and balls by selecting quieter equipment. We can look at sites all over the US and in other countries on Google Earth and look at the distances to homes. And we can recommend different kinds of barriers that might be used to reduce the sound level".
((NARRATION))
What’s clear is that pickleball isn’t going away, so finding ways to play quietly may be the only long-term answer.
((Maxim Moskalkov, VOA news Washington))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
BylineMaxim Moskalkov
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
