Sport

31 January, 2026

Having a ball in a pickle

NEWBRIDGE was in a pickle during the school holidays as kids and parents lined up to try the world’s fastest-growing sport.

Pickleball was invented in the US in 1965 and now has 40 million players in that country alone.

It’s a hybrid of tennis, table tennis and badminton, played on a court one-quarter of the size of a tennis court.

The paddle is similar to but larger than a table tennis paddle and the ball is plastic, with holes in it. Bendigo-based coach Brendan Booth has been running sessions at Newbridge and Mitiamo for ActiveLoddon, teaching the basics of pickleball.

Newbridge on Tuesday had a dozen players on the courts, while Mitiamo sessions have attracted 16-plus attendees with the final sessions next week.

Booth said there was also interest from Pyramid Hill and Inglewood in running more introductory events.

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