The pickleball arrives in Navarra

At first glance it may seem like a meeting of badminton or paddle but soon the differences are seen. It also includes tennis concepts and the score count is reminiscent of volleyball. Is he Pickleball, a sport already very established in the United States – where it is very popular and has tournaments and professional players – and that, after crossing the pond and expanding through Europe and Spain, now arrives in Navarra.

“FOR ALL AGES”

“It is a very fun and completely inclusive sport that allows play and reaches all kinds of people, ages and physical conditions, as long as there is a minimum of mobility. They can practice it from children of 7 years and I have come to see players of more than 80 “, explained Rodríguez. “In addition, the good thing about it, beyond that inclusiveness, is that it is a sport that does not need any type of adaptation or a specific technique, so it is easier to play apparently than paddle tennis or tennis, for example. It is also much less aggressive and harmful ”, he added.

In pairs or individually, the pickleball faces on a field very similar to that of badminton or volleyball. Of course, the net is located low (between 90 centimeters high at the lateral ends, 84 in the center and about 78 in the intermediate areas) and a non-volley exclusion zone is marked on both sides of the net (where only may hit the ball if it has previously bounced). In addition, and as in paddle tennis or tennis, the field has two delimited areas (service boxes) to serve, which always starts from the right box and must make the ball bounce in the opposite box of the rival field .

Another big difference is the material. “Each player carries a solid wooden paddle for beginner levels and that becomes carbon fiber, graphite or other composite materials at higher levels,” he pointed out. With them you hit a leaky plastic ball. “It doesn’t weigh much, like the shovels, which makes it easier for children to handle. And it is true that it costs a little more to give it speed. But, in pickleball, most of the game takes place in the non-volley zone, with very long drops and rallies until you have the opportunity to look for a more powerful hit ”.

The score in the matches – which are set “in advance to the best of three sets of 11, 15 or 21 points” – it also has a special characteristic that makes it “different” from any other racquet or shovel sport, bringing it closer to volleyball. “It is counted by so many achieved but, in case the pair that is serving fails, the rival does not add that point directly but has to win it with a new consecutive point. Furthermore, if the player who serves makes a service error, instead of having a second chance -the average in paddle tennis or tennis- it passes to his partner, who assumes responsibility for the service ”.

APIKNA has been created after viewing the “boom” that this sport has had in the United States and the creation of a European Federation and a Spanish Association. “The United States is already very consolidated, with competitions and the matches being broadcast as if they were tennis or paddle tennis,” Rodríguez said. In recent years it has spread throughout Spain, but it had not yet arrived here. Our goal is to make it known, spread it and try to expand its practice. And hopefully in time, depending on the acceptance, we will have members like a sports club and it will have its own federation, as is already being processed in other places ”.

For now, on January 3, 4 and 5, the association will organize a Clinic for players “between 9 and 14 years old” in Zizur. Those interested can sign up at [email protected]