November 25, 2022
Pickleball is a recent sport in France even though it appeared several years ago across the Atlantic. If you want to try your hand at a racket game without having the assets of a tennis star, this is the discipline for you. Presentation.
Created in the United States in 1965 on the island of Bainbridge near Seattle, pickleball first consisted of “playing with table tennis paddles and a plastic ball”, can we read on the site of the French Pickleball Federation. Then the discipline was refined. After having “placed the net at the height of a badminton net and volleyed over the net”the creators have “found that the ball bounced well on a solid ground surface, so the net was lowered and the rules evolved into the sport” current.
Today therefore, pickleball combines elements of tennis, padel, badminton and table tennis. To play, there is a racket each and a perforated plastic ball on a badminton court above a tennis-type net. In general, this sport is practiced in doubles but can also be played in singles, indoors and outdoors.
Why Pickleball? Unlike sports that are named for their characteristics, such as basketball for “basket” in French, “Legend has it that Pickle (Cornichon) was the family dog and that he never stopped chasing the ball”.
Interest and benefits. This sport was created with the idea of allowing everyone, whatever their level or age, to master a minimum of the basics and therefore have fun quickly. Thus in particular “positioning and tactics of ball play are more important than power and speed”, specifies the French Federation. Results, “Those with good hand-eye coordination and a good understanding of the sport’s strategy can effectively compete against more agile and powerful opponents.”
This sport also offers significant and quickly acquired health benefits. It is a good cardio activity and its practice makes it possible to “progressively improve flexibility, balance and muscle strength”, specifies the World Pickleball Federation.
In addition, cognitive health is also stimulated since the practice of this activity promotes “development of mnemonic functions by learning to give the scores, to keep the score in memory and by developing strategies”, she continues. Concentration is also stimulated.
So, do not hesitate to look for the club closest to you.
