52 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MARCH 2020
Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the nation for a reason.
Created in 1965, pickleball hasn't been around long, but that
hasn't stopped the sport from quickly becoming a household name.
Today, the game is played by people of all ages, fitness levels, and
backgrounds.
Yes! This means YOU can join us on the court.
• According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA),
in 2016, there were 1.57 million casual players who played from
one to seven times a year and 930,000 frequent players who
played eight or more times a year.
• SFIA observed that out of the casual players, 63 percent were
male and 37 percent were female. Out of the frequent players,
73 percent were male and 27 percent were female. Also, during
SFIA's study, they noticed that 13 percent of casual participants
and 75 percent of frequent participants were 55 and older.
• In 2017, there were approximately 5,000 pickleball venues and
over 15,000 courts covering every U.S. state and Canadian
province.
• In USAPA's 2018 Facts & Highlights, they reported 30,803
memberships at a rate of 720 new members each month. They
also reported a total of 20,933 pickleball courts.
• According to SFIA there are now a total of 3.3 million pickleball
players with about 20 percent of the participants being 65 or
older.
Now that we can all agree that pickleball's future looks bright, it's
time to pick up a paddle and head to the court for some much-needed
fun! ~ Marty Key, keeksmail@yahoo.com
Pickleball
Congratulations Bronze winners Bruce Lewis and Perry White.
The Catalina Spa USAPA sponsored tournament in February
