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A pickleball newsletter, The Dink, recently featured a report from Apple that makes our sport look good. The tech company has done a two-year survey of its Apple Watch users and unveiled the results with some fanfare. The poll is certainly not definitive although it sampled a quarter of a million of its ubiquitous tracking devices. Nevertheless, considering the time span and the detail it developed, it is another encouraging barometer of pickle's popularity and benefits. Apple found that among its users pickleball is the most-played racquet sport, ahead of tennis. Pickleball players are a bit older, on average than our "big brother." In the surveyed group, the average age for tennis players was 45 versus 51 for pickle. Tennis led in one measure of health benefit: sustained heart rate: 152 compared to 143 for pickleball, both achieving a very beneficial level. And pickleballers tallied a bit longer for average length of play per session at 90 minutes versus 81. Although pickleball was invented in the Seattle region in the mid-60s, as it grew, it was considered a game for Florida senior communities before migrating to Texas and Arizona as pickle- havens. The Apple research suggests pickleball is coming back home to the West. The two top states for the Apple watch users? Utah and California. We don't need simply to compare our sport to tennis, or any other recreational activity. Those of us who play regularly know it is a wonderful way to keep active and socialize. So whether you choose an Apple Watch, a Fitbit, a Galaxy or any other monitor, exercise regularly and use the feedback such devices provide to get us out of the house. On a local note, the Beaumont Pickleball Club hosted a tournament recently and Sun Lakes was well-represented. In fact, our members took a gold in Mixed Doubles (kudos Pat and Michelle Carter) and silver in Mens Doubles (way to go Mark Oster and Steve Martin.) Speaking of tournaments, the biennial National Senior Games took place this summer. With the venue in Pittsburgh attendance was tilted toward the eastern half of the country. Pickleball was a big hit, with over 1,500 participants playing 2778 matches, almost equally divided between men and women. Held in the convention center, this was the largest indoor pickleball event ever conducted. The 2025 Games will be in Des Moines; still a trek for Californians but working its way nearer. Perhaps some Sun Lakers will be able to attend. For information on our club play, call Judy Luna at (949) 929-2390. See you on the courts! Pickleball Club | SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | DECEMBER 2023 | 59