Pickleball Scotland teamed up with sportscotland for their February communications theme #TrySomethingNew to introduce newcomers to our sport.
Pickleball Scotland (PBS) is delighted to be involved in the ‘Try Something New’ theme with sportscotland. We are a wholly voluntary Scottish Governing Body and formed PBS in 2018, gaining status as the National Governing Body for pickleball in Scotland in 2024.
Throughout February, we have embraced the ‘Try Something New’ theme by running various free come and try sessions and introducing people to the sport for the first time.
Since 2018 PBS has run several Scottish Opens, a Scottish National Championships (including age groups and skill levels), started Scotland wide leagues, developed a clear educational pathway, and built a strong member organisation with a clear identity working for the god of pickleball in Scotland.
We have 5 key values that we encourage all players to adhere to:
1. Be safe
Includes warming up, and keeping people physically and emotionally safe, and safeguarding issues
2. Have fun
Players and coaches are responsible for creating a fun and inclusive environment which promotes physical and mental and social health.
3. Game on!
Use the game to help people learn the tactics and skills – conditioned games can be invented
4. Be generous
As a player praise your opponents’ good shots; be generous with line calls – ‘if in doubt the ball is in’.
5. Efforts are successes!
Winning is not everything. Encourage building motivation towards improvement rather than winning.
Our Educational pathway begins with an Ambassador award. This award is aimed at enthusiastic pickleball players who want to help others enjoy the game. The training workshop provides participants with the skills to introduce the game to newcomers with the aim of encouraging them to come back and do more pickleball! We have also trained over 60 club coaches and are planning to launch senior club coach award this year. Judy Murray was one of our first qualified club coaches and said this:
“I have thoroughly enjoyed playing Pickleball and doing the training to become a PB Scotland club coach. It is a unique racket sport - with rules that encourage inclusive play that is not dominated by power. It is a combination of skills from various racket sports with its own strategy. It is certainly a fun sport that is bound to grow in popularity.”
We called on our list of 200 plus Ambassadors to provide opportunities around the country to ‘try something new’. So far, we know of opportunities at all points of the Scottish compass in Dornoch, Dundee, Dumbarton and Dumfries – and that is just the D’s. We have pickleball being introduced in community halls that have a badminton court, in leisure centres and in dedicated outdoor courts [but only in the summer of course]. Please do look out for these opportunities in your local area and visit our website to see ‘where to play’ near your own location https://www.pickleballscotland.org/where-to-play
Our chair, Mhairi Adam said:
“We are excited to be part of this sportscotland initiative. A massive high five to all the Pickleball Scotland Ambassadors for getting involved across the country. This is a game that can help people of all ages become more active”
One way of looking at our success is the appetite to compete in our national championships. We will hold them for the second time at the end of May 2025. The Nationals entry filled in one day with almost 400 competitors in open and age groups and in two skill categories. Many sports would be envious of that enthusiasm!
Why Pickleball?
Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the world (and probably Scotland!). It is a central net, rebound game played with a ball and paddle (like a hard racket) and was invented in the USA over 50 years ago by a family who named it after their dog Pickles (perhaps… and other theories about the name exist!).
Pickleball is a fun game that combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis. It is played over the area of a full badminton court with the net lowered to 36 inches at the sidelines
The family who invented the game wanted an activity that all generations of the family could play, and they adapted the rules of badminton to provide that ethos. All ages and skill levels can enjoy pickleball - it is a great introduction to racket skills for school kids and a wonderful game to extend people's racket playing careers.
All of this happens in a lively social atmosphere because the game is mostly played in a doubles format. Have a look at the video on our website to get an idea of the game https://www.pickleballscotland.org/how-to-play
If you have not yet tried pickleball then look out this week for ‘try something new’ opportunities in your area and look at our website for places you could play https://www.pickleballscotland.org
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