With a visor on, Debbie Head dashes around on the court, filling the gymnasium at Victoria West high school with squeaks from her tennis shoes.
Her teammate, Leona Cowper, of Goliad, works synchronously with her as the two competed in the women’s double during a match of pickleball on the third and final day of TAAF winter games in Victoria.
The two started playing together last fall and it was their first time competing in pickleball but Cowper said she competed in 2018 in tennis at College Station.
For Head, the most appealing thing about pickleball is the shorter court size, however, the smaller court also brings faster action, Head said.
Cowper said she plays tennis more regularly than pickleball but also agrees with Head that pickleball is more fun in a way because of the action.
“There is a lot of motion moving up and down, unlike tennis which has more baseline hitting,” Cowper said.
Mike Hoxie, president of Pickleball is Great, said he runs tournaments all over the country. Last year his company had 65 tournaments in 11 states with more than 10,000 players.
The city of Victoria hired Pickleball is Great to manage the pickleball event for the winter games.
“It went very well, we had the TAAF people to help welcome us to the games and it’s all gone very smoothly,” Hoxie said. “This year, we had just over 70 players coming for pickleball and only two of them are out of state.”
Finding its beginning in 1965, pickleball was designed as a backyard sport, Hoxie said. With elements of badminton, table tennis and regular tennis, the game resembles miniature tennis or oversized ping pong. The game is played with a wiffle ball and an oversized paddle with a net that is at the waist level.
“It feels a lot like you’re playing ping pong, but standing on the table,” Hoxie said. “The best part is it’s great for all ages and all levels of experience.”
The game has really risen in popularity over the last five years, Hoxie said. It’s gotten so large that there are now two separate professional leagues, such as the senior association as well as the parent organization of USA pickleball, Hoxie said.
“The city of Victoria is growing in their support of pickleball,” Hoxie said. “If there’s any interest, contact the parks and rec department, they’re working on programming for the summer and spring so that people can continue to find how fun it is.”
Janelle Williams came from Fulshear to compete in the games for the first time.
“I was a tennis player and it’s just a little easier game time commitment wise,” Williams said. “It’s a lot of fun, it’s a smaller court and it’s something easier I think to play coed, all ages can play and it’s fun.”
Duy Vu is the photo editor for the Victoria Advocate. You can reach him at 361-574-1204.
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