Our sporting students were able to build their skills in House Pickleball on Wednesday 18th June representing their House in the very first paddle sport House competition! Players from each of Bentsi-Enchill, Cadbury, Fox and Tubman took to the courts during co-co for a heated series of 18 games of seven minutes each.
The game borrows rules from tennis, badminton, and table tennis and essentially requires the two players to serve underhand and volley across the net, hitting the ball after no more than one bounce per side. The winner is declared by winning a two-point advantage out of a typical game of up to 11 points although there were some pretty high scores being racked up this afternoon!
Director of Sport, Simon Bradbury, commented, “House Pickleball is important because it’s a great introduction. None of these students today have played in House Tennis, we don’t allow the House Tennis players to play in House Pickleball, they have to choose between the two. So it’s a nice opportunity for those who are not selected for House Tennis; they still get a chance to represent their House on the courts through pickleball, it’s become really popular.”
The sport is offered as an option for all year groups in the Summer term Games lessons and is also available year-round through the co-curricular programme.
Oz (Year 8) who represented Tubman in today’s games considered his match, “It was quite difficult but when you get into the game it eases a bit. It is quite quick, as soon as the first serve goes it’s just back and forth, back and forth. I don’t play tennis but I like pickleball, I started playing pickleball here in Year 7; it’s honestly one of the best sports you can play! The court is a bit more manageable but you have to make sure you don’t hit too long, you need to be short but sharp and then you’ll get there.”
For those cheerful supporters who felt they may be bringing more enthusiasm than ability to the game, there was even a new language to learn! Pickleball players are known affectionately as ‘picklers’ and the game itself is also referred to as ‘Wiffleball Tennis’ named after the lightweight ball in use. A ‘flapjack’ is a type of shot requiring the ball to be slammed flat with the paddle, the ‘kitchen’ is the non-volley zone around the net and when picklers score or achieve a particular impressive shot they shout ‘Opa!’, a joyful shout of triumph in the Greek tradition!
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