Pickleball is gaining traction in Eureka.
Eureka Parks and Recreation supervisor Luke Hollman said more players have been coming to the Timbers of Eureka to play the sport after the recreation center reopened in July.
The Timbers, 1 Coffey Park Lane, closed in mid-March because of concerns about the spread of COVID-19, and it closed again on Oct. 13 after it was discovered a pickleball player had tested positive for the virus, but reopened the next day after the building was sanitized.
Hollman said the pickleball courts remained closed until Oct. 21, but players are coming back.
“(Before March) we would average around five to maybe eight (pickleball) players a day,” Hollman said before the latest closure. “Now, we’re seeing upwards around 20 plus a day.”
Pickleball is a racquet sport described as a mixture of tennis, badminton and table tennis.
Hollman said courts at the Timbers are open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. He said the courts are first come, first serve.
Hollman said before reopening in July, courts were available three days a week from 9 a.m. to noon.
“We had no choice but to really accommodate them and open up more pickleball time for them to come in and play because we’ve had so much demand for it,” he said.
Fall tourney
Hollman said the Parks Department has held a tournament in January for the last three years the sport was available at the Timbers and another one is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2021.
A Sept. 27 tournament was added because of the increase in players.
Hollman said the fall tournament had 12 teams with 24 players.
Taylor Leone and Anthony Barringhaus won first place, and Molly Root and Jeff Jones took second while Cathy Hatfield and Lonnie Neckermann finished third.
Hatfield, 70, of Pacific said she started playing at the Timbers about a year and a half ago.
“I was a tennis player in my younger years, and my older sister kept saying ‘Cathy, you really ought to try pickleball,’” she said.
Hatfield went to watch one game and made her mind up.
“I was hooked immediately,” she said.
Hatfield said she quickly adjusted to pickleball because of her tennis background.
“If you ever played tennis, you can pick up a pickleball paddle and you’ll know what to do,” she said. “My experience playing tennis helped me a lot. It wasn’t like I was a beginner.”
Hatfield said she was drawn to the sport for a couple of reasons.
“It is a fun game, No. 1, and the people that you meet are great people,” she said.
Hatfield referred to her fellow players as a second family, which is starting to expand.
“The pickleball family at the Timbers has grown,” she said. “That’s the great thing about it – you meet wonderful people who love the game as much as you do, and they’re nice people, so they become like family.”
Hatfield said she believes the increase in players is because of the dedicated courts at the Timbers and because many area courts have closed because of health concerns.
Hatfield said she can be found at the Timbers playing five or six days a week.
“I’m just in love with it,” she said. “I’m in love with the game. I’m in love with the people and the exercise is awesome.”
Hollman said Eureka has three pickleball courts at the Timbers and two more courts at Lions Park, 340 Bald Hill Road. He said the Lions Park courts also can be used for tennis, and that those courts have lights to allow for evening games.
“With the COVID restrictions, we can have up to 30 (people) in our gymnasium,” Hollman said.
Hollman said because of health concerns, players need to bring their own equipment because the department is not making rentals available because of the pandemic.
Hollman said equipment can be found at sporting goods outlets and other stores that carry athletic equipment, such as Walmart. He also said those interested in the game can go to pickleballcentral.com.
Hollman said veteran players typically find a paddle that complements their playing style.
“There’s a paddle for control, power,” he said. “It’s something that once you learn and you start learning the basics and the fundamentals of the game, you kind of can make those adjustments to make your game better.”
Hatfield said she believes anyone of any age can play the game.
“You can be very active on the pickleball court, or if you’re older and you have some aches and pains here and there, you don’t have to run around like a knucklehead,” she said. “You can have a nice, easy going kind of game and get great exercise.”
Hollman said pickleball can be played with doubles or singles and has more in-depth rules then tennis.
“But it’s very easy to learn,” he said. “It’s a fun, easy sport that can develop into something that turns into a quick, fast-paced competitive game for experienced players.”