Up and coming sport of pickleball is changing lives in village near Lancaster

Pickleball, a cross between tennis, table tennis and badminton, is amongst the fastest-growing sports in the UK.

The group in Burton-in-Kendal received a grant of £700 from Westmorland and Furness Council, made available via new software to make funds accessible to small groups, and used the money to buy pickleball nets, paddles (the bats they play with) and balls. And now they’re going from strength to strength.

“Although it was a small grant in lots of ways, it’s gone far,” said Jeanie Christian, the Burton-in-Kendal Pickleball co-ordinator.

"There are now ten sessions of pickleball at week at Burton Memorial Hall with over 100 people attending the sessions, from children to those in their 70s.

“This grant has changed the lives of some of our members, from people who have never played a sport, to those whose mental health has been significantly changed for the better.

"The group is not only a sport but a social group and many friends have been made. This has changed the face of our village and beyond.”

Stuart Waller is a regular pickleball player now, but he had never done anything like this before hearing about the sessions in Burton.

He said: “Most of us are retired and that's the beauty of it, that people that are retired can be active. It's exercise, it's fun, we laugh more than anything else. It's not a heavy sport. Other people do play it that way.

"Then there are competitions, leagues and things like that but that doesn't interest me. I just like the fun of it.”

Frances Fall is another regular who fits pickleball sessions around time playing tennis.

“It's short and quick,” she said. “You're on, off, on, off. It's good fun. It's on in the morning and our tennis is always in the afternoon.

"If it's raining and your tennis is off, then it's handy to come here.”

The club has even managed to loan its equipment out to other nearby pickleball groups who are starting up until they can secure funding to buy their own. Those clubs are now thriving too.

Coun Virginia Taylor, Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet member for Sustainable Communities and Localities, added: “This grant is a great example of the council’s Community Power strategy in action – communities know how they can best use small amounts of money for local projects to make a real difference for where they live.”