{"id":22378,"date":"2025-05-14T00:53:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T06:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=22378"},"modified":"2025-05-13T21:55:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T03:55:55","slug":"a-growing-passion-for-pickleball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/a-growing-passion-for-pickleball\/","title":{"rendered":"A Growing Passion for Pickleball"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mike McKenna<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Pickleball was invented in the Northwest, so it was only a matter of time before it caught on in Idaho.
\nFirst created back in 1965 by some bored families on Bainbridge Island in Washington, the sport has really caught on recently. Pickleball has been the fastest growing sport in the country for several years and the Wood Rive Valley is proof.
\n\u201cPickleball has definitely arrived in the Valley,\u201d Lee Sponaugle said. \u201cWe have a really great pickleball community here.\u201d
\nLee is a nationally-ranked player and president of the Wood River Pickleball Alliance (WRPA). The former tennis player used to think pickleball was \u201cjust a fad.\u201d Then he played and, like so many others, Lee quickly got hooked on the sport.
\nIt\u2019s estimated that nearly 20 million Americans played pickleball last year alone. The local WRPA league itself has nearly 200 members. And it doesn\u2019t take a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist to figure out why pickleball is so popular.
\n\u201cPickleball is the every person\u2019s sport,\u201d Adam Taylor, WRPA\u2019s vice president explained.
\nFeaturing small courts, short games, light paddles and soft, forgiving pickleballs, it\u2019s the rare sport where people of all ages and just about any physical ability can learn to play and have fun rather quickly. Pickleball is also a very social sport, which is a big part of its appeal.
\n\u201cMost pickleballers are just out to have fun, to get some exercise and be social,\u201d Lee said. \u201cThey\u2019re very welcoming and you just have to play once to feel like you\u2019re a pickleball player and part of the sport.\u201d
\nThe Wood River Valley now offers pickleball options year-round. The Blaine County Recreation District, or \u201cBCRD,\u201d has indoor courts in Hailey offering leagues and clinics. The WRPA has an outdoor summer league at Atkinson Park in Ketchum and indoors during the winters at Gravity Fitness in Hailey. Adam and others also lead free clinics for players of all abilities most Friday mornings.
\nThere\u2019s no doubt about it, people have gone crazy for pickleball and the Wood River Valley is no different.
\n\u201cThe pop-pop-pop sound is a beacon,\u201d Adam said. \u201cIt\u2019s the sound of something fun happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the local pickleball leagues, the Wood River Valley now hosts three annual events that draw players from far and wide. In May, the WRPA hosts its Summer Kick-off Tournament. In August, the MSCL Pickleball Bash is held at The Valley Club. The star-studded fundraiser includes legends in rackets sports like Mats Wilander and John McEnroe. In September, the Sun Valley Pickleball Classic attracts some of the best players from across the country to the cozy confines of the historic resort. Find out more at WoodRiverPickleball.org.
\nAnd don\u2019t forget to get your tickets for the return of the Chamber Awards Banquet before they sell out. The popular event will be held on Thursday, May 29th from 6-8 p.m. at The Senior Connection. Find out more at ValleyChamber.org or call 208-788-3484.<\/p>\n

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By Mike McKenna Pickleball was invented in the Northwest, so it was only a matter of time before it caught on in Idaho. First created back in 1965 by some bored families on Bainbridge Island in Washington, the sport has really caught on recently. Pickleball has been the fastest growing sport in the country for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":479,"featured_media":10323,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,38],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22378","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chamber-corner","8":"category-sponsored"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/479"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22378"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22380,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22378\/revisions\/22380"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}