PickleballENGLAND
By Karen Mitchell
DIRECTOR , PICKLEBALL ENGLAND
MOMENTUM IS BUILDING — SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITY
This map illustrates the 330 + places to play on the Pickleball England Club Locator , showing the growth over the past few years . At the end of our launch year in 2019 , we had 94 places to play and 1,115 members . At the end of March
2023 , those numbers are 329 (+ 250 percent ) and 4,180 (+ 275 percent ).
Each of those places to play is the result of the hard work of club leaders , often supported by county representatives and regional directors . The community that develops within the club is the result of people connecting with their inner child as they play this wonderful game and share laughter .
At the start of 2022 , we invested in a PR agency to harness the attention pickleball is getting in the USA and to create media opportunities here in the UK . This investment has paid off significantly . We have seen articles in most of the national newspapers and features on regional TV programs and radio . Every time there is an article , we see a spike in website traffic — particularly the club locator — and clubs receive more inquiries about learning to play .
Now our biggest challenge is keeping up with the demand for places to play . Clubs are bursting at the seams , creating the need to add new sessions . This takes a new level of commitment from the club leaders . Two such examples :
• London Pickleball , started by Louise Stephens in January 2020 , began with one session at one venue . Today , there are nine sessions a week over two venues in SW London and two sessions in Central / North London and the club regularly sets up additional sessions . London Pickleball is a pay-andplay group with no membership fees and no committee — a group of dedicated pickleball friends working together to manage the sessions and to coach players to play the soft game .
• South Suffolk Pickleball Club was started in January 2018 by Sue Nichol and is a fully constituted club with a committee . Sue is the chairperson and has led the club through the COVID-19 pandemic , which was tough on everyone , and it is now back to 80 members . The club runs
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