The attraction of the new sport Pickleball in Nghe An
Although it has only been in the province for a very short time, Pickleball has attracted many people of all ages to practice enthusiastically every day.
Special attraction
Just opened more than a month ago, but the Pickleball court cluster in Handico Vinh Tan Urban Area (Vinh City) has attracted hundreds of people to practice every day. Especially, during the time frames of 5am - 7am, 5pm - 8pm, in this court cluster there are 70 - 80 people, both competing and cheering, the sound of the ball and laughter resounding throughout a corner of the urban area.
According to Ms. Pham Thi Hang - the owner of this court cluster, she and her husband are both passionate about sports, her husband used to play table tennis, and she used to play badminton and tennis. After accidentally researching and updating, grasping information from the Internet and domestic and international sports associations and groups, she and her husband found that Pickleball has similarities with tennis, but the cost is lower and it is very easy to play, suitable for all ages. From there, they learned how to play and boldly invested in a court in Handico Vinh Tan Urban Area.
Up to now, although it has only been in operation for more than a month and a half, there are already 8 clubs regularly participating in training and competitions at this cluster of fields, each club has from 10 to 15 members. The membership of the clubs is very diverse, including both men and women, with many different professions and ages, in which the oldest person is 65 years old, the youngest is 7 years old.
Pickleball was born in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington (USA). Currently, this sport has become extremely popular in the US. In Vietnam, this sport was introduced in 2018, developed strongly in the past year, became a "phenomenon" and has spread quickly, attracting thousands of players.
According to Ms. Hang, the reason why Pickleball has such a strong appeal globally, as well as in our country, is because it is an easy-to-play, accessible sport that anyone can play. Not only that, investing in the field (can be played indoors, outdoors), equipment (rackets, nets)... is not too complicated, depending on the conditions and needs of the player.
Some characteristics of Pickleball:
- Pickleball racket is similar to table tennis racket but rectangular and larger. The ball used in this sport is made of plastic, round and smaller than the rattan ball.
- The way to play Pickleball is a combination of 3 sports: table tennis, badminton and tennis. Pickleball courts are usually built outdoors, with the same length and width as badminton courts, but the net is placed close to the ground like tennis courts, the lines are divided like the division of a table tennis table and there is a special area called "kitchen" (kitchen) in the middle of the two sides of the court. This is the area where players are not allowed to step into before the ball hits the ground and bounces, or to make direct shots.
- Pickleball's rules are also a cross between table tennis and tennis, you can hit the ball directly or let the ball touch the ground and then hit it. Pickleball can be played as singles or doubles, each match lasts for 3 sets. The team that reaches 11 points first and has a 2-point gap over the opponent wins. If both teams have the same score, the match will last until the score between the two teams reaches a 2-point gap.
The most interesting point of Pickleball is that it does not require much and strong movement like tennis or badminton, nor is it too difficult to operate like table tennis. People who have never played any sport can easily practice because it does not require too much technique.
Pickleball is not picky about gender or age, even people who have suffered minor sports injuries can choose this sport as a replacement. More importantly, this sport helps players release energy, relieve stress, improve health and bring joy and comfort every time they enter the Pickleball field.
According to Mr. Nguyen Trung Hai, residing in Trung Do ward (Vinh city) - who regularly participates in training and competing at the Pickleball Handico Vinh Tan court cluster since its opening, said: “In the past, I also played other sports such as table tennis and badminton, but since the Pickleball playground was opened, I spend almost every afternoon practicing this sport. I find it very attractive and engaging, very easy to get addicted to.
Ms. Le Thanh Tu, residing in Vinh Tan ward (Vinh city) shared: “I have been playing tennis for 3 years, so when I switched to Pickleball, I easily approached and absorbed the hitting techniques very quickly. The more I play, the more attractive it becomes because it does not require too much force, the player just needs to be patient, skillful, and flexible.”
To Grow Strong Pickleball
Realizing the popularity of Pickleball, recently, the sports management sector from central to local levels has also paid attention and made moves to develop this sport.
Having just returned from a Pickleball training course organized by the Department of Sports and Physical Training (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) in Hanoi, Mr. Vu Van Nam - Vice Principal of Nghe An High School for Gifted Sports and Physical Training said that this training course attracted nearly 200 sports officials from localities, showing the special attraction as well as the interest of the sports industry in this sport across the country.
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Also through this training session, it is known that the Vietnam Pickleball Federation will soon be established and this sport will also be included in the system of high-performance sports to participate in regional and continental tournaments.
Mr. Nam also said that although the province currently has only one Pickleball court cluster in Handico Vinh Tan Urban Area, with the reasonable cost of building a Pickleball court (from 30 million VND), Pickleball will quickly be invested in by many organizations and individuals in the province, not only in Vinh city but also in many districts and towns, thereby attracting more players, contributing to improving the sports movement and health training among all classes of people.
In the coming time, the Department of Culture and Sports needs to focus on propaganda and guidance so that everyone understands and chooses this sport, assigning staff in charge of guiding sports collaborators and people to play in accordance with the rules, safely and effectively. Along with that, it is necessary to consider bringing Pickleball into the provincial competition system, thereby gradually selecting excellent athletes to participate in the national tournament.
Mr. Vu Van Nam - Vice Principal of Nghe An High School for Gifted Sports
With the benefits that Pickleball brings, hopefully in the coming time, this sport will "cover" strongly, attracting more and more people of different ages to participate. Thereby, contributing to diversifying the province's mass sports.
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