Pickleball 101
The Culture + Entertainment will be Calgary’s next great City neighborhood, the next chapter in downtown life and an engine of development and tourism in a dynamic, evolving city. Best of all, it will be Calgary’s gathering place and destination, a neighbourhood of belonging and celebration for all.
Pixel Park is one of the District’s many gathering spaces, a pixel-themed paradise that opened in October 2023 and has been getting people outside to interact ever since. A compilation of activities and opportunities for connection, Pixel Park is home to a vibrant purpose-built pickleball court.
We caught up with Sumit and Clara from PicklePerfect Coaching to learn more about the sport and how to play.
About Pickleball
Q: Pickleball has grown in popularity over the last few years but has actually been around for quite some time. Can you give us a little history/background on the sport?
Pickleball was invented in 1965 in the USA. It started out on a badminton court with ping pong paddles. The net was lowered to roughly the height of a tennis net and paddles were made bigger to make the game more family friendly. Thus, pickleball in many ways is a fun fusion of tennis, table tennis and badminton! The first official rulebook was published in 1984. The sport started gaining traction in the 2010s but exploded in popularity during the pandemic and the sport experienced a growth rate of over 40% from 2020 to 2022. This surge has resulted in nearly 1 million Canadians playing pickleball regularly as of 2022.
Q: Why do you think pickleball has become so popular and why should people try pickleball?
One of the reasons pickleball is so popular is that it’s easier to learn than most other sports. People with no racquet sport background can pick up a paddle, learn the rules and play a game within an hour of good coaching!
Due to the court being smaller than a tennis court, it is not as strenuous and therefore people of all ages are enticed by this sport! Also, as the sport is mainly played as doubles, it is very social, fun yet competitive at the same time!
Q: Pickleball often gets compared to tennis, what differentiates the two sports?
The main differences between the two sports are the court size, rules of the game and the equipment used.
A pickleball court is nearly ⅓ the size of a tennis court and is played with light paddles and low-bouncing plastic balls. Tennis is played with a larger, heavier racquet and a rubber-covered ball. The major rule differences are that there is no double fault when serving in pickleball and you can only serve underhand. Unlike in tennis, the serving team cannot serve and volley because of the unique pickleball two-bounce rule (see rules section below). This gives the advantage to the receiving team in pickleball, whereas in tennis the serving team has the upper hand.
Pickleball Rules
Here are the most important rules to know when playing pickleball.
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The first two shots of a pickleball rally have to bounce before the ball can be hit. The receiving team must let the serve bounce once before returning and the serving team must let the return bounce once on their side of the court before hitting it back.
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Part of the pickleball court referred to as The Kitchen, is a 7 foot zone on both sides of the net where players are not allowed to volley the ball. This means players cannot hit the ball out of the air when standing in this zone.
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Serving must be behind the line, underhand, cross-court, into the receiving team’s court.
Court + Equipment
The game is played with a paddle (think of an oversized ping pong paddle) and a plastic perforated ball on a badminton-sized court with the height of the net slightly less than a tennis net.
Pickleball paddles and balls.
Pickleball court at Pixel Park in The Culture + Entertainment District.
How to Start
A toss decides which team serves in the beginning. The serving team then decides their first server. This player, also called server 1, then starts the rally by serving from the right-hand side of the court diagonally into the right-hand side of the opponent’s half. The receiving team must let the ball bounce once before returning and the serving team must let the return bounce once on their side of the court before hitting it back. After that the ball can be volleyed back or hit back after one bounce.
Player Positions and Winning a Point
If the serving team wins the rally, they get a point. When server 1 wins a point, they switch sides with server 2 and continue serving – if they lose the rally, the serve goes to server 2 and the same applies, with the serve going to the opposing team’s server 1 (player on the right side) when the rally is lost.
Scoring System
The score consists of 3 numbers - the serving team’s score, followed by the receiving team’s score, followed by the server number (1 or 2). For example, if the score is 5-8-1 it means the serving team has 5 points, the receiving team has 8 points, and it is server number 1 of the serving team who is serving. Each game starts with a score of 002, and the person on the right becomes server 2, so if the point is lost the serve will go to the opposing team instead of a second server (this makes it more fair for the team that receives first).
The first team to 11 points wins the game.
Terminology
This player has just hit a volley - leaning over the kitchen line to attack.
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A non-attackable ball that lands in the kitchen.
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When both the serving team players have lost their serve, the serve is awarded to the receiving team. The receiving team now becomes the serving team and vice versa.
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The act of hitting the ball out the air without letting it bounce.
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Part of the pickleball court, a 7 foot zone on both sides of the net where players are not allowed to volley the ball.
Where to Play
The Culture + Entertainment District is home to Pixel Park, which has a purpose-built pickleball court open all year round!
No gear? No problem! Paddles and balls are available to borrow from The C+E Player Hub Friday - Sunday from 12 – 6pm.
Location: 314 12 Avenue SE
About PicklePerfect Coaching
Clara
Sumit
PicklePerfect Coaching is run by IPTPA-certified pickleball instructors Clara and Sumit. They teach beginner to intermediate level players in small group/individual lessons, building from the base up and having fun along the way!