Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard of the fast growing, popular new sport pickleball. Interesting name right? If you’re wanting to join your friends from your off-campus housing by UVU in pickleball, read this article!
Pickleball is a very fast growing sport, potentially because it is the easiest racquet sport. Pickleball is a lot like ping pong. The rules are somewhat similar, and the paddles are shaped very similarly as well. The ball is much bigger than a ping pong ball and has small holes in it. Unlike ping pong, pickleball is played on a court instead of playing off of a table. If you think tennis looks fun but a bit too hard for you, pickleball may be your new favorite sport
Rules of Pickleball
● The first side to 11 with a two point lead wins. If you hit 11 but don’t have a two point lead, you go to 15. If at 15 you don’t have a two point lead, you go to 21. Whoever hits 21 first wins.
● Only the serving team can score points.
● You must serve underhand, and you can’t serve off of a bounce.
● You have to serve diagonally.
● If the ball hits you (besides your wrist or fingers) then you lose the volley.
● The ball needs to bounce once on each side. So when you serve it bounces in your court once, and then goes over the net and bounces once in your opponent's court.
● The ball needs to stay within the boundaries. You serve from the baseline, and your serve can’t land in the no volley zone, also called the kitchen.
● The kitchen is the area within 7 feet of the net on each side. (Not the same thing as the kitchen in your housing for students by UVU)
Sounds fun right?! It’s time to give pickleball a try. Grab your friends and roommates from your off-campus housing by UVU and head to a court! Believe it or not, with pickleball’s growing popularity, there are courts all over orem.
● Club Pickleball USA - Pickleball courts 5 minutes away from Summerwood Student Living, close to Walmart and other UVU student housing.
● Nasty Erne Nelson’s Pickleball Gym - Pickleball gym just 3 minutes away from Summerwood and near Orem Elementary School.
What more reason do you need to get out of your college apartment in Orem than trying out pickleball with some friends? If you try it, let us know how it went!
