Jill Schramm/MDN Bill Thomas, left, and Hunter Rice close in on the ball during a pickleball game at the Minot Family YMCA March 10.

Pickleball has been called one of the fastest growing sports in America, and it certainly is catching on quickly in the Minot area.

Played with a low net, paddles and a plastic ball, pickleball has had its zone lines sharing space on a number of basketball and tennis courts, and pickleball enthusiasts in Minot gained their own court in Riverside Park last fall.

“It’s pretty easy to get hooked on it,” said Kevin Yale, a pickleball player in Minot.

“What makes it very appealing is you can learn it pretty quickly,” added Briselda Hernandez, another avid pickleball player in Minot. “It can be a low-impact sport and it can be as aggressive as you want it to be or as social as you want it to be. It really just caters to everyone.”

Pickleball has been popular among seniors because of how adaptable it is to anyone. Yale recalled playing in Florida with a 91-year-old gentleman who played a pretty good game.

In fact, snowbirds are credited with introducing the game to Minot after playing it in states such as Florida, Texas, and Arizona.

Yale, who had been a college tennis player, learned about pickleball several years ago after hearing that people were playing the game at Leach Park in Minot.

“So I rode my motorcycle down there one day. I thought, ‘I’ve got to go see check this out.’ I went down there and I just kind of stood along the fence,” he recalled. “I thought, ‘I think I can play this game.’ And so, I came and played.”

He said the game started with a small group of players in Minot and has grown significantly. It’s hard to know how many players there might be in the area, but a dedicated group of about 25 players has been meeting during the winter to play at the Minot Family YMCA, which allotted time and converted space on a basketball court.

The YMCA hosts pickleball on Sundays from 12-3 p.m. and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-10 p.m.

“We had a lot of people stop just to watch and observe and then some just jump in that same day,” Hernandez said. “That’s kind of the nature of the game when it comes to open play. No one gets turned away. You just join and then again, you play as you’d like, whether it’s more competitive or more social.”

Hernandez said there are others who use the YMCA at different times, or use Cameron Indoor Tennis Courts in Minot in the winter and tennis courts in parks in the summer. Minot has three pickleball courts at Riverside Park, and Leach Park has two tennis courts with pickleball zone lines. Players can also be found in area small towns, including some who have taped pickleball lines on old gymnasium floors to play year-round.

The Cameron Indoor Tennis Center in Minot started open nights for pickleball on Fridays and allows pickleball players to make appointments to reserve courts whenever tennis courts are available for reservations.

Pickleball tournaments are held around North Dakota, with the size of the tournaments determined by the number of courts available. Grand Forks, Fargo, Williston, Bismarck, and Bottineau have all held tournaments.

Hernandez and her husband regularly travel to tournaments and have seen success there. Hernandez said their first experience with a tournament was in Bismarck in 2020.

“It was just another chance to play pickleball. That’s really how we saw it,” she said. “It’s another chance to play with different people and play in a competitive scene. We did not win on that one, but it was really fun. We got a taste of it. We’re like, we want to keep doing this.”

Hernandez said there’s a bond among pickleball players in the state, and they support each other’s tournaments.

“You do build a sense of community,” Hernandez said of the camaraderie that forms as people pick up partners or play against different players from other communities. Pickleball can be a singles sport but typically is played as doubles.

Hernandez and her husband became hooked on pickleball after a friend invited them to play. Now they carry their paddles with them when they travel because one can commonly find courts and pick-up games around the country.

Players from several states, as far away as Georgia, have stopped in Minot to play while traveling through. One fall, a singer with the New Christy Minstrels, performing at Norsk Hostfest, joined in the local pickleball play.

Yale said the sport is popular because the equipment can be inexpensive, courts are easy to chalk out and rules aren’t complicated.

A background in tennis or racquetball can be helpful in pickleball, although not required to be a good player.

Hunter Rice, a 17-year-old tennis and pickleball player in Minot, said he appreciates that pickleball is less strenuous, making it fun to play even after a tiring day.

“It’s just different,” he said. “It’s fun because there’s a lot more close play rather than staying back and hitting hard.”

Hernandez said the sport remains fairly new at competitive and pro levels, so the sport’s techniques and strategies continue to be developed.

“It’s growing and it’s going to keep growing,” said Yale, who recently taught pickleball at Minot State University’s Lifelong Learning Institute and helped with a one-day pickleball training at the YMCA.

YMCA members with an interest in pickleball are welcome to stop by on open court days and watch or join in. During the summer, anyone can check out games at the parks. A phone app is available that lists when and where local people are meeting up to play. For newcomers wanting to be in the know, the best place to start is the Facebook page for Minot Pickleball.