On Monday, Jan. 7, 48 pickleball players came together for the opening matches in the second season of the Boothbay Region YMCA Pickleball League. When the online sign-up for the season had been posted before Christmas, organizers Andy Hollon and Susan Kirby were surprised by the speed with which the roster filled up.

“We’d run a trial league over four weeks around Thanksgiving 2023,” Hollon said. “We needed 32 players to make it work – four teams of eight players. The first 16 signed up quickly but after that it wasn’t clear whether we’d get there. Fortunately, we did, the season went ahead, and it was a great success. When we decided to do a second season, we expanded it from four weeks to six, and from four teams to six. But I wasn’t prepared for just how popular it was going to be. Registration was filled within days.”

According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, pickleball has been the fastest growing sport in America for the past three years; in 2023, some 8.9 million people were playing pickleball in the U.S., up from 4.8 million in 2022. And the demographic is getting younger: In 2021, the average age of pickleball players was 38.1 years old.

According to USA Pickleball, the national governing body for the sport, pickleball was invented in 1965 by three fathers on Bainbridge Island near Seattle, Washington, whose kids were bored with the usual summer activities. One of the families had a badminton court in their yard but, unable to find racquets and shuttlecocks, they sent the kids off with ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. Before long, the parents had started playing. Soon, they were writing rules, inviting the neighbors for friendly tournaments, and creating plywood pickleball paddles that resembled oversized ping-pong paddles. Within five years, they had formed a pickleball corporation and, in 1975, when articles appeared in two national publications, they began selling basic pickleball starter kits.

The popularity of pickleball, said Boothbay Region YMCA Chief Executive Officer Andy Hamblett, is because it is “open to just about anyone. You can learn the basics quickly, and even people who are new to it can enjoy a good game.”

Hollon, a USA Pickleball Ambassador, agrees. “It doesn’t hurt to have a degree of athleticism, but it’s not critical, and because of that it cuts through all ages. A 75-year-old grandfather can play his 18-year-old granddaughter and win. And it’s not in any way elitist. At the Y we have pickleball players who are retired professionals, working fishermen, recent college graduates ... all sorts. The Y is truly the melting pot of Boothbay, and pickleball has become the melting pot of the Y.”

A typical pickleball game lasts between 10 and 15 minutes, and a match in league play is a best two out of three games. The Y encourages players of all skill levels to take part, although, Hollon said, players of similar skill level tend to play against each other recreationally.

“That’s one of the reasons we decided on the particular format for the Leagues,” he said. “We wanted to bring together the players from across all the groups who play locally, regardless of skill level, so that everyone could connect with the bigger local pickleball community. Each team has a mix of skill levels, and players compete against players of similar skill level from the other teams. The results from all the matches, regardless of the level, count the same toward the teams’ overall results/standings, so everyone is pulling hard for their teammates to do well.”

Hamblett said there are now about 50 pickleball players who play regularly, year-round at the Y, and in the summer that number will more than double. Four indoor pickleball courts are available for recreational play Monday through Friday from 8 to 12, and eight courts are available at that same time on Saturdays. Susan Kirby runs training clinics at other times: Learn to Play Pickleball once a month, and Skills and Drills once a week. Some players have their own paddles and balls, but there is always equipment available for those who don’t. For Y members, recreational court time is free, while for the leagues there is a nominal entry fee per player.

“One of the great things about pickleball is that it’s so social,” Hollon said.

Hamblett concurs, “Pickleball comes with a lot of noise, but it’s good noise: Laughter, banter, jokes. It’s a great way to get exercise. It can be competitive. But the biggest thing is the social aspect ... there really is a pickleball community.”

For more information about pickleball at Boothbay Region YMCA: (207) 633-2855; www.boothbayregionymca.org