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Staff writer
thehutchinsoncollegian@gmail.com
Pickleball has become one of the fastest growing sports in the United States within the last three or four years.
According to the Association of Pickleball Professionals, in 2023 there were a recorded 36.5 million pickleball players in the United States. Nowadays there are pickleball courts everywhere, even on the Hutchinson Community College campus, in the new green space north of Gowans Stadium.
Camre Haumont, a sophomore from Fairfield, recently started a campus pickleball club with the help of sponsor, Miranda Engelken. Haumont said he started the club to give students the opportunity to connect and utilize the brand new facilities on campus.
The club’s first meeting took place on Sept. 13, and 23 students attended. The club is planning to meet at least once a week and wants to offer opportunities for students to learn how to play, but other meetings to be more tournament style for competitive participants.
At the moment, there is not any pickleball equipment (paddles or wiffle balls) available on campus for students to reserve or borrow. At Walmart, pickleball paddles range from $8 to $45 and balls are sometimes included.
If you are interested in trying pickleball here are the basic rules and guidelines, according to USA Pickleball to get you started:
The Serve: The first serve that takes place on either side of the court should start on the right side. The ball must be struck below waist level and hit diagonally crosscourt. If a point is scored by the serving side, then the next serve must take place on the opposite side, the server keeps serving back and forth on either side until they commit a fault. If playing doubles then the partner serves until they commit a fault.
Scoring: Points can only be scored when the team is serving. Normal games are played to 11, and you must win by two points.
Bounce Rule: The ball must bounce once before the receiving team can hit a serve and then the serving team must allow the ball to bounce once before hitting. After that the ball may be hit with or without one bounce.
“The Kitchen”: This is a non volleying area that is around 7 feet on either side of the net. If you cross into this zone, it is automatically a fault. This rule is in place to prevent slams.
Faults: A fault is any action that takes place that violates a rule. A fault by the receiving team results in a point for the other team, and a fault by the serving team either results in the loss of a serve or side out.
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