Skip to player
Skip to main content
Skip to footer
Search
Connect
Watch fullscreen
Like
Comments
Bookmark
Share
Add to Playlist
Report
What is pickleball and how did it end up in Warrnambool?
The Standard
Follow
4/9/2025
Pickleball is a growing phenomenon across the world and has found a home in Warrnambool.
Category
🥇
Sports
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
Pickleball. It's the game with the funny name taking the world by storm. By now you've probably
00:07
heard of it, but for those living under a rock, pickleball is played with paddles and a ball,
00:12
and is a cross between tennis, badminton and table tennis. It's just about as inclusive as
00:17
a sport can be and caters to all ages and abilities. First invented in America in 1965,
00:24
pickleball's popularity has enjoyed a huge growth all around the world in the past 10 years. Here
00:29
in the South West, the sport has found a home at the Warrnambool Stadium, and it isn't going anywhere.
00:34
It's really going well, it's growing, so we're over 100 members now, and we have our tournament
00:40
coming up also in June, which has got 250, which is 30 more on last year and still got
00:45
a month or so to go, so we're expecting 300 people here for our tournament. And still
00:49
growing as a club, so a lot of people come down and try, and we're still yet to sort of
00:53
get some key events happening as well, which will happen in the future, so look forward
00:57
on that and growing even further with the young ones.
01:01
Inclusivity is at the forefront of pickleball's popularity. It's a game for everyone, no matter
01:06
what their age or skill level.
01:08
So, you can be a six-year-old, fifteen-year-old, fifty-year-old, and if we've got a player
01:14
against eight or six, does that mean?
01:16
That must be a good player, or be able to hit the ball, or actually be competitive in
01:20
the game. And the smallest court actually brings a nice social environment during the game as
01:25
well, so it's a lot more sort of talking to each other and having a bit of fun whilst
01:29
you're having a game.
01:30
Already one of the biggest clubs in Victoria, Warrnambool Pickleball will host its second
01:36
Warrnambool Pickleball Open in June. Dave says the tournament is the second biggest in Victoria,
01:42
and predicts a bright future for the club.
01:46
But how did Pickleball find its way to the seaside town of Warrnambool, three hours southwest
01:51
from Melbourne? Well, that was thanks to the city's renowned sporting identity, Val Bertrand,
01:56
who fell in love with the sport while visiting America in 2017.
02:00
From there, I couldn't stop thinking about how it would be just great for the Neppel Stadium,
02:08
and how great it would be to utilise the space when it's on quiet times, and provide an activity
02:16
for people who were moving, say, out of tennis or out of badminton, weren't just getting too
02:21
hard to play against the young ones. And then they didn't want to retire from sport.
02:26
So I just thought it was just a no brainer for that. And then for all abilities, it didn't
02:33
matter whether you could play well, whether you miss the ball, you have a laugh and a giggle,
02:38
and you didn't have to bust your gut. I just thought, oh, this would be just wonderful.
02:45
Val brought her new fascination back to Warrnambool. And with a lot of hard work, it wasn't too
02:50
long before it took off.
02:52
To me, the game was always going to grow into a game for everyone. And I think there is a
02:58
place for it for the professionals. The only thing that I'm, you know, most conscious of
03:04
that it's not the top 10%, the good players that make a club. It's the 90% that come and
03:11
enjoy it and at all different levels of ability. And that has to be protected.
03:17
One thing's for sure, the game with a funny name is an obscure sport no more.
03:23
One thing's for sure, the game is a great game. The game is the game series, and it's
03:36
a cool game. I don't want to play I love that game. I think it's for sure, but it's
03:39
a fun game. I would enjoy the game series of sports betting and competitive betting and
03:43
the game series and the game series. I'll watch that game series and the game series
Recommended
1:58
|
Up next
Warrnambool under 16 football, August 21, 2022, Warrnambool Standard
The Standard
8/18/2022
1:02
Pickleball craze hits Queanbeyan
The Canberra Times
3/16/2024
1:26
What the Hell Is Bubble Ball?
VICE
12/4/2017
1:19
South Warrnambool 15&U reserves netball, August 2022, Warrnambool Standard
The Standard
8/21/2022
0:52
Netball: South Warrnambool's Emma Buwalda
The Standard
4/7/2024
0:20
Teqball: How does the sport that crosses football and table tennis work? | Euronews Answers
euronews (in English)
10/15/2018
1:58
South Warrnambool under 16 football grand final, August 2022, Warrnambool Standard
The Standard
8/21/2022
1:30
Netball: Warrnambool recruit Kasey Barling
The Standard
8/19/2024
2:06
Warrnambool's Hillary and Emma Hannagan - Sept 29, 2023
The Standard
9/29/2023
1:37
HFNL netball: Warrnambool's Kasey Barling
The Standard
6/15/2025
1:23
Bega Community NAIDOC event hosted at a Far South Coast high school
Bega District News
yesterday
0:17
BFNL inter-league coach Simon Rosa and co-captains Jack Reaper and Lachlan Tardrew.
Bendigo Advertiser
yesterday
2:15
BFNL inter-league coach Simon Rosa announces leaders.
Bendigo Advertiser
yesterday
0:35
BFNL inter-league training, 2025.
Bendigo Advertiser
yesterday
1:05
Bega-Littleton friendship honours unique sister city bond between Australia and America
Bega District News
7/4/2025
1:12
South Coast storm hits Tathra, 2-7-25, Bega District News
Bega District News
7/2/2025
1:14
Intergenerational program at Garden Village
Port Macquarie News
6/27/2025
2:27
Great White Shark spotted in St Georges Basin
Port Macquarie News
10/10/2024
1:46
Water Horse (2024) Official Trailer
Port Macquarie News
8/28/2024
0:27
CCTV captures would-be thief trying car doors in residential Warrnambool
The Standard
yesterday
1:32
Gavin Wanganeen speaks at SWHC for NAIDOC
The Standard
2 days ago
0:32
CCTV released of alleged criminal damage at Warrnambool law firm
The Standard
4 days ago
3:21
Football: Hampden under-23 coach Adam Dowie
The Standard
7/5/2025
0:53
Football: Hamilton's Hunter van Someren Hampden U17 interleague
The Standard
7/5/2025
3:13
Football: Hampden under-19 women's footy coach Chris Meade
The Standard
7/5/2025