Pickleball state trials in Wendouree

VICTORIAN pickleball team selection trials will be hosted by Ballarat Badminton ahead of June’s Battle of the Border competition against New South Wales.

This Saturday, 8 May between 10am and 4pm, approximately 50 pickleball players from across the state, including a few locals, will try out for the squad.

The community is invited to head up to the Wendouree Stadium to watch and cheer the athletes on.

Ballarat Badminton Association’s Rhonda Cator said the opportunity to host the Pickleball Victoria event has been a “pleasant surprise.”

“We recently posted on Facebook that our pickleball player numbers were increasing, so that’s why they asked us to host it,” she said.

“They want to get us up and running in a more serious way because as a dedicated badminton stadium we don’t share our courts with other sports, like basketball.

“We’re an accessible indoor facility, so people could come and play pickleball on weekends. Our hope is that people see our venue and then we can run our own pickleball tournament here.”

Ms Cator said pickleball’s popularity has gone “through the roof” in recent months.

“It’s a new sport, and it’s one you can play at your own level. The ball bounces, so it can be slower than badminton, or it can be quicker as well.

“Every person I’ve spoken to who has tried it finds it a lot of fun. They’re able to meet new people, and it’s bringing a lot of new people into the stadium,” she said.

The New South Wales-Victoria Battle of the Border will be hosted by Pickleball Victoria and held in Wangaratta on Saturday, 12 and Sunday, 13 June.

Ballarat Badminton invites members of the community to play pickleball at 10.30am each Wednesday and Thursday morning, and at 6.30pm on Thursday evenings.