VICTORIAN pickleball team selection trials will be hosted by Ballarat Badminton ahead of June\u2019s Battle of the Border competition against New South Wales.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The community is invited to head up to the Wendouree Stadium to watch and cheer the athletes on.<\/p>\n
Ballarat Badminton Association\u2019s Rhonda Cator said the opportunity to host the Pickleball Victoria event has been a \u201cpleasant surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recently posted on Facebook that our pickleball player numbers were increasing, so that\u2019s why they asked us to host it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey want to get us up and running in a more serious way because as a dedicated badminton stadium we don\u2019t share our courts with other sports, like basketball.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Cator said pickleball\u2019s popularity has gone \u201cthrough the roof\u201d in recent months.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a new sport, and it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery person I\u2019ve spoken to who has tried it finds it a lot of fun. They\u2019re able to meet new people, and it\u2019s bringing a lot of new people into the stadium,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
VICTORIAN pickleball team selection trials will be hosted by Ballarat Badminton ahead of June\u2019s 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 […]<\/p>\n