Pickle on the Clinch
Twenty teams set to play in event
1 (photo:@@MGJNL )
The sport is now being televised nationally on the ESPN family of networks and the game’s popularity has grown on the recreation scene as almost anybody can play.
The sport has also taken off in Anderson County and you can find people playing in Norris, Oak Ridge and at Lakefront Park in Clinton almost every night.
The city of Clinton will begin hosting pickleball tournaments later this month. The first Pickle on the Clinch tournament will be held on Saturday, July 27, at Lakefront Park.
This year’s tournament has also reached its capacity of 20 teams. But other teams are on a wait list should teams drop out of the event, which includes doubles teams.
Proceeds raised by the tournament will benefit the Anderson County High School volleyball team.
“We had to limit it to 20 teams because they only have four courts down there,” said tournament director Brice Kidwell. “We already have a wait list in case a team drops out or doesn’t show up.
“But we’re going to make this an annual thing.”
The tournament has been a long time in the making.
“We started talking about this about eight months ago,” Kidwell said. “We played in a tournament at Orange Hat Brewery (in Hardin Valley.”
Kidwell has only been playing pickleball for abouta year, but he said he’s hooked on the sport.
“It’s addicting,” he said. “It really is.”
Almost anybody can play, and the game can be played in both singles and doubles.
“We’ve had some people in their 70s and 80s out there,” Kidwell said. “It’s low-impact, so it’s not hard on your body and you don’t have to run that much.
“The biggest thing I love about the game is the competitive spirit,” he said.
Pickleball can be played indoors or outdoors on a hard court. It can be played by a single player or by a doubles team.
A player or team can only score on the serve, and the winning player or team must score 11 points and hold a two-point margin to win a game.
Unlike tennis, a serve can only come from below the waist.
The court also includes a no-volley zone, called the kitchen.
“You have to stay out of the kitchen,” Kidwell said.
“That’s the no-volley zone, and you can only play the ball if it bounces in there.”