Pickleball craze taking over High Desert

“I think I’m getting a pretty darned good workout,” Bend Pickleball club member Kari Schoessler said.

PIckleballers can play indoors or outdoors — leaving plenty of chances to get in some good exercise. The Bend Pickleball club has seen it gain popularity.

“It started out as a lot of boomers,” said Kirk Foster, vice president of the Bend Pickleball Club. “Now our youngest member is 5 and our oldest member is 85.”

There are eight new pickleball courts being added to the existing eight at Pine Nursery Park in northeast Bend.

“People are becoming more and more aware of pickleball,” Foster said. “It’s the fastest growing sport in the United States.”

The way pickleball is played is similar to tennis. The courts are smaller, but the ball itself is larger. The pickleball looks like a baseball-sized Wiffle ball.

The Oregon Senior Games will be played at the courts at Pine Nursery Park in June. In the meantime, the Bend Pickleball Club has open court times and tournaments.