VAIL VALLEY, Colo.—Get movin’ and get shakin’—that’s the message some seniors are hoping to spread throughout Colorado’s Vail Valley.
The Western Eagle County Metropolitan Recreation District’s Movers and Shakers, a new program for the 50 and over crowd, is trying to get more locals involved in its first organized activity—pickleball.
Pickleball is like a hybrid of tennis and ping pong. Four players, two on each team, take a doubles player position on a smaller version of a tennis court. The paddles are larger versions of table tennis paddles, and the ball used is a Wiffle ball.
“It’s really popular for older people,” said Ruth VanVleet, who has played pickleball for years. “There’s not as much running (as in tennis).”
VanVleet is one of the Movers and Shakers hoping that pickleball takes off locally. She taught pickleball at Battle Mountain High School as a physical education teacher back in the 1970s, right around the time pickleball first took off. At the time, it was gaining popularity, but VanVleet said not too many people seem to know what it is now.
“It’s active and everyone can do it and have fun,” VanVleet said.
The USA Pickleball Association cites the beginning of pickleball in 1965, when a congressman created the game with a friend in his backyard. The men used rules closely related to those of badminton, and the dog named Pickles kept running off with the ball, thus creating the name of the game.
VanVleet’s husband, Loy, said the game is low-impact and it’s great exercise. He hopes more seniors around the valley will take advantage of the fun, daytime, indoor activity.
Andi McGovern, who played with the VanVleets Wednesday at the field house in Edwards, said the game is fun and challenging. McGovern has played ping pong since she was a kid and thought pickleball would be easy, but she’s finding it’s not as easy as it looks. The challenge is a good thing, she said.
She said that while the game isn’t too physical, she can tell it’s great exercise, especially for those who get really good at it and can keep a volley going for a while.
Ruth VanVleet thinks pickleball has potential in the valley because people 50 and older are always looking for something to do. Pickleball is an activity that anyone, of any age, can play.
“People our age are looking for things to do besides walk,” she said.
Jenika Boberstein, the Western Eagle County Metropolitan Recreation District’s Movers and Shakers program director, said if enough people come out to play, the district might set up a pickleball league.
Boberstein said she’s excited to reach out to the 50 and over age group to give them something to do that’s active. She’s open to suggestions, too. If enough folks want to get another sport or activity organized, Boberstein said she’ll look into it.
“That’s what happened with pickleball,” Boberstein said. “They wanted to play, so we got it going.”
