Pickleball Festival takes Gold Coast by storm

It’s the sport with the funny name and now Pickleball - the fastest growing sport across America - is taking Australia by storm with the Gold Coast set to host Australia’s first Pickleball Festival this October 4th.

Pickleball - a hybrid of tennis, badminton and table tennis - is a great sport at any age, with more than 1,500 Aussies taking up the sport because it’s easy to learn, fun to play and provides a great workout while going easy on the joints.

Hosting the Pickleball Festival will be the American pioneers of Pickleball, Robert and Jodi Elliott, who have flown in to stage the event and will provide clinics and coaching sessions.

The husband and wife duo are both US Open and USA Pickleball National Championship medalists while their son Joshua and daughter Rachel have also secured medals at a national level. 

Daryl Kleidon, homeowner at Halcyon Greens, has recently taken up Pickleball with his wife and said he’s reaping the health benefits of the game.

"I’d never heard of Pickleball until a few years ago and now my wife and I couldn’t live without it,” Mr A Kleidon said.

“My fitness has increased tenfold, it’s a great social game, the grandkids love to play and it’s much easier on my body then tennis.”

“Our weekly games are growing every week with more and more of our neighbours joining in on the fun,”’Mr Kleidon said.

“It’s a great sport at any age but has become particularly popular with over 50s because it’s a great way to stay fit, yet its minimal impact on the body,” Mr Kleidon said.

"We see more and more of our homeowners getting out on the courts with their families and we thought this festival would be a great opportunity to further promote the benefits of the sport,” he said.

Described as a cross between tennis, badminton and table tennis, it is played on a badminton-size court with two or four players who use composite paddles to hit a perforated plastic ball over a low net.