A quick-growing pickleball club has celebrated its first anniversary with a cake and a special training session courtesy of one of the UK’s biggest stars.
England international Thaddea Lock joined the members of Dorset Pickleball Club to mark one year since its doors opened for the first time.
Co-founders Gary Williams, Kevin Butler, Adam Kidman and Emma Butler set up the club as they could not find anywhere to play; twelve months down the line, the club has 260 members playing across four locations, four times a week, and is the largest club in the Bournemouth and Poole area.
To thank club members for their support and enthusiasm, they hosted an afternoon of free pickleball across ten courts, with select members getting the chance of a coaching session with Thaddea – who later formally presented the cake to the group!
“It’s crazy how a year ago we took the plunge of hiring four courts on a Sunday at our local leisure centre and we were worried we wouldn’t fill them to filling 18 courts every weekend with the weekend sessions being fully booked,” says Adam.
