The average age of registered pickleball players in England is trending downwards, according to figures released to Pickleball 52.
The data is part of the Chairman’s report presented at Pickleball England’s AGM on Sunday 18 February. The report revealed the immense growth of the sport in 2023 – but also fascinating detail about the shifting demographics of England’s burgeoning player base.
Stats show the average age of registered pickleball players in England has fallen from 64 in 2019 to 57 in 2024 (the average age was actually 55 at the end of December 2023 but new registrations in January have pushed this year’s early figure slightly back upwards).
The 50+ demographic still dominates the participation base (77.85%), driven largely by the 90+ pickleball groups within the University of the 3rd Age and Over-50s pickleball clubs. However, there has been an above-average 58% rise in players in the 30-39 category since the last AGM (against an average of 44% across all age categories).
The figures show the sport also has a very healthy male:female participation ratio of 52:48 – comparing favourably to tennis (59:41 according to LTA figures from February 2023), badminton (61:39 in November 2022) and, most shockingly, squash (79:21 in November 2022).
As of the end of January 2024, the number of registered players was 6,251 – with Pickleball England forecasting that figure to rise to over 10,000 by the end of the year. This does not count unregistered players, which the governing bodies estimates will reach 15,000 by 2025 (25,000 players overall).
Although the South East dominates regional membership (39%), the South West saw by far the biggest growth in 2022-23 (up 107% to 17% overall), while the West Midlands (83% growth) and North East (69%) also showed big expansion.
There were 2373 new members registered since Pickleball England’s last AGM, 212 new clubs and most encouragingly a 120% rise in the number of pickleball leaders who qualified by attending 22 workshops in 2023. These are the advocates for our sport who actively grow the game, creating and nurturing the players of the future. The report also show 174 attendees at coaching workshops last year with 86 fully certified coaches now listed on the IPTPA website (a 200% rise).
“Everyone in the pickleball community can feel the momentum building, but for attendees at our AGM it was great to see the evidence in black and white,” said Pickleball England Chair Karen Mitchell.
“The average age is trending downwards and the gender split is very healthy – I don’t think many other sports can claim that. The demand for leaders and coaching courses is increasing all the time. We are delighted with how the sport is growing, with everyone pulling in the same direction. There is no stopping pickleball’s growth!”
