Pickleball was showcased in Trafalgar Square last weekend as part of an event organised by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to celebrate the Sikh festival Valsakhi.
Curious first-time pickleball players aged between five and 70 grabbed a paddle and had a bash at pickleball on a court outside the National Gallery in central London.
Pickleball England was offered the opportunity to take part by the Sikh Games only three weeks before the event. They asked London Pickleball to rally the troops and they rose to the occasion! Carolyn Laville, Jayne Ward, Paul and Mandy Adams, Simone Salardi and Steve Pisano were joined by Pickleball England Board members James Chaudry and Karen Mitchell.
James organised the taping of the modified sized court and as soon as the net was up there was a queue of people wanting to have a go. “That is the beauty of pickleball, you can create a court on a drive put up a net and start playing,” said Pickleball England Chair Karen.
The volunteers were originally meant to deliver five 30-minute sessions alternating with another group, but ended up managing the full five and a half hours with a relatively small crew split into an early and a late shift.
Karen said: “Whilst the day remained dry, the wind was a little challenging at times! Nevertheless, there was a buzz around Trafalgar Square for the whole six hours. All the volunteers were brilliant with the people giving the game a go.
“We were positioned next to the junior turban tent where kids were getting turbans in all different colours. Many of them then came to play pickleball so it was quite a sight seeing these small kids playing in traditional clothing and turbans.”
Vaisakhi is the biggest festival in the Sikh calendar and celebrates Sikh and Punjabi tradition, heritage, culture and the birth of the Khalsa (modern day Sikhism).
Karen added: “Highlights of the day for me was the army playing a game that got quite competitive, four teenage girls that played a brilliant game (they had played once before) and some of the fabulously talented kids. Thank you everyone for volunteering to help showcase pickleball!”
