“I really enjoy playing,” said Beatty, who skips his day at the gym once a week to take part in league pickleball play instead. Many of his competitors are younger but he said it doesn’t matter.

“It doesn’t bother me at all who I’m playing as long as I’m playing,” he said. “You always meet different people on the courts, so that’s cool, and you’re playing different people. It’s not the same group of people all the time.”

Pickleball has exploded as a sport over the past three years in Minot. Minot went from no dedicated pickleball courts to 11 outdoor courts and eight indoor courts. In addition, two tennis courts in Leach Park double as pickleball courts, and the Minot Family YMCA has space that enables enthusiasts to play indoors.

“There’s a lot of energy and excitement in Minot with pickleball,” said Marc White, tennis/pickleball director with the Minot Park District. “Pickleball is very infectious, and we have a lot of great people in the community who are really helping out with pickleball, promoting it, getting people into play.”

Jill Schramm/MDN Kelsie Bechen, back, and Nancy Tschetter, front, stand just outside the “kitchen” as they hone in on the ball during pickleball league play Tuesday, July 1, in Roosevelt Park in Minot. Playing the court behind them are Andrea LaRocque, left, and Amanda Oliver, right.

White attends national pickleball conventions and stays on the cutting edge of what’s going on as equipment changes and rules are tweaked.

“Both tennis and pickleball have really grown over the years, I think, mainly because not only are they fun, but they’re outdoor and they’re healthy sports,” he said. “And it’s very social.”

White, who manages the park district’s Cameron Tennis Center, oversees the four seasonal pickleball leagues, which utilize some of the eight courts in Roosevelt Park during the warmer months and courts in Cameron for the rest of the year.

“Roosevelt had three tennis courts, and two and a half years ago at the park district, we took a look at those and then thought, ‘Wow, wouldn’t that be a beautiful place to make that just pickleball? So we converted those tennis courts into eight dedicated pickleball courts. They’re really beautiful – the nicest in the state,” White said.

Minot’s other three dedicated pickleball courts are in Riverside Park.

“Mark and the staff at Minot Parks and the tennis club have really helped grow the sport in the community and teach us,” said Michael Buseth, who joined the Minot pickleball league three summers ago.

“It’s a fun time. It’s better than just doing weights at a gym or running on a treadmill. You get a lot of steps in and some good exercise and meet a lot of fun people.”

Buseth said he didn’t have a racket sport background other than some racquetball when he started. However, pickleball is easy to get into, regardless of age or background, he said.

“That’s kind of the thing that makes pickleball grow so fast is it’s really not hard to learn at all. It’s pretty easy. The equipment’s relatively inexpensive,” Buseth said. “And there’s a good community so you can always get a game going.”

Caylee Moore, a student at Minot State University, started playing about a year ago after seeing pickleball advertised.

“I thought I would give it a try,” she said. “I enjoy playing it. It gets me outdoors.”

She joked indoor play is nice with air conditioning and no wind, though. Whether indoors or out, she said, one of the best parts of participating in the pickleball league is meeting new people.

White said tennis and pickleball are the racket sports generating the most interest across the country and locally. In addition to the Cameron, Hammond Park offers 10 tennis courts, and two more are located at the South Hill complex in Minot.

The latest racket rage nationally is Padel, a cross between tennis and squash that is believed to have originated in Mexico more than 50 years ago. It is big in Europe and has been popping up in metro communities in the United States, White said.

Padel is played on an enclosed court slightly smaller than a doubles tennis court with similar but smaller balls and smaller, short-handled, perforated paddles rather than netted string rackets. Balls can be played off the court walls, similar to squash.

Locally, White said, he’s had people inquire about badminton, but there’s not been a big call for playing space. Racquetball, an indoor sport, also has been declining in favor of other racket or paddle sports. The Cameron offers table tennis for fans of that activity.

“Pickleball is table tennis on steroids. It’s basically table tennis, but on a bigger court,” White said.

Pickleball uses paddle-style rackets and a ball similar to a wiffle ball.

According to USA Pickleball, in 1965, a congressman from Washington State and a businessman friend wanted to create a pastime for their bored families. They had access to an old badminton court so they improvised equipment, playing with ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball.

The pickleball name is said to have originated from the pickle boat in crew racing, which carried leftover nonstarters or less experienced rowers.

With the help of another friend, the game’s inventors developed game rules. In pickleball, points can be scored only when serving. An area 7 feet in front of either side of the net, called the kitchen, also is off limits for hitting balls.

Pickleball was being played in all 50 states by 1990. The sport has been popular for 10 years in retiree states such as Florida and Arizona.

Pickleball offers just the right mental and physical challenge, White said.

“Easy to learn. Easy to get into quickly. Small court. Serve underhand. You don’t have to run around too much, but then the more you play, oh there’s strategy, and then you want to play again. You improve. You improve pretty quickly,” he said.

White stresses technique in teaching pickleball players, not only so they improve and enjoy the game but also to prevent potential injuries.

White attributes the continuing interest in tennis and pickleball in Minot in part to early introduction. The park district holds a junior tennis camp, which drew about 150 youth this past summer, while school physical education programs are letting students explore pickleball, he said.

The other major driver is media attention.

For a sport to take hold and have longevity, there needs to be role models, such as professional athletes, to promote it across various forms of media, White said. Tennis has had those professionals and pickleball now is developing its professional base. The interest also is spurring a brisk business in equipment sales and has prompted creation of online communities and phone apps, he said.

“The beauty of pickleball is that if you play and you’re enjoying it, you invite your friends to play. That is very powerful for growth,” White said. “Everybody’s an ambassador.”

The Minot Area Pickleball Association has formed to promote the game, just as the Minot Area Tennis Association promotes its sport. White traces the initial pickleball wave in Minot to Nancy Beck, a former member of the Minot Park Board with athletic interests. Beck had been to Florida and brought back the pickleball. Four years ago, the park district hosted a four-week introductory clinic and the rest is history.

“Now other people have really latched on to that and organized,” White said.

“We have a great little pickleball community,” he added. “I think it’s full speed ahead for pickleball and tennis here in Minot. I think we’re doing all the right things.”