Pickleball Comes To SSP Wellness Center – Learn To Play, And Open Indoor Court Hours

ALTON - The recent craze of Pickleball has made its way to SSP Wellness Center, at last!

Pickleball is a paddleball sport (similar to a racket sport) that combines elements of badminton, table tennis, and tennis. Two or four players use solid paddles to hit a ball over a net to score points.

Pre-pandemic, SSP Wellness Center set up a USAPA approved pickleball court in its classroom. Soon after it’s completion COVID-19 restrictions dictated the closing of SSP Wellness Center. In July 2021, all restrictions were lifted for SSP Wellness Center, and we were able to finally bring back Pickleball.

Every Thursday at 12:00 PM, learn how to play pickleball with a skilled player with our Intro to Pickleball Class.

Pickleball open-court hours are Thursdays from 1:00PM – 2:00PM. Friday from 4:00PM – 8PM, and Saturday and Sundays from 10:00AM – 3:00PM. Limit 6 people per hour.

You can reserve your time by phone at 618-465-3298 ext. 109 or online here.

Pickleball was first created during the summer of 1965 on an island off the state of Washington. Washington Congressman, Joel Pritchard, and his friends Bill Bell and Barney McCallum, created the game when their families had nothing to do. They had a badminton court but not enough rackets, so they improvised with some pingpong paddles and a perforated plastic ball, and unknowlingly created a sport that would sweep the nation over 50 years later.

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