The Armenian Church of Our Saviour, an Orthodox church in Worcester, Massachusetts, has offered pickleball in the church’s auditorium over the past two winters, said Bryan Davis, a longtime church member.
Davis, a 72-year-old retired teacher, said a friend from the church had introduced him to pickleball a few years ago — and he played mostly outside. Then his friend came up with the idea of playing in the auditorium, which doubles as a gym and event space.
“He kept on saying, you know, I think we could fit some pickleball courts in the auditorium,” said Davis. “We went up and measured, and sure enough, we could fit two in there.”
Because the space is used for all kinds of events, the courts could not be permanent. Instead, Davis said, church members lay out the courts using a special tape, which takes about a half an hour to lay down — and just a few minutes to clean up afterwards.
About a dozen folks play at the church, paying $5 each — with the funds going to pay for equipment.
“We gave a little money back to the church, too,” he said. “The priest came and played. He loved it. It was just really a lot of fun.”
Terrie Golwitzer started playing pickleball at Adventure two years ago after Henricks invited her to give it a try. She watched a few videos online to get some tips, then showed up to play on a Monday. After about 10 minutes, she was hooked.
Now she plays three days a week and is in a group chat with friends she’s made there. They often hang out together when they are not playing. And she said pickleball is one place where folks don’t argue about politics, which is a relief, and the game has both social and health benefits.
“Pickleball is about people,” she said.
This article originally appeared here.
