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The pickleball courts were full at Kin Park on Saturday afternoon as enthusiasts of the sport gathered to enjoy a game or two and celebrate National Pickleball Day.

The City of Fort St. John and Peace Country Pickleball Association were on hand at Kin Park to help anyone who wanted lessons, as well as hosting drop-in pickleball games.

For those who haven’t heard of pickleball, it’s a sport that was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, created with leftover equipment from wiffle ball, on a badminton court using paddleball paddles and a tennis-height net.

Today, as seen at Kin Park, players play in singles or pairs like tennis and badminton, on a court the same size as a double’s badminton court, with a small hard ball and a paddle that is about twice the size of a table tennis paddle.

Kin Park’s four courts fit inside the skating rink in the park, effectively keeping players from having to chase their balls all over the park when they inevitably go out-of-bounds.

Since its invention, pickleball has grown throughout North America, and was included as a demonstration sport at the 2001 Arizona Senior Olympics. The first USA Pickleball National Championships were held in 2009 in Arizona, and the first US Open Pickleball Championships were held in Florida in 2016.

In the Peace Country, Peace Country Pickleball has been around since 2017 with weekly play throughout the year at outdoor and indoor courts in Taylor and Fort St. John.

The outdoor courts in Taylor are located adjacent to the Lone Wolf Golf Course’s clubhouse and putting green. The addition of the pickleball courts to Kin Park in 2023 has opened more opportunities for interested people to try the sport.

Peace Country Pickleball holds outdoor games in Taylor on Saturdays, Sundays from 1-5 p.m., and on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5-9 p.m. Until the end of August, every Tuesday from 6-8 p.m., the City and Peace Country Pickleball are offering free drop-in intro to pickleball sessions at the Kin Park pickleball courts – all ages and skill levels are welcome.

The outdoor pickleball season winds up in September with Peace Country Pickleball’s fourth tournament of the season.

For more information about pickleball in the North Peace, check out Peace Country Pickleball’s website or Facebook group.