{"id":6792,"date":"2015-11-15T08:50:37","date_gmt":"2015-11-15T13:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=6792"},"modified":"2015-11-16T11:47:23","modified_gmt":"2015-11-16T16:47:23","slug":"1huntsville-sport-and-rec-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/1huntsville-sport-and-rec-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Pickleball and Ukulele, it doesn’t get much better than that, or does it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Kate Aben<\/em><\/p>\n

What do pickleball, ukuleles, and shinny have in common? You can try them all next week for free during Huntsville Sport and Recreation Week, the Town of Huntsville\u2019s celebration of sport and healthy living.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe want people to be healthy and happy,\u201d said Simone Babineau, Manager of Recreation and Leisure Services at the Town of Huntsville. \u201cHuntsville Sport and Recreation Week offers residents a great opportunity to experience all the wonderful programs we have available here in Huntsville \u2013 either free or for a nominal fee. We have so much going on: adults can try shinny, table tennis, Brain-ersize, ukulele \u2013 it\u2019s way more than just swimming and skating.\u201d<\/p>\n

The theme for the week \u2013 Get Out and Play \u2013 encourages residents to take up a forgotten sport or pastime again or to try something completely new. So we did just that.<\/p>\n

In a pickle(ball)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Huntsville\u2019s Active Living Centre invited Doppler to join them in a game of Pickleball and Kate and Ben took them up on the challenge. Pickleball, a sport described as a mix between tennis, table tennis and badminton, is played at the Centre every Thursday<\/span> at 1pm<\/span>. Manager of Recreation and Leisure Services , Simone Babineau, said that members of the community came to her with the idea after playing in Florida and Texas.<\/p>\n

In the winter months, the game is played on one court on the second floor of the Centre; during the summer the group plays on four courts in the Jack Bionda arena. There will be an additional court added this spring for beginners.<\/p>\n

The players change every week, but there are some clear regulars. Dennis Wilks and John Garlick are avid tennis players, and take part in Pickleball for extra practice. Wilks said he likes the exercise and wanted something different to do in the winter. They walked us through the rules and allowed us a couple extra practice serves. It was a lot of fun and definitely a work out. The group has added a couple of their own \u2018local rules\u2019 such as what happens when the ball hits the ceiling. We noticed that you didn\u2019t have to be a professional to play, and the participants were there to explain the rules and give some tips.<\/p>\n\n\t\t