Pickleball arrives in Drumnadrochit as not-for-profit club prepares for first Inverness-area tournament at Glen Urquhart High School’s Craigmonie Sports Hall
A pickleball tournament will be held in the Inverness area for the first time this weekend.
The sport has been growing around the world, bearing similarities to tennis but being played on a badminton court with paddles instead of racquets, with a slightly smaller net and with a plastic ball that has holes in it.
It is hugely accessible, being a mixed gender sport that is open to people of all ages to play together, even those with mobility issues.
Accordingly, it is increasingly having a presence in the Highlands. Dornoch already hosted an outdoor tournament earlier this year, and a group based at Inverness Royal Academy run by Duncan Fletcher has had around 70 people register an interest.
Separately, a weekly group has started up in Drumnadrochit called PickleDrum, a not-for-profit club ran by Martin Croft and Pauline Graham, who have also started running a lunchtime club at Glen Urquhart High School where more than 20 youngsters attended last week.
PickleDrum will be hosting their first tournament this Saturday at the Craigmonie Sports Hall, with the intention being for eight pairs to play round robin matches, leading into a semi final and final.
“We have entries from Dornoch, Inverness, Nairn, Drum and the surrounding areas,” Croft, the tournament director for the Loch Ness Pickleball Tournament, said.
“It’s probably 80 per cent of the same people who competed at Dornoch, but there are some others who couldn’t make Dornoch that are quite happy we’re doing one in Drum.
“It might become a regular thing and we’ll have tournaments at different places every couple of months or so.
“It is a challenge, but having seen it done at Dornoch has made it a little bit easier, and some of the villagers have helped support it.
“We’ve got support from the Cubs who have provided some cakes to sell, ScotMid who have provided us with some sponsorships, and then Loch Ness Gifts have provided us with some prizes for the winners and the Men’s Shed are making the trophy.
“We hope it’s going to lead to more people wanting to come and play, and hopefully that will then lead to more local groups running. Wherever there is a badminton court in a village hall, there could be a group playing pickleball.”
Croft and Graham began the club after moving up to Drumnadrochit from Loughborough, where they had played tennis for years.
With a sparsity of indoor facilities in the Highlands, though, they found pickleball as an alternative, and PickleDrum now meets every Tuesday evening at Glen Urquhart High School.
Graham is working with U3A to establish groups for retired people to play in Inverness and Dingwall, and the pair have also held introductory sessions at Inverness Tennis and Squash Club.
They are also biding their time to see how a newly established Highlands, Islands and Grampian League goes before deciding whether or not to enter next season.
