Known as one of Canada's fastest growing sports, Pickleball is gaining in popularity in Cambridge as well.
Falling somewhere in between tennis and ping-pong, it's known as an easy game for people to pick up, especially if they already play tennis, said Lois Kerr.
Kerr volunteers at Temple Baptist church and upon seeing the renovations include a gym with full size tennis courts, she wanted to start a program where people could come play pickleball for free and get some exercise.
"It doesn't wear you out like a lot of other sports. Its just a fun sport," Kerr said in an interview with CambridgeToday.
The organizer has been playing for a couple years but said it can be hard to find proper size courts like these ones.
Tuesday was the first time they got together at 400 Holiday Inn Dr. to play pickleball and teach those new to the game how it's played.
It's free for adults to try and Kerr is hoping to see more people come out to play as it grows in popularity.
The gym will be open every Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. for anyone to drop by and play. All skill levels are welcome.
Valerie Beadle came out to play Tuesday afternoon and is somewhat of an expert having played the sport for over 4-years, typically at Lang's community centre in Preston as well as at Riverside Park.
Beadle was happy to see the church let them use the new full-size tennis courts for free so they can play inside together.
"It's not quite as aggressive as tennis, so I really enjoy pickleball. Especially when you're retired; you don't want to go crazy and get hurt," Beadle said.
Over the winter Beadle heads to Florida where she plays the new sport as well.
Pickleball is taking off down there as many of the community centres are full with people playing and are always busy.
Leila Stairs, a volunteer at the church who helped Kerr get the pickleball games going is new to the sport.
So far, she said she loves being able to learn how to play from Kerr. She added it's good for people her age because it can be easy to pick up and you can just have fun with it.
"I come to the church anyway, but when they were doing all of the renovation, Lois mentioned she would love to have pickleball in the gym and I was game from day one even thought I didn't know anything about it," Stairs said.
"It's an upcoming sport and it's nice that it is for any age."
Pickleball games are offered at the church every Tuesday with matches geared to all skill levels, including beginners.
