Pickleball picks up in Vermont

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The sport of pickleball is a cross between volleyball, badminton, table tennis, and traditional tennis.

It’s a four-player game where each double takes turns serving to try to win points. It’s a fun, social activity sweeping the nation, with a lot of buzz in Vermont.

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the United States, and now there is a designated indoor space in Vermont for people to come and play with their friends and meet new people along the way.

“You can jump right in and have a good time, so shout out to the social element of pickleball,” said Winooski resident Dana Howe.

“People are just so willing to help too if you’re a beginner. It’s been really nice to connect different friends,” said Burlington resident Sarah Mahon.

Family-owned Catamount Pickleball in South Burlington grew from the pandemic when co-founder Justin Schaaf fell in love with the sport while playing with his family and continued playing in college. “Every chance that I had, I came back home and spoke about pickleball with my family,” said Schaaf.

He says there wasn’t a day where he didn’t talk about pickleball.

“I would try to find courts on every vacation I went on, I would be playing three to five times a week, even while studying engineering, so pickleball has become a part of me that I can confidently say it’s never going away,” said Schaaf.

Schaaf ended up playing the sport at a high level in college and eventually became a coach. His family says watching him inspired them to find a way to bring his love for the sport to Vermont.

“We began to realize that there weren’t enough indoor courts in Northern Vermont, so we decided to band together and take on this project and bring something that the community can really enjoy,” said Richard Schaaf, Justin’s father.

It’s been a little less than two weeks since Catamount Pickleball’s open house, and Richard says it’s already drawn a lot of community interest. “It’s been really tremendous and overwhelming. Everyone has been very appreciative and complementary of the features of the facility, and it’s been really great so far and we’ve been really pleased with how it’s turned out and how everyone is just so happy to be here,” he said.

The courts are open every day from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. with the opportunity to play as teams, free play, or take classes if you’ve never picked up a racket.

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