Pickleball Comes to Greystone
The sport that’s sweeping the country has now made it to the Bubble! That’s right - three years in, Pickleball is a camper-favorite class, and it’s here to stay.
We first offered Pickleball in 2021 as a part of the combined Landsports class that all campers rotated through. That was the year that every camper got to try every activity, and in hindsight, it was the perfect time to introduce a new class! Campers became comfortable on the courts (the Tennis courts by the track became our Pickleball courts!) and started building their skills.
Pickleball then became a stand-alone class in 2022, and we brought in a professional Pickleball coach to train the counselors who’d be teaching it. Campers quickly learned that it offered the best of all worlds: playing a game was just as fun whether a girl was a beginner or an advanced player. The large amount of courts available meant that cabin groups could sign up together. Girls could choose to hone their skills or leisurely hit around (and thus, the Pickleball DMC was born!).
The class also gave a great excuse to hang out in the Fort during the first summer we used it as a regular program space after COVID restrictions had lifted and we could return to meals in the Dining Hall (if you haven’t read about how our Kitchen served meals in 2021, check it out - it’s amazing!).
One of our favorite parts of that summer was seeing campers flock to the Fort after dinner and before Evening Program. There they could play ping pong, 4 square, card games, or yes - Pickleball! That made Pickleball one of the only activities at camp that girls can take as a class or play any time they want. Pickleball could be a part of everyone’s summer, even if a camper didn’t have room for it in her regular camp class schedule!
Pickleball continued to be a hit this past summer. Hundreds of campers took it for a class period (where they could now pass levels for Council Fire!) and even more hung out on the courts with their Shoppe snack or after Evening Program. We even offered glow-Pickleball at our huge “After Hours” late night event at Main Camp! We now have 16 functioning Pickleball courts (indoor and outdoor), complete with Joola nets for campers to play on anytime they like.
Pickleball at camp really hit a new level with our July Madness Pickleball Tournament during Main Camp this summer. This was no casual round-robin! Campers paired up in doubles teams and played round after round throughout the session until we reached the final four which culminated in a Pickleball extravaganza Evening Program! The entire camp gathered in the Fort to cheer on the finalists as they played their last matches, complete with commentators, costumes, and pickle-themed games and snacks. You could have heard a pin drop during the final championship point, but Senior Seniors Emma and Libby took home the trophy!
If the last few years are any indication, Pickleball class is only going to continue to grow, and we are excited to see how this class becomes a part of Greystone history as we move into the future.