BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas (KRHD) — With school out for the summer, the Brazos Valley has no shortage of free, active ways to stay busy — and pickleball may be the easiest place to start.
More than 24 million Americans played pickleball last year, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, making it the fastest-growing sport in the country.
Part of the appeal is how little it takes to get started.
"It's so accessible. It makes it so easy to do — all you need is, you can go, we, like today, we went and bought a pickleball racket for $9 at Walmart. You need these little plastic balls and then you can come down to a free place like this and get yourself involved," Harry Edwards said.
The sport also draws players from all walks of life, including those new to the area.
"Yeah, I mean, it's perfect, like, as an international student, we don't work, so anything there is to do free, we'll, we'll certainly have a go at," Harry Edwards said.
Connor Harris also noted that the ease of access keeps players coming back.
"So many places now you have to wait to book or book on and that makes you sort of put it off. But this, if you turn up and the court's free, then you're there straight on," Harris said.
The sport has also evolved beyond its early reputation as a game for older adults.
"Early on we used to be a lot of older folks like me about my age, and now we're 18 and up, so but we have a lot of young, young folks and in between really. So it's brought those together. It's a lot of fun," Joe Hegwood said.
Hegwood, president of the Brazos Valley Pickleball Association, said the organization runs programming throughout the summer designed to welcome newcomers.
"All through the summer we have new members and novice nights. So if you're, you're kind of new to pickleball, you really don't know what to think about it, go ahead and join and then you can find out if you like it, and there'll be always somebody to play with. And you know it's, it's all about having fun," Hegwood said.
More information about the Brazos Valley Pickleball Association, including how to join, is available at brazosvalleypickleball.org.
Disc golf is another free summer option in the area. There are 5 courses in College Station and 7 more in Bryan. Visitors can go to udisc.com to find courses and check difficulty ratings.
Most pickleball courts and disc golf courses are open to the public, but checking your local city's website beforehand is recommended to confirm a location has not been reserved.
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