Ohio’s Tiffin University Makes Pickleball ‘Club Sport’, Joins Bowling & Cheerleading As Craze Grows Across US

Ohio’s Tiffin University has made pickleball a ‘club sport’, which means the institution will now have a team organised by students but will be less competitive than varsity sports. Beginning next year, pickleball will be the university’s sixth recognised club sport, besides bowling, cheerleading, flag football, rugby and volleyball.

Pickleball, a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis, was invented in 1965 as a children’s backyard game in the United States. Over the last five years, the sport has gained immense popularity in the US as well as across the world.

By last year, the number of pickleball players in the US was estimated at more than 8.9 million. The sport is best known for its accessibility, simple rules and the friendly environment it creates for players and hence, it is gaining more and more popularity with every passing day.

“Pickleball has been the fastest-growing sport in America for the past few years. I am very excited to introduce it as a club sport at Tiffin University while enhancing the student-athlete’s collegiate experience and providing partial scholarships,” Charlie Massi, Director of Club and Recreation Sports said in a statement issued last month.

According to Civic Science, a research company, Gen Z in the US might have played more pickleball in the first seven months of this year than any other age group. Of the nearly 17,000 people surveyed about whether they had played the sport within the last months, 12% were between the ages of 18-24, the biggest segment.