Pickleball players from across America competing in Macon’s ‘Pinkest Pickleball Party on the Planet’ this week
More than 300 people from across the country are competing in the 3rd annual "Pinkest Pickle Ball Party on the Planet" at Tattnall Square Park this week.
MACON, Georgia(41NBC/WMGT) – More than 300 people from across the country are at Tattnall Square Park this week, competing in the 3rd annual “Pinkest Pickle Ball Party on the Planet.”
“This is the most fun sport I’ve ever played,” Macon Pickleball player Joe McDaniel said. “I’ve played just about all of them.”
“It’s just real fun,” Teresa Combs of Combs Wealth Advisory said. “And people laugh at me, but once you start playing, you really get involved, and you really get hooked on it.”
Deloyn McDonough, from Athens, Tennessee, has been playing the sport for six years. He says the sport has grown so much because of how easy it is to learn.
“It’s a sport for everyone, and you can learn this sport in 20 minutes,” McDonough said. “It takes you about two years to get good at it, but everybody can play.”
According to Macon Pickleball, this year’s field is the largest ever.
Tournament Director John Roberts says the competition doesn’t just showcase the sport, but also helps bring more people to Macon and the Cherry Blossom Festival.
“There’s so much that commends to this game to people,” Roberts said. “And having the opportunity to showcase not only for the sport, but also for the city of Macon and the Cherry Blossom Festival specifically, is an outstanding opportunity.”
“Whenever I told people I was playing pickleball, they would say, ‘What?’ And now it is rare that I say pickleball to somebody and they don’t know what I’m talking about. That is just a thing of the past,” McDaniel said. “Pickleball has arrived in Macon and Middle Georgia.”
Tattnall Square Park is located at 1155 College Street in Macon.
