Pickleball is Booming in VRSA

We built it and they came...

You may have read our post in April about bringing pickleball to VRSA. I must admit the first few months I was concerned. Some days we had 4 players, other days we had 8. Every time someone dropped out because of injury or because they were returning to their home country, my heart dropped. Could we develop a core group of players in little VRSA?

Portugal Resident newspaper article about us.

June 2022

We limped along until June. Then the tennis facility (adjacent to the Sports Complex) invited us to use one of their tennis courts. (Yes, this is the same club that originally said “no!”) They would charge us the same amount as the Sports Complex and allow us to store our nets and paddles at their facility. More importantly, they gave us visibility to tennis and padel members. The very first time we played, a group of padel players came by to see what we were doing. The following week 2 players joined us. Many of the skills they had developed playing padel instantly transferred to pickleball. They were instant 3.0s and continue to improve quickly. More importantly, they have recruited other padel players who are now regular members of our group.

We also were fortunate to receive coverage in two English-language newspapers (see above) and a local magazine. We have quickly become a multi-nationality pickleball club. We have Danes, Italians, French, Swedes, Portuguese, Canadian, British and American members. Our core group now numbers 20+ and growing.

62 members

July 2022

As the weather got warmer, the group voted to go back under cover. So we returned to the Sports Complex. We also met with the Sports Complex management. Each time we played, we were taping the courts and then removed the tape when we left. We got approval to leave the tape down, saving us €25 each week and limiting what we put in the landfill! They also committed to providing a cleaning crew before each of our start times insuring that the area is clean.

We have contacted major pickleball brands in the States and have received commitments for equipment from Head, Onix, and Paddletex as we will be introducing the sport to the local schools in the fall. Now our challenge is the expense associated with getting their donations here! We hope to have Americans coming to Portugal that will allow us to include a box or two as baggage on their overseas flight.

As I write this we are playing Mondays and Fridays from 10:00 till noon. (If you want to confirm the dates we are playing, please consult our Facebook Group.) We just purchased our fourth net through the generous donations of our members. Most notably, Denise and I expected the club would go on vacation when we did, but the members said “hell, no” and have taken charge of setting up the courts and paying the necessary fees. While we were traveling more experienced members took over the instruction of new players. Fortunately, the fourth net arrived because on Friday they had 19 players….proving, once again, that pickleball is addictive!

Video

We are also excited that our local YouTuber, American in Portugal included us in her recent video “Pickleball & Croquet in Portugal”. (Pickleball coverage begins at 2:25). Veronica has been instrumental in attracting many immigrants to VRSA (including us). Her vídeo will attract even more players and we are certain that our group will continue to grow! We are fortunate to have the support of the VRSA Sports Complex, as there is an indoor facility next to the semi-covered courts we use today. We can imagine a time in the future when we will have eight courts spread across two adjacent facilities. In October, we also expect that we will be able to offer additional sessions each week. And to think just a few months ago I was afraid we would not be able to attract players.

If you are traveling through Portugal and want to join us, please email me in advance. We would love to have you join our group even if it is for only a single session!

Editor’s Update: Pickleball is also played in Oeiras (near Lisbon), Vau (near Óbidos), and Porto. For information on these locations please check the Pickleball Portugal Facebook Group. For dates and times we play in VRSA, check the Eastern Algarve Facebook Group.