Pickleball Club has been gaining popularity and several students are interested.
ACU has the privilege of having several different clubs that students can join. Whether it be fraternities and sororities or ESports and Running Club, the campus has multiple ways that students can get connected and grow a community of like-minded people. One of the clubs that has been gaining popularity in recent years has been the Pickleball Club.
“I had been introduced to the sport my senior year of high school, and I thought it was super fun and easy enough to where I could do it,” said Aspen Malone, senior biochemistry major from Amarillo and president of the Pickleball Club. “I wanted to pursue that in college, and Pickleball Club was a thing, so I joined, and I thought it was a ton of fun.”
There are two different clubs for the Pickleball Club. The first one is a recreational team where students who are interested in learning the basics of the sport can meet up and play. The second one is a competitive team that gets to travel and play at different schools, which was created just this past year. This past Sunday, they had a showcase to introduce the 15 new members of their team.
“Right now, we’re looking into tournaments,” said Zeke Whisenaut, sophomore engineering student from Conway, AR, and the organizer of the pickleball club team. “What I’m excited about are the DUPR tournaments. They do a ton of collegiate stuff, and they want to grow the collegiate sport. I’m excited about those; they’re a bit in the fall and the early spring.”
There are a few tournaments in Texas next fall that the team is looking into going to, and they have a tournament coming up in April as well.
The Pickleball club meets on Saturdays from 1-3 p.m. for “Open-net.” For those wanting to try out for Pickleball Club Sport, they are holding auditions in the fall for people wanting to try out.
“People can take Coach Shake’s class, where they can learn about the rules and techniques,” Malone said. “They can also come to the 24-hour pickleball tournament that we put on. This club is really for fun, but if you’re serious about it, people can try out for our club sports team.”
