Pickleball set to take off in Barrack Point with brand new multi-use facility

Shellharbour City Council has transformed the old tennis court at Dawes Park into a new multi-purpose facility, catering to pickleball, basketball, and futsal (indoor soccer).

This is not the first pickleball court created in the region, with another located at Shellharbour War Memorial Park, next to Warilla swimming pool.

Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong using a paddle and a plastic ball with holes. It is enticing to people of all ages and fitness levels.

Originating in the United States, the sport is in fact Australia's fastest growing game.

In the Illawarra there are regular tournaments at Bulli PCYC, Beaton Park Leisure Centre, and Shellharbour City Stadium.

Shellharbour Mayor Chris Homer said the journey to creating another pickleball court was one that had taken some time and he was glad to finally see it unveiled.

"Carlo [Napolitano, from Shellharbour Smash Pickleball Club] came into my office in my first year to chat about pickleball," Mayor Homer said.

"He gave me the numbers and how it's emerging. So we're really happy to have this multi-purpose court. We're really pleased about where the city's going with outdoor recreation because we're renewing a lot of our outdoor spaces, including sport grounds that haven't really received any love or attention since even I've been alive in the area.

"It helps towards the cost of living as well in my eyes because when families come to a park that's renewed, they can get a couple of hours of recreation instead of having to pay for it elsewhere. So that really pleases me."

For passionate pickleball players Napolitano and Warwick Lindsay, the new court was a must due to the growing nature of the sport.

"It's a really good sense of community," Napolitano said.

"It keeps our older people a little bit more active. One problem that we've got is that the game is growing so fast that we just don't have enough courts. Even with the indoor courts, we can only fit three on a netball court.

"We need a minimum of 16 courts, so we are working with the Council to do some long term plans on that."

Meanwhile Lindsay said the new court would be a huge benefit to those who wish to take their game to another level.

"We started playing at Croome [Road Sporting Complex}," he said.

"They set up some courts on the multi-purpose facility there. Our little group at Croome has developed to the point where some of us go and playing at Australian and state championships.

"The team at Croome just came back from Tasmania, where they got 24 medals."