Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1526937
teaminsightmag.com September/October 2024 ~ Team Insight • 23 Team customers are ordering up pickleball gear and dealers need to be prepared to dish it out. By Judy Leand F or what began as a whimsical game invented by three vacationers on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle, in 1965, pickleball has managed to ascend to undreamed of heights, with much of the growth occurring relatively recently. In fact, pickleball has been America's fastest-growing sport for three consecutive years, having increased 51.8 percent from 2022 to 2023 — and an incredible 223.5 percent since 2020, according to SFIA 's 2024 Topline Participation Report. e research also found that pickleball, with 13.6 million participants, is now nearly the size of outdoor soccer (14.1 million participants). However, those numbers pale in comparison to figures released in the updated 2023 Association of Pickleball Players (APP) Pickleball Participation Report, which states that 48.3 million American adults played the game during the 12 months ending in March, 2023. e study also finds that the average age of pickleball players is 34.8, considerably younger than previously assumed, highlighting the growth of the sport among those ages 18-44. For skeptics who need more convincing, here are a few more pick- leball facts. • ere are currently 13,969 pickleball courts in the U.S., according to the APP. • SFIA estimates that roughly 25,000 courts at a projected cost of nearly $1 billion would need to be built to meet the demand for pickleball in the U.S. • e pickleball paddle market size was estimated at $152.8 million in 2021 and is forecasted to grow at 7.7 percent through 2028. With stellar numbers like these, it's no wonder that pickleball mania continues to grip players and manufacturers, as well as sporting goods retailers and team dealers. At this juncture, the end of the runway is nowhere in sight. "e sport has grown so rapidly because of ease of access," explains Tom Webb, CMO of the APP. "ere's a low cost of entry, you can get quite good very quickly, and there's a low barrier to feeling a sense of accomplishment with the sport. Seventy-six percent of all pickleball players play to have fun. It's a very social game and people are smiling. "Pickleball is not driven by the pro game," he points out. "It came to mass consciousness during the pandemic and was fueled by amateur