By now, you must have heard of Pickleball. And if you live in a city, you must by now see droves of Pickleball enthusiasts setting up in parks and on tennis courts. Typically, Pickleball is played in a blacktop playground space or on a tennis court. But where else can Pickleball be played?
Many people rule out the beach as a place to play Pickleball, and for good reason. You can’t really bounce a ball on the sand. But are there specially made balls that can? Do we have to adjust the Pickleball game rules to play on the beach?
Let’s find out.
Can you play Pickleball on the Beach?
No, you can’t play traditional Pickleball on the beach because the sand will not allow for a Pickleball to bounce. But Pickleball enthusiasts have some options. First, you can play a variation of Pickleball called Sandy pickle. Second, you can just set up a Pickleball court at a nearby park or parking lot if it is available to you.
Introducing Sandy Pickle – Pickleball in the Sand
Sandy Pickle is a new game invented for Pickleball enthusiasts who want to play the game on the beach as opposed to those hard, flat pickleball courts. It is like a beach tennis , badminton, ping pong and (of course) Pickleball combo. The net is higher and the rules are adjusted to have a “volley only” dynamic between the two opponents, giving it a similar feel to badminton and volleyball, but with Pickleball paddles and the same court size. Here are some other interesting features of sandy pickle:
- You are actually allowed 1 pass per volley. So just as you can bump & set to teammates in volleyball, you are allowed one of these in Pickleball.
- The court sizes are different for singles and doubles in Sandy Pickle
- The kitchen area is called the “no-spike-zone” where players are allowed to hit the ball, but not spike it, within that areas.
- Players can serve overhand
Find more about Sandy Pickle here.
The second way to play Pickleball on the beach is to replace the wiffle ball with a bouncier ball that can bounce off the sand. This will be tough to find, and the softer the sand the harder it will be to effectively play this variation of Pickleball.
What beaches host Sandy Pickle games?
Despite the very Niche nature of the game, there are Sandy Pickle beach tournaments cropping up in quite a few places. The creators of the Sandy Pickle game recently hosted one at Newport Beach.
Nothing is stopping you from hosting your own Sandy Pickle game. You don’t even need a beach, as a lot of Sandy Pickle games are hosted on grass fields similar to badminton. All you need to do is find an open minded Pickleball community (pretty much every one) and recruite some Pickleballers to enjoy a new variation of the game.
What beaches host actual Pickleball games?
If you aren’t sold on new variations of Pickleball just yet, there are opportunities to enjoy Pickleball right next to the beach. Beaches that have blacktop basketball or tennis courts near by can be easily converted to pickleball courts. This is an option that is open to very many beach goers.
The great thing about Pickleball is that if you have some chalk and a pickleball set to set up play, you can play on pretty much any basketball, tennis courts or empty parking lot near by.
These beach side parks make it easy to get a tan on the beach, and then take a stroll and enjoy a game or two of Pickleball.
To find a place to play pickleball next to the beach, look up your beach location here on Places2Play.com or google the nearest park close to your beach to see if there is a spot to set up a Pickleball court. Here is an example of one I played at recently along the maine avenue Long Beach, New York that is walking distance to the beach.
Conclusion
Pickleball was an evolution of other racket sports, so it makes sense that it would further evolve to something like Sandy Pickle to accomodate beach goers. However, if you just want a day of beach and traditional pickleball, there are parks available close by to the beach where you can set up a Pickleball court with the right equipment.