Described as the "fastest growing sport in the world that no one's ever heard of", pickleball will enter new realms in Launceston this weekend.
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The first North versus South showdown will be played at Elphin Sports Centre on Saturday, with event organiser Ali Wheatley gaining inspiration from across Bass Strait.
"A lot of the tournaments on the mainland were cancelled so the committee decided that we needed to keep our picklers involved in keeping their skill sets up," she said.
"So we took a leaf out of New South Wales' book and basically they have the battle of the borders - New South Wales versus Victoria - and we decided on North versus South."
Pickleball's origins date back to 1965 when American Joel Pritchard was looking to play badminton, but couldn't find the shuttle so he lowered the net, used a perforated ball and some paddles.
Combining elements of badminton, tennis and table tennis, it has "gone gangbusters" in Tasmania, with the state's first pickleball club - Kingborough - set up in 2019.
"Down South, they've been playing for quite a while, so the North are the underdogs," Wheatley said.
"We've got people coming from Swansea and George Town to be a part of the North team and overall, the sport in the North-West area of Port Sorell has grown from say four people and we are getting between 20-26 people at the Banksia Centre."
This weekend's tournament will see 24 players from the two regions go toe-to-toe, with Wheatley hoping the event can become a permanent fixture.
"It was a godsend to actually get into Elphin because I was told that it was pretty much all booked up," she said.
"I happened to send an email to them and ask them the question and I think I was very lucky because it is a long weekend.
"We could have 16 courts there at Elphin, we are currently only using eight but it is a great centre."
Josh Partridge
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
