Tasmania's pickleball players will converge on Elphin Sports Centre this weekend for the Tasmanian championship event.
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First held last season in Kingborough, the event has attracted double the amount of players, growing from 70 players to 141.
With the event attracting players ranging from 16 years old to 78, co-organiser Heather Hepburn is proud of how the sport is growing.
"It's getting out there more now, with the two events that we had in the state last year - the state championships in Hobart and the North versus South event in Launceston - we've had a lot of good feedback and more people wanting to take up the sport," she said.
She puts the growth down to the hard work and support of Pickleball Tasmania with paddles, nets and balls all supplied by the statewide organisation for social and competitive hits.
Combining elements of tennis, table tennis and badminton, pickleball has been played since 1965 when American Joel Pritchard was hoping to play badminton but couldn't find what he needed.
With regular clubs playing in Hobart, Kingborough, Swansea, Port Sorrell and Launceston, entries from those areas have been impressive, as well as several mainland players from Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, NSW and the ACT.
With pickleball set to feature at the Tasmanian Masters Games on the North-West Coast, the Launceston social group is continuing to grow.
Held every Thursday from 10am to 11.30am, the group meets at hall one of Elphin Sports Centre, with social games of doubles and mixed played with several different partners.
The first come-and-try session costs $5, with it rising to $8 for Pickleball Tasmania members and $10 for those who aren't members.
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