Rainbow Pickleball kicks off at the Castlemaine Lawn Tennis Courts with a 'Come and Try Session' next Thursday November 2, followed by a weekly competition beginning on Thursday, November 9. Playing Pickleball is a great way to get active, get outdoors and have some fun with other people from the LGBTIQA+ community and their allies. And at $5 per participant each week, it's an afford- able activity too!

So what is Pickleball? Pickleball originally started out as a children's backyard game in the US in 1965 but in recent years has grown in popularity world wide. While the sport, in which two singles or four doubles players hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball with paddles over a net until one side is unable to return the ball, resembles tennis and table tennis, it has a very specific rules, paddles and court dimensions.

The court is 44 feet long and 20 feet wide, and the paddle is larger than the one used in table tennis. The hard plastic ball used in Pickleball has less bounce than a tennis ball.

On each side of the net is a 7-foot area known as the non-volley zone (or the kitchen), where the ball must bounce before it is hit. The rules specify side-out scoring, where only the server can score a point. The minimal amount of bounce, the non-volley zones, and the underhanded stroke with which all serves are made, give the game a dynamic pace.

So make sure to head down to the 'Come and Try Session' at the Castlemaine Lawn Tennis Courts at 7pm on November 2. All equipment is provided and all fitness levels encourage. As this is a new sport, everyone is a beginner and will be learning together.