Can the popular Pickleball become the next "Frisbee"?

Pickleball has become completely popular.

Open social media and you can see various public figures flocking to the "pit" movement - Bill Gates takes his whole family to plant grass after he finishes his own studies; Kardashian sisters built their own Peak Court in the luxury house; Even Little Lizi, who hardly ever appears in any sports setting, picked up his racket and played special games on the beach in Los Angeles.

The celebrity effect, combined with reports from mainstream media such as Vogue, Times, and Vanity Fair, has greatly magnified the influence and commercial value of Pickball. However, behind the shining stars, the birth of Pickball is just an ordinary story that cannot be more ordinary.

In the 1960s, several neighbors living on a small island next to Seattle wanted to play sports together, so they pulled a net on an abandoned badminton court in the backyard. If they couldn't find a badminton racket, they replaced it with an unused ping pong racket. They also snatched the beloved toy plastic ball from their pet dog, Pick, and started playing together for ten years.

As more and more people became curious about this game and began to participate, the organizer of the event, Pritchard, discovered that it was a sport suitable for all ages, and perhaps had the opportunity to become popular. He customized exclusive equipment and venues based on its characteristics, registered patents, and began promoting it nationwide.

The common PEAK rackets are 398mm long and 194mm wide, weighing between 200 and 250 grams, equivalent to the weight of half a bottle of mineral water. Initially, most PEAK rackets were made of smooth wood, but after innovation, they were gradually replaced by new materials such as fiberglass and carbon fiber, which have better athletic performance;

Pik balls are hollow plastic balls with a diameter of 74mm. According to the regulations of the International Pik Ball Federation, they are mostly bright colors such as white, yellow, and green, with 26 (indoor) or 40 (outdoor) circular holes on the surface.

The size of PEAK Stadium is about 6.1mX13m, which is not different from a normal doubles badminton court except for the lineation. This is one of the important reasons why PEAK Stadium is easy to promote.

The low threshold provided the possibility for the initial popularization of this sport. But looking back over the past two years, there are even more complex reasons behind the popularity and popularity of the sport.

Ten fold growth in three years, the explosive path of Pik Ball

Due to its low intensity and ease of use, Pik Ball was once referred to as the "senior version of tennis" in the United States.

According to a survey by the American Pickball Association, before 2020, the average age of domestic Pickball players in the United States was close to 44 years old, much higher than tennis players (36.3 years old). Among all deep participants (participating 8 times or more per year), players aged 55 and above accounted for over 60%.

For over 60 years since its invention, "elderly friendliness" and "nursing home sports" seem to have been the most well-known features of the sport. But these labels have been completely removed in the past two years.

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States in 2021, people's outdoor sports activities have significantly shrunk, and badminton has gained popularity among the public due to its low threshold and convenient venue. From January 2021 to January 2023, the number of domestic badminton players in the United States skyrocketed from 4.82 million to over 36 million, and the annual growth rate in 2022 reached a terrifying 85.7%.

In addition, among the current population of people who have doubled by nearly ten times, the proportion of young people aged 18-34 is close to 30%, making them the most important age group driving the development of this sport. This has also directly lowered the average audience age of this sport from 43.8 years old to 33.6 years old.

In an article published by Time magazine last year, it even directly referred to Pitt as the "most promising sport in the United States.".

Of course, this potential is reflected in multiple aspects. In addition to the explosive growth of players, many investors are optimistic about the development of this "four different" sport, including one of the most successful businessmen in the sports industry - LeBron James.

On September 29th last year, James and his business partner Maverick Carter announced that they would support the Major League Pickleball (MLP) expansion plan by acquiring a team.

Although the specific name of the team has not been determined yet, there are reports that the team is expected to officially debut as one of the four new MLP teams in 2023.

In addition, dozens of star athletes, including Kevin Durant, Tom Brady, and others, have also incorporated professional badminton into their investment landscape. The current valuations of the MLP league and its various teams have not been announced, but The Wall Street Journal has revealed that the league's existing 12 teams have all reached seven digit valuations.

Due to historical background, MLP has always intended to rejuvenate the image of the league. Whether it's the exaggerated street style on the sidelines or the age restrictions on players, they are all aimed at presenting a vibrant league image and attracting more attention from young people.

The popularity of badminton in the United States has its unique social background, but in the current era where the environment has been relaxed, the popularity of this sport has not decreased as a result.

In order to cater to the craze for badminton, there have been numerous cases in the United States where some tennis courts have been converted into sports courts; The largest chain of integrated sports venues and MLP alliance official cooperative venue, "Chicken N Pickle," experienced an outbreak in 2022- according to Growjo.com, Chicken N Pickle's revenue reached $54 million in 2022, an increase of over 400% year-on-year, and four large venues will be landing in 2023.

The explosive growth in scale and revenue not only comes from their cooperation with MLP, but also from the current surge in demand for sports venues among the public. According to Chicken N Pickle, they gained the most sports membership in history in 2022, and among them, household based card application is the most common situation.

Although playing can be done on badminton courts or even in the backyard, professional venues always provide a better experience, and the supporting restaurants and shops around the venue have expanded this sport to a modern lifestyle that people value. The one-stop joy of "playing gatherings" can also be enjoyed by badminton players.

Pickball, will it be the next "frisbee"?

Although the sport of badminton has already gained a great reputation on the other side of the ocean in 2022, it is still in the second half of the year. When domestic practitioners realized that most areas have entered winter and are no longer suitable for outdoor sports, the development of badminton has also been postponed.

Nowadays, as the weather warms up, enthusiasts of frisbee and waist flag are returning one after another, and the sport of Pik Ball is slowly sprouting new shoots that belong to it.

Looking at the domestic sports market in the past two years, the precedents of frisbee and waist flag have proven that in order to develop an emerging sport, it is necessary to first hit the hearts of young people. In the view of Dan Ze, the founder of PICKBOOM, the first badminton club in Southwest China, the same applies to the popularity of badminton in China.

Danze told Krypton, "A sport is loved by young people not only because of its inherent fun, but also because of its social and trendy attributes, as well as the lifestyle it represents, which makes people willing to spend their precious time and money."

Although this was also the most controversial topic in the early days of the popularity of frisbee and waist flags, on the other hand, who would be willing to spend money playing a sport without any connotation or extension alone now?

In Danze's view, the social attributes of the sport are different from frisbee. In most cases, there are only 8 people on the bench in a doubles game, which also means that the social range provided by the sport will be more precise and deeper.

"As far as I know, many friends who play frisbee may encounter situations where they can't form a game. For example, if you and your teammates finish work and say" go play ", they will go play. Generally speaking, if you find a suitable player or partner, you will establish a deep connection and understanding with each other after playing some representative battles, which is also a rare point."

At the same time, as the pace of life and work accelerates, many people do not have enough energy and time to save up a game that often consists of 15-20 people. For them, badminton can not only meet the needs of physical activity, but also accurately socialize, making it a very good choice.

In March of this year, Danze and his team parachuted into the landmark giant panda in the Chengdu IFS business district to participate in a quick flash sports event. Several members held fluorescent yellow rackets and played the sport in the most crowded area in the local area. The novel sports and trendy venue settings also attracted many passersby and office workers to stop and watch.

The trendy attributes of Pickball are not only reflected in offline activities, but also give rise to opportunities to interact with many other trendy brands. According to Danze, his club has partnered with the recently popular outdoor fashion brand Salomon and has become one of the 21 sports themed clubs promoted by the brand nationwide.

Collaborating with independent artists to create a sports park and collaborating with trendy brands on product level actions are also within the scope of a sports club's operations, and will bring benefits to the trendy attributes of this sport.

On this issue, Danze also brings another interesting perspective: "I don't think any sport itself has a trendy attribute, but rather depends on the people involved and the way we play. Trendy equipment and venue settings are just a blessing, and everyone plays with a cool and relaxed attitude. How could it not be cool?"

During the communication, Danze mentioned an impressive concept - the focusing function of a sports ball.

Simply put, in today's fast-paced social environment, the public is pursuing efficiency in work, socializing, and even interacting with family. Fast food content has also taken up a large part of people's lives, so many people cannot concentrate on doing something, let alone ponder what they want.

At this point, the "elderly friendly" label of badminton becomes an advantage - unlike the course requirement of at least 20-40 hours for beginners in tennis, badminton is a "get started and play" sport, and many first-time players without a sports background can play it properly and immediately feel the joy of sports, which can greatly save time and cost.

"And its intensity is moderate, not requiring a huge physical reserve like tennis, but also allowing you to concentrate and immerse yourself in it: as the ball (focus) flies and lands every time, we hope that players can temporarily detach from the fast-paced life and immerse themselves in this interesting sport, ultimately 'landing' their focus and goals in life through this method."

Looking at the emerging sports that have become popular in recent years, if frisbee and waist flag represent "release", and outdoor cycling pursues "speed", then sports ball is a way that most people can accept, allowing everyone to participate and feel the joy of sports.

In our communication with Danze, we also talked about the development trajectory of Pik Ball based on its own characteristics: "If we distribute all sports on a coordinate map, the X-axis represents the ease of getting started and the friendliness of sports, and at the end may be Frisbee. Some people can experience it for a year and reach a very good level, and even participate in semi professional sports."

"The Y-axis, on the other hand, represents the depth and potential for development of his skills and tactics. For example, tennis requires a lot of time and effort to achieve technical success, making it difficult to widely engage in sports at the public level. Therefore, I think the Pik Ball may be in the center position of the entire coordinate system, which is easy to pick up and has enough depth for you to constantly improve yourself."

Therefore, compared to frisbee experiencing an outbreak in the short term, the development curve of Pickball may be much smoother, but it can be more long-lasting and have a long history. It can undoubtedly usher in its own dominant period, but ultimately it may develop into a sport similar to badminton and table tennis, with its own stable audience.

In fact, this development curve also conforms to the trend of "national fitness".

The National Fitness Plan (2021-2025) released by the State Council has proposed to vigorously develop the sports industry, actively cultivate outdoor sports, intelligent sports and other sports industries, and promote more new products, new formats, and new models.

It doesn't matter whether you become the next frisbee or badminton. As long as some people can bring sports into their lives through sports like badminton, its emergence and the careful management of practitioners like Danze are meaningful.