Andovers very own Pickleball team proudly wear the Andover crest on their team kit!

Date: 16th October, 2024


We were approached earlier in the year by a Pickleball team who play out of Andover Leisure Centre. They were looking to use the Andover Towns crest on their kit. The team play once a week on Tuesdays at the Leisure Centre between 10am-12 noon. The group ranges from people in their 30's to 70s' but is open to all ages, everybody is welcome!The team have sent us pictures of their smart new kit which dons the crest of Andover.We are proud to be represented within such an exciting and inclusive sport and thank the team for wanting to use the crest.


So what is Pickleball?

It was invented in 1965 as a children’s backyard game in the United States.

Pickleball is a sport played with a racket (paddle) that combines elements from badminton, tennis and table tennis.

It can be played either singles or doubles, indoors or outdoors on a court with the approximately the same measurements as a badminton court.
The game is played with a hard ‘paddle’ and a hard, hollow plastic ball with holes in it.
The net is similar to a tennis net, but a little lower.
Even though pickleball is like tennis, there are important difference that make pickleball especially more accessible for children and seniors.
The most important difference is the speed of the ball. A pickleball travels at about a third of the average speed of a tennis ball.
There are a number of shots that can be played, one of them is a Dink, a strategic groundstroke, returning the ball into the area called the kitchen, which is just over the net. We have included this name on the back of the t shirts as a play on Andover,  Dink And-over (the net).
There is approximately 15,000 pickleball players in England.