Bolton labelled ‘home of pickleball’ after Nationals

BOLTON has been hailed as “the home of Pickleball in the UK” by the BBC after a successful Skechers English National Championships was held at the Arena.

Around 1,111 competitors from all over the UK took part, including juniors, seniors and wheelchair competitors.

The sport was invented in America in 1965 as a children’s backyard game, but is now one of the fastest-growing in the UK and counts Hollywood stars among its fans.

The BBC cameras filmed twice at the Arena, once for the regional news and once for national exposure.

The North West entry in the championships was “outstanding”, stated Pickleball England’s North West regional director Elaine Shallcross BEM.

“I am absolutely delighted with the growth of Pickleball in our region and the entry from local players was really pleasing,” she stated.

The region enjoyed a very successful event, taking 28 medals including eight gold, 12 silver and eight bronze.

One Bolton club alone, Markland Hill Racquets Club, had 36 members taking part and won four gold medals and a silver.

Sarah Bleackley and Martin Bromley took gold, Martin adding another in the men’s doubles final with partner Ian Hodgkinson.

Pete Preston and Steve Durkin took gold in their final, as did Janet Leatham and Tony Mason in theirs and Debra Owen and John Williams took silver.

Vicky Ault from the club said: “The support offered to each other and the sense of a true club made it such a good event. It has breathed life into our club.”

The Nationals also provided a young local Pickleball player with an unforgettable experience. Leigh Pickleball Club member Thomas Eyre, aged 11, stepped in as a last-minute replacement in the adult men’s 3.0 doubles and he and his scratch partner took the bronze medal.

Bolton provided the venue for the national tournament for the fourth year.

Shallcross added: “The Arena has everything required to host a competition of this magnitude and the infrastructure surrounding the Arena on the Middlebrook estate is just perfect.

“All of these factors made an excellent tournament and players from around the UK are very complimentary about Bolton as the host venue and how welcoming the local people are.”