What is pickleball? More and more people are finding out every day.

Pickles in Hanover is preparing to host the inaugural Major League Pickleball amateur team draft and championship tournament.

And like everything with the boomers, the problem is where to put them all, not to mention the younger generations they’re now infecting with pickleball mania.

Opening up a new business in the middle of a pandemic isn’t easy, but fortune does indeed favor the brave. Enthusiasts of the growing sport of pickleball are always looking for a place to play their favorite game. Lisa DeMeritt and Wanda Melampy turned that passion into a blossoming business with Pickles, a 25,000 square-foot indoor pickleball facility located in Hanover.

“We officially opened on March 12, 2021. It’s hard to believe that it’s been over a year now, and I think we’ve found something that people are excited about,” said DeMeritt. “(Wanda and I) started thinking about doing something like this a while back, and it’s incredible to see what we’ve been able to do in our first year. There’s still a lot of room for us to grow as more and more people start to pick up the game of pickleball.”

If you haven’t heard of pickleball, you’re part of a group that’s getting smaller and smaller each day. The game crosses generational gaps as a favorite activity in high school gym class as well as a preferred recreation option for members of the senior community. Over 5 million people in the United States regularly play pickleball, and participation has grown an estimated 650 percent in the last five years, making it one of the fastest-growing sports in the world. A demand for pickleball courts came right along with the exponential growth of the sport. Town recreation programs across the South Shore are filled to the brim with avid pickleball players, and makeshift courts are always popping up in open spaces around town.

That got Melampy and DeMeritt thinking. Why not give these passionate pickleball players a permanent place to play?

“It came down to us finding the right location for the business,” DeMeritt said.

That perfect place turned out to be a spot located at 357 Columbia Road in Hanover.

Pickles is big enough to house six full-sized pickleball courts. Each court has professional flooring as well as permanent nets and lines inside of a caged-off playing area. There are also two practice courts available for lessons for those newbies just learning the game.

“That’s one of the great things about pickleball. You start playing the game and you’re having so much fun that you keep learning and wanting to get better at it,” DeMeritt said. “There are people who play pickleball for fun and to get some exercise, and there are other people who get really serious about improving their own game. There really is room for all types of players.”

The social aspect of playing pickleball is also something that attracts many to the game. A popular player lounge sits above the courts at Pickles, where everyone can socialize with an adult beverage and some snacks after a tough match.

The next step in the evolution of the game takes place Saturday, July 9, when Pickles will be a premier host of the inaugural Major League Pickleball (MLP) and Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR) amateur team draft and championship tournament.

The MLP amateur team format draft will allow players to qualify based on participation in a series of one-day, timed round robins held over eight weeks. Players will be grouped by DUPR into the appropriate round-robin bracket and play as many matches as possible within a two-hour window.  Players can participate in as many weekend sessions as they like; the more matches played, the more likely to qualify for the draft. Pickles will hold both Saturday and Sunday match sessions, starting July 9. Players with ratings of 3.5 will compete on Saturdays, and players with ratings of 4.0 or 4.5+ will compete on Sundays. Throughout the eight weeks, MLP and DUPR will send out national and regional updates of New England’s top pickleball players, highlighting the best of the best. The draft qualifying sessions will run from July 9 through Aug. 28.

At the end of the eight-week season, the top eight male and top eight female players from each bracket (64 total players) will be drafted onto teams by MLP/DUPR Commissioners, to compete in the Championship Tournament, which will be held Labor Day Weekend (Sept. 3 and 4). In this format, two male players and two female players will comprise each team, and compete in a four-team playoff. First place in each division receives $2,000 per team ($500 per person).

For more information about the draft and Championship Tournament, visit www.picklesMLP.com   

Email the reporter at dwolcott@wickedlocal.com and you can follow him on Twitter, @DavidWolcott1.

Visit picklesne.com, give them a call at 781-816-5021 or drop-in to say hello, you’ll be glad you did.