Top Ten Pickleball Communities in N. America

Best Places to Live: Pickleball
By Dan Rabin, Read more: http://www.masters-athlete.com/public/464.cfm

Masters Athlete magazine has ranked the top ten pickleball communities in North America. The towns were judged on facilities, both in terms of quality and quantity; the number and quality of players; and the weather. In the end, only one community could be called Pickleball Paradise. The Villages, Fl. is Pickleball Paradise.

1 The Villages, Fla.
The Villages, the mammoth active adult community in central Florida, boasts 150 outdoor courts and 2,000 players. The weather, the leagues and tournaments run by the Villages' famed recreation department and the sheer number of residents looking for a game on a daily basis make this community Pickleball Paradise.

2 Seattle
If pickleball is your passion, and you're willing to sacrifice year-round sunshine for lush green landscapes, there are few better places to raise a racquet than in Seattle.

3 Surprise, Ariz.
In recent decades, the desert southwest has seen its population soar as seniors have flocked to the region's numerous active adult communities. Perhaps it's no surprise then, that Surprise, Ariz., has emerged as one the country's premier pickleball hotspots.

4 St. George, Utah
Pickleball arrived in St. George, Utah, in 2002. The first participants transformed tennis courts at SunRiver, St. George's active adult retirement community.

5 Schenectady, N.Y.
Pickleball was introduced to upstate New York about four years ago when a player who had learned the game in Florida taught it to several acquaintances in the Schenectady area. .

6 British Columbia, Canada
Pickleball's ongoing crusade knows no borders, as Canada is being besieged by scores of racquet-swinging seniors. British Columbia is the game's most active province.
(hooray, we are on the top ten list)

7 Houston
Pockets of pickleball are sprouting up like wildflowers across the Texas landscape. Houston currently claims the greatest concentration of pickleball activity.

8 Lafayette and Baton Rouge, La.
Pickleball has had a presence in Louisiana since at least 1980, when the game was first taught to students in the middle schools of Baton Rouge and Lafayette,

9 Bella Vista, Ark.
A local couple got turned on to pickleball while visiting friends in central Florida. They brought their enthusiasm for the game back to the Ozarks, and the Bella Vista Pickleball Club was born.

10 Southern California
From San Diego to Sacramento, Palm Desert to Silicon Valley, the options for pickleball enthusiasts are expanding at an accelerating pace.