Rain may have delayed the coming-out party by a week, but Town officials and pickleball aficionados were out in force Saturday for the dedication of the Town Common’s new pickleball courts.

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America, and Bristol is no exception — people of all ages are playing the combination of tennis, badminton, ping pong and racquetball. When it was time for the Town to upgrade the Common courts, they went with the flow dedicated two-thirds of the space to pickleball, with the remaining space convertible between pickleball and tennis.

The event was held by the Bristol Pickleball Club of RI, a nonprofit club made up of a diverse group of over 800 members from Bristol and surrounding towns. The Club's mission is to provide recreational, social, and competitive pickleball play for all skill levels. They play year round every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, weather permitting. They also offer beginner and advanced beginner one hour lessons free of charge to help new players get started.

“We’ve become a victim of our success,” said Club President Cliff Teixeira. “It’s been an explosion. We would have 70 people any given day here waiting to play, and the numbers were getting out of hand.”

They instituted a reservation system and it fills up in minutes, not hours. Club membership is capped at 800, but to ensure new people have a chance to join, those who have not played in the last three months are removed from the list to let other players in.

“It’s a lot of work,” said Teixeira, “But we are doing it for the love of the game.”

Bristol resident Dave Herbst is one who loves the game. “I call him my executive director,” laughed Teixeira, by way of introduction. The 83-year old (not the oldest in the club, that honor goes to an 89-year-old gentleman) was sitting in the shade, waiting for his turn to play.

“I’ve been playing six years now. I love the game,” he said. “It’s social, a little exercise but not heavy if you don’t want it to be. There’s nothing not to like.”

For more information visit www.BristolPickleballRI.org.