Charlotte pickleball experts discuss its greater meaning
Panel at Rotary Club of Charlotte discusses pickleball's business model, social features and growing popularity
The following article appeared in the Jan. 10, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Pickleball ‘titans’ discuss the sport’s reach in Charlotte; a new type of dating network, how most injuries happen
Kids practice on outdoor pickleball courts at the Granite Street Sports Center in southwest Charlotte in this Ledger file photo from 2022. (Photo courtesy of Pickleball Charlotte)
by Cristina Bolling
Pickleball was the topic du jour at Tuesday’s Rotary Club of Charlotte meeting, as three men who are leaders in the local pickleball scene described the growing sports phenomenon in Charlotte and even demonstrated some techniques in front of the suit-and-tie crowd.
The speakers included Craig Lemley, pickleball pro emeritus at Myers Park Country Club; Allan Haseley, co-owner of Pickleball Charlotte and Jim Kucera, director of pickleball at Rally Entertainment in LoSo.
(Kucera is a relatively new entry to Charlotte's pickleball scene compared to Lemley and Haseley, as Rally just opened last June as a pickleball restaurant and bar with eight courts. “It’s amazing to sit next to these two titans of the industry,” Kucera said of Lemley and Haseley during the panel’s introductions.)
Here are some interesting takeaways from the discussion, for the pickleball enthusiasts or the pickleball-curious:
🏓 On how pickleball signifies a return to old-school ways of meeting people: “Today young people will go on Facebook or dating sites to meet people. When I was younger, my wife and I met playing volleyball in a rec league,” Haseley said. “A lot of people met playing sports. I think pickleball is that again … it is allowing people to meet in a social network, in a sports environment. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be a competitive environment.” (Haseley said 750 people were signed up to play Tuesday at Pickleball Charlotte’s Ballantyne and Sharon Lakes locations, despite the weather.)