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pickleball courts, making it one of the premier indoor places for play
in Southern Oregon. Portable nets move into place for pickleball and
are stored when it’s time for tennis to take over.

Joel Heller, a national pickleball medalist and teaching pro, organizes
regularly scheduled round-robin tournaments called “jamborees” at
RVCC that attract players from all over the region.

“We’ve been doing jamborees for about six years now,” says Heller,
“and they’re growing each year. We’ve had up to seventy players in
recent jamborees and they come from all over, including other states.
People love the opportunity to play with people of similar levels, so
you can sign up for any one of seven different levels of skill.”

And while it may be referred to as an “addiction,” pickleball is defi-
nitely a healthy sport. A study cited by Harvard Health Publishing
concludes that those who regularly participate in racket and paddle
sports were 56% less likely to die of cardiovascular disease than those
who do other activities, such as jogging. “People really stick with
pickleball,” says Johnson. “It’s kind of like playing music; the more you
play and the better you get, the more enjoyment you take from it.”

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