“With this idea, and in the spirit of pickleball, it gives our community a chance to make new friends and compete against new players,” Moore said. In the advanced division, Team KRV took one win and Team BRV grabbed two division crowns. Each division started with round-robin play with the top four teams advancing to a single elimination playoff round. The challenge format had three divisions: Advanced, intermediate and recreation. There is at least one local pickleball competition in the area's “Town Challenge,' started by local resident Wayne Moore, who got the idea 'to get some of the small community pickleball groups together and compete.” The idea was thrown around earlier this year and the first organized event pitted Team Bear Valley Spring (BVS) Pickleball Club against the Kern River Valley (KRV) Pickleball Club at Kern Valley High School for a Town Challenge contest.

Predictions are that the sport will be one of the fastest-growing pastimes in the country this year, according to. The number of players over the age of 6 has ballooned to more than 8.9 million in 2022, up from 4.8 million a year earlier. That’s reflective of the national upward trend in the popularity of pickleball. Whether it's Bakersfield, which added courts at Jastro Park four years ago, or Ridgecrest, which modified tennis courts to accommodate pickleball play, pickleball is being played at more places. In recent years, communities around the Kern Valley have done their part to meet the increasing demand for pickleball courts. The sport has been a part of the California landscape since soon after its start in Washington state. As pickleball slang includes the term 'get' for managing to score a point for your team on a difficult play, it is easier to 'get' started than one may think. Summer is in full swing and those looking to get out and get moving might want to give the pickleball craze a try.

Kern river volleyball club website