Hi everyone, I hope you are all well. We’ve passed January which means…one step closer to Spring and those very lighter and longer days!
This month’s Edit is a slightly longer read as I had the pleasure of engaging with Pickleball Scotland to learn about their Pickleball for Wellbeing (PfW) Initiative. Sandra Macrae of Pickleball Scotland has provided an excellent case study demonstrating how PfW can positively enhance the experiences of female participants. We hope you enjoy 😊
Who is Pickleball Scotland?
Pickleball Scotland was formed in 2018 and officially recognised by sportscotland in December 2024 as the national governing body for the sport. Pickleball Scotland is a non-profit voluntary organisation designed to foster the development of the sport for recreation, health, education and performance.
Sandra emphasised the sport’s growth, positive health impacts and their focus and vision for 2025: “Currently, our management team consists entirely of women. Together with our enthusiastic volunteer workforce, we have grown the game from zero participants to around 10,000 in Scotland. This growth has been achieved through our values-based education pathways that have so far enabled almost 200 Ambassadors and 50 Club Coaches to be trained for the facilitation of pickleball activities in hundreds of different sports, leisure and educational settings in communities across the country,
“The positive health impacts are increasingly being realised by women and Pickleball Scotland has been working closely with all stakeholders including local authority sports development teams, the Active Schools and Colleges network, educational institutions, and third-sector community groups to promote pickleball as an accessible and inclusive sport for people of all ages,
“Our focus for 2025 is to continue developing a participant-centred approach to inclusive practice and wellbeing and help offer more people opportunities to access to recreational pickleball activity. For many it is either an entry or re-entry point to sports participation. This is where I’m seeing women in particular taking up the game and regularly enjoying the positive physical and mental health benefits. Women like myself who want to be active but may previously have experienced barriers to participation in sport for various reasons such as long-term health conditions, recovery from illness or injury, disabilities, mental health challenges, or changes in lifestyle, are finding pickleball can be a safe, enjoyable activity for building confidence and improving health, fitness, strength, endurance, and self-esteem.”
Sandra Macrae, copyright: Pickleball Scotland
What is pickleball?
Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the world. Pickleball is a rebound racquet sport played mostly in doubles over a central net similar to tennis on a badminton-sized court, with solid-faced paddles similar to table-tennis, using an air-flow plastic ball. The sport has been praised for being the most accessible to participants of whom have no previous racquet skills/experience as the rules are easy-to-follow and players can maintain a rally due to underhand serving and volleys not being allowed close to the net (Pickleball Scotland, 2025).
Sandra explained some of the motives of participation from a female perspective and her involvement in the sport: “Women of all ages from all walks of life are discovering that pickleball is accessible because it is so simple to pick up, low-cost, and can be played indoors all-year-round almost anywhere with a badminton-sized court – which is great for those of us who find that the Scottish climate sometimes limits our outdoors activities. On a cold, dark winter’s day, it is physically energising and psychologically uplifting to meet up with friends for a game of pickleball – and that is happening all over the country almost everywhere with an indoor badminton-sized court! Since I took up the sport in 2022, the popularity of the sport has accelerated rapidly, and I’ve attended volunteer-led pickleball activities in a range of locations including community hubs, church halls, sports and leisure centres, school, college and university games halls, as well as outdoor all-weather multi-use games areas (MUGAs) and community sports facilities.”
Pickleball for Wellbeing (PfW)
While Sandra was a post-graduate student at UHI Perth, she had a keen research interest in volunteer-led health and wellbeing interventions in community settings and dived into the sport of pickleball at a community-use club: “After a few months of personally feeling the positive health benefits, I saw potential for an inclusion session to be added to the recreational programme to support people who might be experiencing barriers to participation. I suggested to the organisers that we could offer a weekly session that was more cooperative and played at a moderate rather than vigorous pace, with an emphasis on participation rather than competition. The response was – yes, let’s go for it!”
Sandra emphasised from there, she joined Pickleball Scotland and trained as a Pickleball Scotland Ambassador. Her vision for the development of a modified pickleball format focussing on the positive psychological benefits of participation was supported by Pickleball Scotland and Perth and Kinross Live Active Leisure ‘Sport for Change’ network: “My mission was simple: get more people moving more often through a uniquely devised Pickleball for Wellbeing (PfW) inclusion format.
“I started by asking: People who lack confidence for participation in sport – can we get them moving more? Can Pickleball for Wellbeing offer them an entry point that’s modified in ways that mean they don’t experience any barriers to participation? And how can we keep them physically and psychologically safe so that they enjoy the game so much they’ll come back next week?”
The PfW format was effectively developed and co-designed through collaborative conversations, learnings and knowledge-sharing between stakeholders including Pickleball Scotland, Scottish Disability Sport, Scottish Action for Mental Health, Scottish Recovery Network and the Sportscotland Sport for Change network. In 2023-24, it was delivered as a 12-month pilot Case Study project based at UHI Perth through low-cost weekly 90-minute sessions offered to community-use participants from the local Perth & Kinross area, most of whom were women with long-term health conditions who needed support to build confidence for participation in sport.
Pickleball Scotland, copyright: Pickleball Scotland
In a PfW activity, the emphasis is always on co-operative participation, enjoyment, and laughter, not competition. The trained volunteer facilitators can modify the game depending on the individual needs of each player, and sometimes the court space is reduced to make it even easier. Each game rotation lasts about eight minutes or so, and players take rest-breaks between games – another reason why it’s perfect for players who prefer an easy-going, social activity.
Feedback from the women who took part in the Case Study was overwhelmingly positive and significant improvements connected to physical, mental and social wellbeing issues were reported. This was particularly notable amongst the older adult women who were post-menopausal and had previously not met the recommended guideline of 150 minutes per week of physical activity. Social connections that were formed through PfW led to further lifestyle changes including participation in organised walking groups and other physical activity classes as varied as kettlebells and line-dancing! A key finding was that women gained intrinsic motivation for personal change when supported by mutually positive and empowering interpersonal relationships, i.e. smiles mattered more than scores. This upends the traditional definition of sport being all about competition, winning, playing to rules, and doing things the ‘right’ way. In summary, the PfW Case Study demonstrates that getting active does not require physical and mental mastery.”
Pickleball for Wellbeing (PfW) pilot project, copyright: Pickleball Scotland
In closing, Sandra stated, “if you’ve not tried it already, pickleball is worth a go if you want to laugh, make new friends, move more, and improve your health!”
If you wish to learn more about the sport or the Pickleball for Wellbeing (PfW) Initiative, please contact Pickleball Scotland directly.
