RUMFORD — Pickleball enthusiasts say the sport is booming in the River Valley because it’s easy to learn, highly social and affordable.

“For seniors, one of the biggest issues is loneliness and you have loneliness here,” said Anne Marie Mahar, a member of Rumford Pickleball. “I’m retired. I worked in this hospital for 40 years and I’m like, ‘what am I going to do?'”

Since she started playing pickleball, “I’ve met all these people that I didn’t know,” she added.

On July 6 at the Hosmer Field tennis courts at 51 Lincoln Ave., 22 people signed for the free play. On a rotating basis, 16 people populate two tennis courts to play the fastest growing sport in the United States.

Games to 11 generally last about 15 minutes. Mahar said at these sessions, they rotate in and out so everyone plays.

The Rumford program has existed for at least five years, with its start credited to Carl Walston and his wife, Nancy Blanchard Walston, originally from Rumford but now of New York. After moving to Roxbury, they went to the Greater Rumford Community Center to find other players.

“We got Rita Gilbert and Louise Butkus and started playing with them,” Walston said.

As news of the group spread by word of mouth, they also welcomed Don and Diane Johnson and then Dirk MacKnight came in “and he really turbocharged it, brought a lot of life into it,” Walston said.

The pickleball group, mostly seniors, is up to 122 members, but anyone can join, not just seniors, Mahar said. They have players ranging in age from 16 to 80.

“We’re here Monday through Friday, starting around 8 a.m. depending on the time of year,” he said.

MacKnight does the administrative tasks and communication with the group through the TeamReach app, which has gone a long way in growing the number of players. They say prospective players can download the TeamReach App; the code for the Rumford group is Pklball and the Andover group’s code is And04216.

A COMMUNITY

MacKnight said a lot of the reason pickleball has grown so much is that as many tennis players age, their shoulders and knees give out. Pickleball is a little less harsh on the joints.

“The biggest reason why it’s popular is that the learning curve is very short,” MacKnight said. “We’re about half the size of a tennis court and you can learn it very quickly, and enjoy it at a low level.”

MacKnight said what their group does is called open play, so anyone at any level can join in.

John Giambattista, one of the early members of the group, said he’s had a knee replaced, needs another and will soon have his back operated on. But he’s still playing.

“It’s about competition, it always is to some degree, but it’s really more about relationships and the fun we have. It improves your energy level for the entire day,” he said.

Friendship plays a big role, too, Mahar added. The group often goes out to lunch together after they play.

“And it’s exercise; it’s addictive and you feel good,” Mahar said. “But there is this sense of community here, I feel. One of our members hurt herself skiing and we all ask how she’s doing.”

Giambattista said he makes her homemade bread about once a month.

“It’s a social game. As a matter of fact, we travel a fair amount, as do a lot of these people, and we play everywhere, so you meet all kinds of people,” Diane Johnson said. “So it’s an attraction. And the level of play is dictated by what people want.

“When people from out of state come to the Rumford/Mexico area, they’re looking for this,” she added. “We’ve had people ask, ‘Can we come in?'”

They keep a couple of spare rackets on hand in case passersby want to join.

Mahar said they also appreciate being able to be loud without complaints. In other communities, the noise of the pickleball paddles is the source of those complaints.

“There can be loudness, and it’s not just from the pickleball but its from the laughter sometimes, or somebody makes a good shot and someone yells, ‘way to go!'” she said.

A PLACE TO PLAY

Mahar said one of the goals is to have a permanent place to play.

Each weekday, before they begin pickleball, members must chalk the lines and set up the four nets at the Hosmer Field tennis courts.

A tennis group plays there from 9-11 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Parks and Rec Superintendent Marcus Palmer said he’s considering trying that on the basketball courts next to these courts. He said he believes those two sports can coexist there.

MacKnight said his concern would be the cracks on those courts. He said he’d like to see two permanent pickleball courts, and two more that are lined and can have nets set up.

Mahar said she feels the town is motivated to have permanent pickleball.

MacKnight is looking to a teach a class on how to play pickleball in the future.

“People who don’t know how to play are welcome to come,” he said. “Beginners show up all the time, so even if we have a class, people can come whenever.”

He added that they hope to offer a couple evening sessions after 5 p.m. and possibly Saturday morning for people who work.

“The largest group of people playing pickleball are age 35 and under,” MacKnight said. “People think it’s old people. Well, it’s older people at 8 o’clock in the morning.”