Bamford Tennis Club

Pickleball

Pickleball at Bamford Tennis Club

We’re delighted to let you know the two new pickleball courts at Bamford Tennis Club are now open and available for booking: courts 4.1 and 4.2! 

Book and play

The club requires everyone to book a court before playing.

Book a court via the booking page our website or on your phone by installing ClubSpark's Booker app.

  • Members (who have logged in) will see FREE against each time slot that is available to them. (We offer pickle-only memberships for £50.40 until end-April 2027, or £4.20 a month, set up via our membership page)
  • Non-members will see a cost of £5 per half-hour, and have to book a minimin of one hour. In order to do this, you will be prompted to register with the LTA. You can then book, pay and play - what we talk about as 'Pay and Play' - for courts using these details.

The first booking step is to select pickleball and not tennis. You will then be shown the appropriate court options for you to book:

  • The two pickle courts are courts 4.1 and 4.2 (they are situated on tennis-court 4) 
  • The booking system is 'smart' such that if 4.1 and or 4.2 are booked, no-one can book court 4 for tennis at the same time, and vice versa

Cost

  • Members: No charge to book a court (see our membership page if you want to join as a pickle-only member for £50.40 until end-April 2027).
  • Non-members, playing with a member: £2.50 per hour. This fee is for the member to collect and transfer to the club using reference “Pickleball visitor". Club bank details for payments can be found on this page on our website
  • Non-members, playing with non-members: £10 per hour for the court. This is paid online by the person who books the court via Pay and Play

Kit

When no-one is playing pickleball, the nets are stored at the side of court 4. You will need to position the nets before you play, and return them to the side afterwards. (NB the wheels can be locked, so if they do not move easily check for this, adjusting by moving the silver lever on each wheel).

Please take care of yourself and the net when moving them.

There are bats, balls and rules available for you to use in the grey box on the side of the court. Please look after these. 

Social drop-ins and the WhatsApp group

The club has block-booked courts 10-11am Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays every week for social pickleball players to drop-in and play with others. 

These drop-ins are a good way to meet other club members. We aim to rotate partners amongst the players who are there at any session. The group organises this amongst themselves. Stay for as long or short as suits you.

There is a Bamford Outdoor Pickleball WhatsApp group for people thinking of going to a social drop-in, to put a message into so you can see if others will be there and vice versa. Please also use this WhatsApp group to organise pickleball at other times to suit you. Contact us on bamfordtennis.secretary@gmail.com if you'd like to join this.

Activities to get going playing pickleball!

To get you started the club has coordinated two offers, some intro sessions on Sunday afternoons as well as a short series of coached sessions on Thursday evenings. Look at our news story for more details and booking links.

Keep in touch with us as the year continues to hear about any future coaching or similar opportunities.

Resources to help get an idea of how Pickleball is played

Pickleball is played on a small court so isn’t too demanding in terms of mobility and, with light bats and balls, a low net and no need to serve, it doesn’t take long to pick it up and be able to enjoy a good game. It is played either as doubles (4 people) or singles (2 people).

It is a sport that is well suited for young players as well as those playing into older age. Indeed, it’s the fastest growing sport in the US, and gaining ground here too!

This links to a PDF of the rules:

The following links take you to videos on YouTube:

What a pickleball bat and ball look like:

 

Enjoy!