Will this "three different" be the next frisbee?, Hangzhou is on the rise of the Pik Ball fever
In the past two weekends, a blue field the size of a badminton court appeared out of thin air on the open space outside the Hangzhou Building. Men, women, and children were seen holding square shaped "table tennis rackets" and hitting back and forth with a plastic hollow ball with a mesh. The serving and hitting methods integrated badminton, tennis, table tennis, and other sports. Playing games between young and old, partnering with men and women, and having fun.
This "three different" is the new sport that just emerged in Hangzhou this year - Pik Qiu. After cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, the craze for badminton has quietly spread in Hangzhou.
A mischievous Wenzhou young man
Laying the foundation for "Pickball" to take root in Hangzhou
I first met Zhu Zhengjie at a tennis court in Xiaoshan District. A standard tennis court was divided into three pieces of badminton court, and badminton players held up their rackets and shuttled through it. The ball hit the racket surface with a crisp "bang bang" sound, and Zhu Zhengjie, wearing socks and playing barefoot, ran towards the reporter.
"Because I'm wearing slippers, I might as well take off my shoes to play." Zhu Zhengjie, born in the 2000s, is a state-owned enterprise employee and one of the initiators of the LEVEL00 Pickball League. In addition to him, there are two initiators, one is a tennis coach born in the 1990s, and the other is a chemist born in the 1960s who returned from overseas. The three of them cover the age range of the elderly, middle-aged, and young, just like the sport of badminton, targeting the national fitness market.
The contact with Pik Ball began with Zhu Zhengjie's tireless efforts. At the beginning of this year, he, who was passionate about outdoor sports, frequently scrolled through social media platforms to play badminton. However, despite searching all over Hangzhou, he couldn't find a suitable venue or even a coach.
Since no one is playing, then start playing on your own. Zhu Zhengjie jokingly claimed that it was the genes in the blood of Wenzhou people who love to tinker. He started contacting sports venues one by one to discuss his project plans, and thus hit it off with Huang Chunzhi, the owner of a tennis court born in the 1990s.
Since May, the LEVEL00 Pik League has attracted more than 500 fans on social media platforms and organized the first Hangzhou Pik National Open, which includes both office workers, parent-child partners, and even middle-aged and elderly sports enthusiasts, spanning nearly 50 years old. The characteristics of not being limited to serving and swinging, and not setting age thresholds, allow sports enthusiasts of different age groups to become both opponents and partners. "Pik ball has less physical activity than tennis and can be played in singles, doubles, or mixed doubles, both indoors and outdoors. Plastic ball balls are heavier than badminton and lighter than tennis, windproof and rainproof, and more friendly to space and weather requirements."
Every week, the league conducts two offline badminton activities. "Our pricing is actually similar to frisbee or waist flag rugby, providing the ball, racket, and field." Zhu Zhengjie told reporters that a set of sports equipment is basically priced under 100 yuan, and interested friends will also DIY on the sports racket to create their own art pieces.
Windproof and waterproof, no restrictions on the venue
Sports enthusiasts born in the 1960s travel from abroad to China
Pickleball, also known as Pickleball in English, is a sport of hitting a ball with a racket. It originated in the United States in the 1960s and was originally designed to provide children from gatherings with something to do. It consists of a racket and a plastic tennis ball with holes, making it easy to play on a badminton doubles court. The game is mostly based on an 11 point system, with the team leading by at least 2 points winning.
This starting point has broken some of the shortcomings of some sports and made it a low threshold, low restriction national sport. Not only have public figures such as Bill Gates and Kardashian shared the joy of playing badminton on social media, but in a short period of time, the number of participants in the sport has increased exponentially, and the number of enthusiasts has surpassed that of golf and tennis abroad.
In this regard, Huang Wei, a chemist who returned to China after the 1960s, has a special say. Huang Wei, who has been playing badminton for 6 years, came into contact with and fell in love with this sport while living in the United States. "When I was young, I played play badminton. I used to join the Fudan Badminton School team, but as I grew older, I was still a little powerless." Huang Wei became addicted to PEAK for the first time after being led by his friends. Everyone from the tennis court in the park has been playing in their own yard. They regularly make an appointment with the team three times a week. After that, they will go to a nearby bar for a drink.
After returning to his home country, Huang Wei has been searching for a Pitt player from Shanghai to Hangzhou. "Abroad, badminton is more like a way of life, mainly played by middle-aged and young people. However, in China, many people position it more like a sport, mainly played by young people. In fact, it can allow tennis and badminton enthusiasts to cross over and play first." He said that in order to develop better in China, it is also necessary to expand the field and divide the levels clearly, attracting more people to participate.
Lower threshold for sports and wider audience
Is Pik Club the next frisbee
As a trendy post-00s, Zhu Zhengjie had also played Lu Chong and Frisbee before setting his sights on Pik Ball. However, after gaining a deeper understanding of Pik Ball, he found that it was both similar and different from the previously popular niche outdoor sports.
Undoubtedly, Pik Ball has similar attributes to Frisbee and Waist Flag Rugby: vibrant and creative in color, with no fixed color on the field or racket, making every moment of sports memorable and attracting many young people who love beauty; Weakening competitive attributes, strengthening social functions, reducing the size of the field, and simplifying sports methods all allow badminton players to sweat profusely in a more relaxed environment. At the same time, after exercising, there is enough physical energy to communicate and discuss, bringing each other closer.
But unlike frisbee and waist flag rugby, pique reduces the physical gap between people of different ages and genders, allowing men, women, and children to appear in the same scene at the same time. This characteristic of "national fitness" is relatively rare in outdoor sports: "For example, it is difficult for the elderly and children to play frisbee together, and one side always has to put in some effort, but pique can. In our doubles games, there are often scenes where middle-aged and elderly partners and teenagers play against each other, not only playing equally, but also forgetting the age difference and enjoying it."
Why is there such a scene? After experiencing the sport of the pique ball, the reporter found that the required hitting skills narrowed the gap in movement between different individuals. The seemingly light and hard pickball actually tests the player's strength control. When the force is too strong, the ball will fly out of the field in an instant. When the force is too small, it may not even be able to pass the net. "So it's easy to get started with, but if you really want to use it well, you still need to practice continuously. Practice makes perfect, and you will have a chance to defeat everyone on the field."
