14. "I've played in the local platform tennis (aka paddle) league for decades" In response to In response to 0
started occasionally when I was in high school even though it was all adults; never stopped except when I was living somewhere that didn't have a league.
Paddle's a tennis spinoff started sometime around WWII; basically a tennis court the size of a badminton court, caged in with tight chicken wire and the ball can (after it bounces in the in-play section of the court) go off the wires. The ball is kind of like a super pink rubber ball, but covered with a flocking. Historically an outdoor winter sport; Season typically runs October through March, though I play all year now.
The Philadelphia area league is comparatively enormous now - it was 13 clubs with a A and B team each when I started, and now it's 96 teams of eight guys, spread across eight divisions and with a geographic radius that's probably over 50 miles between clubs at its furthest points. There's a huge variety in competition in league play; the lower divisions can easily welcome beginners, and in the top divisions there are plenty of players with national rankings. I beat a guy last spring who finished the 2014-15 season at like 14th in the country. Of course, he was playing with a relative schlub, but still!
One of the great things about paddle is that it's comparatively easy on the body; my pop was relatively competitive up until his knees gave out at 73, and my club has two guys in their mid-80s still playing at a decent level.
The other great thing about the league is that it can be very social; host teams usually provide food and beer, and I tend to get their money's worth. Unfortunately this means it's frequently not a net loss of calories, but it's all part of the fun.
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