Wednesday saw a boost to the pickleball community that local players are saying was much needed and a very welcome gesture from the Athens Rec Center.

With pickleball growing every day in Limestone County and North Alabama, the Athens Rec Center is now serving as a hub for the sport. The facility recently increased the number of courts allowed for pickleball participation, from one court to three courts.

This significantly drops the wait time for getting a spot on the court, even with a rising number of people interested in the game.

“Wait times were reduced even though we had twice as many players,” Chase Spitzer said. “It was amazing and Parks and Rec have done a lot in such a short period of time to get ahead of what is growing very fast.”

Pickleball has expanded to the point that there is now a Facebook group for the Athens Alabama Pickleball Assocation, which has over 100 members on the social media site’s page.

According to Spitzer, the Wednesday open play day for pickleball saw over 30 players and included players from as far as Mississippi.

“It went awesome,” Spitzer said.