players are asking the City to add more courts to Bristol parks. “The parks department told us it was just going to be a fad,” Berardy said. “Now look.” Eight people can play on the gym’s two courts at once, so the large group has chairs set up to watch the competition while they wait for their turn. Teams rotate so every player gets to play with and against multiple others each session. Pletscher joined about two years ago. “My wife wanted me to get out of the house,” he said. “I was going to the gym a few times a week but this is a lot more fun.” Cheryl Yetke first learned how to play while on vacation in Cancun, Mexico. “We came back here and joined the senior center and started playing here,” she said. Sandra Salomone has played pickleball in Kauai and Utah, but her favorite group to play amongst is the one at the Bristol Senior Center. “This is the friendliest group of players out there,” she said. “Everybody makes each other happy and seniors need that.” The Bristol Boys & Girls Club hosted pickleball players a few times last winter and seniors are hoping they’ll open up their facility again for games. “We have such a fervor for this sport,” Liz Phelan pointed out. “There’s so many of us who want to play.” Age 77, Berardy is hoping to be around when Bristol finally renovates the courts at Page Park and Seymour Park for use by pickle-ballers. “It gets your heart pumping,” Berardy said of what he enjoys about the game. “It’s a lot healthier than playing cards or bingo. We as seniors need our exercise.” Seniors play pickleball at the Bristol Senior Center this winter. Pickleball players wait for their turn to get out on one of two courts at the Bristol Senior Center this winter. Dozens of seniors play several times a week in the facility’s gym, the only location in Bristol with regulation pickleball courts. January 2022 • Connecticut PRIME TIME B7
8 Publizr Home