The Ames Pickleball Club doesn’t just throw down on the court and enjoy the game. The club moves to foster community through outreach efforts designed to enhance Ames.

“For me it’s not just about pickleball,” club secretary Sue Cunningham said. “It’s the social aspect as well. … We’re teaching community. We encourage people, entry-level players, to come into our group.”

Club members participate in activities beyond the game itself, investing time in community-oriented outreach that ranges from education, such as Iowa State’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), to fundraising for local causes like the Ames Animal Shelter.

These longtime lovers of pickleball have taken a simple club from fun with paddles and pals to doing good for Ames.

“It feels like you’re making a difference,” club president John Anderson said. “Not only having fun playing pickleball but making a difference in other ways.”

Anderson, a former badminton player, joined in 2021, two years after the club’s establishment.

Headed by a nine-member board, the Ames Pickleball Club began life in 2019, and currently has 150 members who work for the community and share the joy of this popular pastime.

Community impact

The group’s first foray into community improvement began soon after their inception. Under the leadership of former president Nicole Facio, members pushed on an issue dear to them: creating more pickleball-centric courts.

Working with Ames Parks and Recreation, the club helped in constructing courts that matched the game’s specifications. Their efforts resulted in a new shelter house and six pickleball courts at Emma McCarthy Lee Park.

The courts were officially completed in 2024.

Since then, the current club has made additions, using anonymous grants to provide windscreens for the six courts, which are open to the public.

The club also makes sure to keep the courts maintained and players happy.

“We are, in many ways, (Ames Park and Rec’s) eyes and ears for their pickleball courts and players of Ames,” Anderson said.

Anderson and Cunningham regularly monitor courts and seek public input on what should be changed to improve the park additions. They take these opinions and apply them to create a welcoming, ideal space.

Once the courts were constructed, the club turned its efforts outward to the community.

The club established a relationship with Iowa State’s OLLI program by providing free lessons to the senior community. This is the third year of their collaboration with the program.

Their most recent excursion took them to the Ames Animal Shelter. The club, in partnership with the Ames Foundation, hosted an open-invitational tournament in September 2025 called Paddles for Paws.

The tournament, open to teams of two, required a $50 per person entry free. In all, the club raised $3,000 to help relocate the Ames Animal Shelter, adding another notch in their benefit to the community.

Pickleball central

When they aren’t enriching the Ames community, the club finds itself engaged in its reason for being.

Pickleball as a sport first began life in Washington during 1968 as a family game. It picked up interest in the 90s and in recent years has grown into a social phenomenon, partly due to its approachable nature.

“Anybody can play it,” said Cunningham. “You don’t have to be a former athlete; you don’t have to be a tennis player. It’s not age restricted. We have people in our club who are 83 or 84 who are really good.”

The sport not only stands out in its interesting physical characteristics, with a reduced court size, wiffle ball and paddle approach, but also in its social nature.

“There is a lot more of a social aspect than there is to, say, tennis,” Anderson said. “You’re close; you’re playing in a small court. It’s almost always doubles. There’s a lot of communication, a lot of fun.”

Those interested in participating in club activities are asked to pay a nominal fee of $20 for a single person membership. The money goes back into the club for membership events.

These membership events occur at least once a month, in locations based in Brookside, Inis Grove and Emma McCarthy Lee Park. An indoor location is utilized at Harvest Pickleball & Tennis.

Anyone interested in joining can contact the club on its website for more information.