If you’ve ever been to the Pacific Northwest, you know it’s important to be prepared for rain. Seattle averages a whopping 150 days of rain each year. When you own a pickleball club, however, that rain can present a huge challenge, but it’s also one of the reasons the sport exists.
Rooted in Rain
Back in 1965, Joel Pritchard returned home from a morning golf outing with his friend and neighbor Bill Bell to find Pritchard’s son complaining about there being nothing to do on Bainbridge Island, Washington.
Pritchard told his son that when he was a kid, they would make up games to entertain themselves. His son challenged him to make up a game on the spot. With the help of Bell, Pritchard rummaged around in the garage and came up with a perforated plastic ball and a couple of ping pong paddles.
Because of Bainbridge Island’s perpetually soggy weather, they already had a badminton court with a hard surface, allowing them to play even when the grass was wet. The game started out more like badminton with the players hitting the ball over a tall net, but as they played, the families realized that the ball bounced well on the paved court, so the net was lowered to 36 inches, and the game we know today was born.
If it hadn’t been for the Pacific Northwest’s persistent precipitation, we might all be hitting perforated plastic balls over a much higher net in the grass and calling it pickleball.
Challenges in the Clouds
Pickleball celebrates its 60th birthday this year, and despite its ever-growing popularity, court operators are still dealing with the challenges of rain.
In the last three years, pickleball participation has grown 311%, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA). With more than 16,000 places to play nationwide, the sport that started in a wet Washington backyard truly has become the sport of choice for tens of millions of Americans, and that growth is predicted to continue. The SFIA predicts an 11.3% compounded growth rate through 2028.
Although a growing number of facilities offer indoor pickleball courts, it is estimated that 65% of all pickleball courts are outdoors and still at the mercy of the whims of the weather. Court operators in rainy areas – like the Pacific Northwest – can find themselves losing court rentals up to 40% of the year, leading to lost revenue and lower profits. Enclosing outdoor facilities to make them playable year-round requires a large upfront investment that may not make financial sense for every facility.
Yet, as the sport grows, the demand for courts grows with it, and entrepreneurs are eager to tap into the $1.5 billion pickleball market. But how can facility owners and managers keep as many days in play as possible?
Precipitation Protection
Rain doesn’t have to put a damper on the pickleball party. You don’t have to just cross your fingers and hope the weather stays away on a busy tournament weekend, so your profits don’t take a nosedive.
While you can’t keep the rain away, you can protect yourself and your facility from the financial losses that rain creates. Parametric rain insurance can help lessen the pain of a rainout and keep facility balance sheets in the black, allowing the sport to continue its exponential growth.
When facility owners purchase a parametric rain insurance policy, they customize their terms any way they need (hours of coverage and rainfall amount). If it rains the prescribed amount during the hours covered, the policy pays out automatically. No questions asked.
The best part is there are no claims to file, no insurance adjusters to talk to. If the policy’s parameters are met, you receive the money without having to do anything – and there are no restrictions on how you spend the insurance payout.
Parametric rain insurance allows facility owners and managers to stop worrying about the weather and instead can appreciate the rain’s role in creating pickleball while turning their attention to continuing to grow the sport for the next 60 years.
For more information about parametric rain insurance, contact Eric Anderson at 203-550-6150 oreanderson@vortexinsurance.com. https://vortexinsurance.com/
