“Anson has been a huge supporter with the town of Chapel Hill anytime we’re trying to line new courts or get new venues and fundraising,” Johnson said of Dorrance, who won 21 national championships with the UNC women’s team and led the U.S. women’s team to its first-ever World Cup title in 1991. “He plays a lot.”
The pickleball community in Chapel Hill is significantly larger than when Johnson was introduced to the sport around nine years ago. At the time, she would drive to Raleigh, North Carolina, to play pickleball with former USA Pickleball Ambassador Joe Borelli.
“Joe finally looked at me and said, ‘You do realize they play pickleball in Chapel Hill?’” Johnson said. “And I was like ‘No.’”
Johnson said several factors have contributed to pickleball’s growth in the area over the past few years. As with other places across the country, more people in Chapel Hill started playing the sport while socially distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition, Johnson said Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation officials recognized early on that pickleball was becoming more popular and made more courts available to local players.
“Chapel Hill was the first town in the area where we had six dedicated pickleball courts,” Johnson said. “Parks and Rec literally took two of the tennis courts and resurfaced them and turned them into six dedicated courts. So, we started to get most of the other people in Raleigh, then people from down in Pittsboro (North Carolina) who were only having indoor venues at the time. (They) knew that they could come to Chapel Hill, and you could start as early as 6:30 in the morning and you could play until the lights go off at 10:45.”
On a recent Saturday morning, a group of UNC soccer players arrived at pickleball courts in Chapel Hill to play a few matches and do some cross-training. Johnson said Ephesus Park, in particular, has become an inviting place for both newcomers to the sport and more seasoned players.
“You can go by yourself, and there is always somebody to play with. Always,” Johnson said. “The second thing is (it’s) the welcoming community. You can have 10 groups waiting (to play) because we’re really busy, but you’ll make new friends and anybody in any group is willing to play.”