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\u201cWe were positioned to be the first one in the country, but Topspin in Hamilton ended up beating us to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The couple moved to Tauranga from Wellington in January 2025. When a building came up for lease, Barabash quit his day job of nine years to work on the facility full-time.<\/p>\n
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The family behind Pickleball Park NZ: Shawn and Holly Barabash with their daughter.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI believe in what I\u2019m doing, I believe that wholeheartedly this will have a positive impact on the community, and that\u2019s what I\u2019m all about.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Pickleball Park NZ, in Tauriko, has been developed with an overall investment of around $185,000.<\/p>\n
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The courts were about $4000, with further infrastructure costs including about $6000 for nets and an estimated $25,000 for fencing.<\/p>\n
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The total includes not only the development of the courts but also the setup of an on-site coffee shop and retail space.<\/p>\n
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Barabash said there was a \u201chole in the market\u201d and demand for people wanting to hire a court on their own schedule.<\/p>\n
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\u201cUnless you\u2019re doing a session through one of the clubs and they\u2019ve hired a multi-purpose venue, there\u2019s no indoor pickleball to be played elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The venue features four individually fenced courts with no overlapping markings from other sports for \u201cundisrupted play\u201d.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe other benefit is we are surfaced with pickleball-specific surfacing, which is an acrylic-based gritty surfacing that allows the ball to react how it\u2019s supposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The facility offers beginner-friendly introduction sessions, organised play for all skill levels, hourly court hire, and access to a ball machine for training and skill development.<\/p>\n
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Pickleball is a paddle sport played on a badminton-sized court with a lower net and uses a solid paddle and a perforated plastic ball.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWhat we offer is the purest form of this game possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Equipment such as paddles and balls is also available, allowing beginners to play without preparation.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s super-low barrier to entry, it\u2019s gender indifferent, it\u2019s age indifferent, takes 10 to 15 minutes to figure out the rules, then you start having a good time,\u201d Barabash said.<\/p>\n
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The facility will be open to the public from 2pm on Sunday, but still needs the court fencing to be completed.<\/p>\n
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\u201cPeople are absolutely juiced to play somewhere that has one set of lines and a consistent bounce.<\/p>\n
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\u201cBut it\u2019s not just about pickleball, it\u2019s about relationships and feeling like you\u2019re part of a community.\u201d<\/p>\n
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