The Pro-Age Woman April Issue - Flipbook - Page 51
ÒIs it because you think itÕs for old people?Ó
That question got me thinking. Was the name aversion excuse a smokescreen for myÑgaspÑageism? Was
I avoiding pickleball because itÕs known as the sport for
boomers? I wouldnÕt. Not me. I like to think that I epitomize pro-age core values, yet I sometimes catch myself
thinking ageist thoughts. However, their question prompted
me to reflect. Yes, itÕs true that Eric Forrester, a virile
octogenarian on The Bold and the Beautiful, plays pickleball with his forty-something current wife. A recent episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills features
55-year-old Kyle Richards playing pickleball, and sheÕs
my benchmark of everything current and cool. At my
own club, fit, attractive Gen-Xers and Millennials fill
the open court time with pickleball. IÕm relieved to say
my aversion to pickleball is entirely linked to semantics,
and not to its reputation as Òthe new sport of choice for
the elderly.Ó Perhaps the mediaÕs ageist description of
pickleball has painted it as something less than rousing,
but IÕm secure in knowing that the name is whatÕs repelling me, and not the original target demographic.
ÒI suppose I shouldnÕt tell you that I used to curl
too.Ó
I left that dinner feeling that I should be more openminded. If Chanel makes a pickleball paddle, IÕll call
switch. Until then, itÕs a block.
*A pickleball addict who canÕt put the paddle down.
Nicole lends her intergenerational voice to her monthly
column at The Pro-Age Woman eMagazine. She is also a
natural beauty blogger, a professional ghostwriter, and an
aspiring novelist.
TA P TO C O N N E C T
April Issue THE PRO-AGE WOMAN 51