![]() ![]() ![]() Our Managing Editor, Susan Burton, kicks this off. And each month, one person on our staff will write an essay about stories in our archive. If you have someone you want to introduce to the show, I wrote a list of stories that might be good ones for them to start with. We also have a collection of funny stories, hour-long stories, award winners, and even a list of stories kids seem to like. Best part: a huge list of staff favorites, with little write-ups from various producers, like the staff recommendations at a good bookstore. If you want help finding something to listen to, we have an all-new Recommended section that I love so much. With that in mind, we’ve upgraded our Archive to make it easier to browse through more than 600 episodes, with filters to find stories by year, contributor, and topic. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.Welcome to our new website! We’ve redesigned the whole thing with the understanding that the main reason anyone comes here is to listen to the show, and to find episodes to stream. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. (SOUNDBITE OF JONAS BROTHERS SONG, "SUMMER BABY") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. For NPR News, I'm Josephine Bennett in Macon, Ga. And at the rate people are playing pickleball in this city, it could just get there. ![]() ROBERTS: It's been our ambition to make pickleball to Macon what golf is to Augusta, and have this be the premier pickleball location, at least in the southeast of the United States, if not the country.īENNETT: This go-big-or-go-home approach is reflected in the number of courts here. For John Roberts, who runs the mall pickleball courts, Macon's all-in approach to the sport could put the city on the map, just like the masters tournament did to another Georgia town. There are thousands of courts and even pickleball franchises dotting every state, and its popularity shows no signs of slowing. PAUL MIDKIFF: I was the tennis player that didn't want to play pickleball - I thought it was kind of beneath me - but got on the court, played for about 2 1/2 hours, went home, took a shower, went to Dick's Sporting Goods, bought two paddles and some balls because I wanted to play it the next day.īENNETT: According to USA Pickleball, it's the fastest-growing sport in the nation. The former Catholic high school teacher spreads the gospel of pickleball at Tattnall, where he teaches pickleball 101. The sport also has cheerleaders, like Paul Midkiff, the president of the Macon Pickleball Association. JILL VANDERHOEK: Between the access of being able just to pick up the sport, being able to come out and learn and get better and then the courts - like, we have real courts, and you don't necessarily see that sort of investment.īENNETT: There are now 71 public courts in the city, and low fees make pickleball accessible here. She says the city's investment in pickleball infrastructure made that possible. It's a Monday night, and all 26 pickleball courts at Tattnall Park are teeming with players, including Jill Vanderhoek, who's only been playing two years but already taking home gold medals. It also plays into Macon's passion for pickleball that's been growing thanks to the conversion of a large outdoor tennis facility in 2017. MORRISON: But this infrastructure is still here.īENNETT: So a mega pickleball center made sense as a way to revive life at the mall. This was once the biggest mall in Georgia, says Alex Morrison, who works with the city on urban development.ĪLEX MORRISON: For an entire generation of Americans, the mall was their town center.īENNETT: But like malls across the country, this one has seen its share of store closings over the past two decades. ROBERTS: And it stretches the gamut of certainly the southeast, but also, we probably have 30 to 40 of that number that are your quintessential snowbirds on their way south.īENNETT: Inside the mall, competitors battle it out on 32 courts covering two floors of an old Belk department store. You know, 650 players are here.īENNETT: John Roberts is the manager of Rhythm and Rally, a new pickleball facility. JOHN ROBERTS: We've got people from as far north as Wisconsin. People have come from all over for Southern Pickleball's Candy Cane Classic. JOSEPHINE BENNETT, BYLINE: The parking lot of the Macon Mall has not been this full for years. Josephine Bennett with Georgia Public Broadcasting reports. It's part of a plan to establish the city as a destination for the growing sport. Macon, Ga., made sports history this month when the doors opened to the world's largest indoor pickleball facility. ![]()
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