When you show up as the fourth player — even if you didn’t intend to play — you suddenly find yourself with a paddle in hand and a quick rundown of pickleball rules.

Then in just a jiffy you find yourself in the middle of a pickleball game, where laughter is as common as the sharp pop of paddle hitting plastic ball.

“You get exercise and you just can’t be too serious with all the silly rules,” Laura Miller said during a break between games.

Twice a week, a group shows up to play pickleball at the YMCA gymnasium on Church Street.

It all started about six years ago when local tennis players wanted to stay active through the winter months, a season not conducive to outside tennis games in Baker City.

“We wanted to play indoors,” Marie Whitaker said.

Marsha Smith, who has since moved away, bought the first pickleball net and four paddles.

They played through the winter. Then tennis season came, but the group enjoyed pickleball so much that they kept playing year-round.

News spread by word-of-mouth, and Whitaker said as many as 15 have shown up to play.

“But that’s very rare,” she said. “As long as we have four, we’re good.”

They play doubles, with four to a court. Most playing days bring enough players for two courts, although the group now has three nets for the days when at least 12 show up.

Every person pays $1, and of that $10 goes to the YMCA for use of the gym. Any leftover money goes into a fund for supplies. Whitaker said a “really good set” including a net, four paddles and six balls costs $450.

Although the group initially started with tennis players, knowledge of that sport isn’t a necessity for pickleball.

“It’s so much easier to play than tennis,” Whitaker said.

See more in the June 2, 2017 issue of the Baker City Herald.