Al Bradshaw-Whittemore surveys the regional pickleball tournament at the Myrtle Beach Sports Center and gives his best estimation.

“I’d say about 500,” Bradshaw-Whittemore said. “There’s probably about 500 people here playing this week.”

One of the first sports to return to play in the Lowcountry and, further still, following the coronavirus quarantine wasn’t basketball or football, it was pickleball. The sport was blossoming in Mount Pleasant before the pandemic hit, especially among the town’s senior community, and participation is quickly regaining steam as restrictions on play have begun to ease in recent months.

Play around Mount Pleasant began again in early May on outdoor courts in Old Village and Park West. The town’s indoor facilities began hosting games again about a month later. It was a welcomed return to normalcy for many who depended on the sport for exercise.

“I had tremors from the withdrawals of not playing. Just kidding. But it was a really good feeling,” Bradshaw-Whittemore said. “It does give you some normalcy, in some sense. Everyone out there has that competitive spirit and enjoys getting the exercise again.”

Bradshaw-Whittemore manages an email list for pick-up games that before the pandemic circulated to 760 people. There’s also an app that people can find games around town that includes about 480 people.

“It was growing really fast. It had to be scaled back now due to the pandemic but the interest is picking up again,” Bradshaw-Whittemore said. “It’s really growing leaps and bounds. Us older people love it and even the young legs, I call them, say 50 and under, the ones who still haven’t had knee replacements, they all want to play. I get calls all the time about it.”

The basketball courts in Old Village have been recently resurfaced, and with lines to set up pickleball games. Pick-up pickleball games are now played there seven days a week.

“They really look like pickleball courts,” Bradshaw-Whittemore said. “They did a fantastic job.”

There are also games inside the Park West and Town Hall gyms in Mount Pleasant that are played at least four times a week.

There are new guidelines of course. The regional tournament that Bradshaw-Whittemore attended last week required players to sign a waiver. Hand sanitizer was everywhere and masks are required unless you’re playing. Around town, the balls are sanitized and everyone who plays signs up in advance and signs in with contact information should a player test positive for the virus. Social distancing is maintained and participation is capped, just six per court and 24 total at most games, so that too many people aren’t congregating on one court.

“You try to be as conscious of it as you can,” Bradshaw-Whittemore said. “Some people think it’s too strict but it’s better to be too strict than the other way I think.”

Bradshaw-Whittemore said that seems to be the consensus around town. Players are willing to do what’s required in order to safely return to play.

“Everybody was so happy to get back out there. There’s the exercise but there’s also a sense of community that we were missing,” he said.

“Everyone wanted to hug and shake hands when they finally got togehter again but we obviously couldn’t. So we gave virtual hugs. It’s been great.”