Paul Elert played racquetball, tennis, table tennis and badminton for most of his life. When he heard about a game that combines features of all four, it was a match made in racquet-sport heaven.

That game is pickleball. Played on a badminton-sized court, with tennis-style net 34 inches high, pickleball players volley a perforated plastic ball.

”I've played racquetball for about 35 years. This isn’t quite as fast, it’s not quite as strenuous, but it’s still real active, and you need fast reactions,” said Elert, 57. Elert, along with 60 others, attended a series of pickleball workshops put on by the Ann Arbor Community Education and Recreation Department led by Ypsilanti native Ron Callison back in May. Both Callison and Elert were regulars at the Rec and Ed’s pickleball pickup league this summer at Scarlett Middle School. Like Elert and Callison, most participants were of the baby boom generation.

”It's fun and fast moving, but the courts are small and the ball is light, so it doesn’t require as much energy,” said Callison, 63, who recently won gold in doubles pickleball at the 2009 Michigan Senior Olympics, competing in the 50-59 year-old division.

“He only tries as hard as he needs to against us,” joked Elert after taking on Callison in a recent game.

According USA Pickleball Association director Dick Manasseri, there has been a 400 percent increase in memberships in the state since last fall, giving Michigan the third highest pickleball numbers in the nation, only trailing retirement meccas Arizona and Florida.

“Our conservative estimate for the number of players in North America is about 40,000,” said Bill Booth, president of the USAPA.

For information on Ann Arbor Rec and Ed pickleball, visit their Web site, or contact Karen Draves at (734) 994-2300 ext. 5324 or by e-mail at draves@aaps.k12.mi.us.

Pete Cunningham covers sports for annarbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2561 or by e-mail at petercunningham@annarbor.com.