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If you\\u2019d been living in the 1800\\u2019s you might have found yourself sitting at a lunch table asking your friends, \\u201cWhat are y\\u2019all talking about? What is \\u201ctennis\\u201d?\\u201d

Today you\\u2019re more likely to ask, \\u201cWhat is pickleball?\\u201d

Pickleball

Like tennis, pickleball is played on a court with a net. The ball is a kind of wiffleball. And instead of a racket, a pickleball bat looks like a big ping-pong bat.

Pickleball is, reportedly, the world\\u2019s fastest growing sport. In 2021 there were 5 million players. By 2023 there were over 36 million. It\\u2019s growing about 300% a year.

Here in New Orleans, you can play pickleball at The Exchange Pickleball and Bar. Yes, because it\\u2019s New Orleans, it\\u2019s a sports complex with a bar.\\xa0The Exchange - off of Tchoupitoulas Street, near Walmart - is a $3m development that opened in August 2023. And, like pickleball itself, it was an instant success.

The developer and owner of The Exchange Pickleball and Bar is Renee Melchiode.

Sailing

Sailing started out as a means of survival. To get to where the fish are. Or to migrate to other lands.\\xa0Now, like pickleball, sailing is a pastime.

But getting out onto the ocean, or even Lake Pontchartrain, requires a financial commitment greater than a couple of pickleball bats.

Judging by the number of boats at South Shore Harbor Marina and The Southern Yacht Club, there are plenty of New Orleanians with enough discretionary income to get themselves out on the water.\\xa0

Walking around these moorings you might wonder, \\u201cWhere do all these boats come from?\\u201d\\xa0One answer to that question is Murray Yacht Sales. The boat brokerage was founded in 1974 by Tim Murray.\\xa0Tim\\u2019s son, Stanton, took over the business in the early 1990\\u2019s, and today Murray Yacht Sales has brokerages in New Orleans, Houston, and St Petersburg Florida.

Beyond New Orleans, Murray Yacht Sales\\u2019 brokers, boats and clients are scattered across the Gulf South, in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

PIckleball Sailing

if you\\u2019ll excuse the irony, it\\u2019s generally unwise to make generalizations.\\xa0Especially about people.\\xa0But it\'s probably safe to bet that almost everybody reading this has either just put their phone down, is just about to pick it up, or maybe you have it in your hand right now.

There\\u2019s something liberating about an activity that gets us away from our screens, \\xa0puts us firmly in the real world, and requires a combination of 100% physical exertion and mental focus.\\xa0Although they\\u2019re very different, sailing and pickleball are both in this category.

We can thank Renee for going out on a limb and taking a serious financial risk to bring the fun of pickleball to New Orleans, and in a lifetime dedicated to sailing Stanton\'s business continues to be a gateway to joy for countless thousands, in New Orleans and across the Gulf South.

Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at\\xa0NOLA Pizza\\xa0in the\\xa0NOLA Brewing Taproom. You can find photos from this show at itsneworleans.com.

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