Karen Tangye Powell love for pickleball has taken her from her local club Kernow to the national championships in Bolton.

Kernow’s Tangye Powell first picked up a paddle after a chance encounter with friends and she's yet to look back, testing her mettle against the best of British pickleball after making the seven-hour journey to the north west.

But while she has enjoyed the thrill of competition, Tangye Powell revealed the best part of the sport is all about making friends.

"Everyone's really friendly," she said. "It's nice to come up for a big tournament and a lot of the pickleball happens in the north so it's lovely to come up and play on a good surface with good players

"For me, that's one of the reasons I joined it. I started playing for the social side of it. You get to meet lovely people and socialise with them and it's fun and really enjoyable.

"It's good exercise for older people. As you get older you want to exercise and socialise with people and I'm sure people who work at home appreciate being able to socialise and keep fit in the evenings.

"It's a good way to keep fit and social at the same time."

Pickleball is a racket sport which sees players compete using paddles and a perforated plastic ball.

The sport is played indoors and outdoors, and was invented in 1965 as a children's backyard game in the United States but is a fast-growing sport for all ages across England

Taking place from Thursday 31 October to Sunday 3 November at Bolton Arena, the English Nationals comprises four days of high-level competition, with a record number of 1,111 pickleball players competing in the North West.

"It's growing rapidly, isn't it? You're sharing so much knowledge about pickleball and how it's run in different clubs.

"I ask people how it's run at their club and how it varies and what competitions they have and how they organise stuff like team nights.

"The entrance for the Open and the national championships has grown exponentially and I know in Cornwall it's growing so it's becoming really popular."

Pickleball England has announced a record number of over 1,000 players competing at the 2024 Skechers English Nationals. The tournament takes place from the 31st October - 3rd November at Bolton Arena and is the second largest national pickleball event. For more information, visit www.pickleballengland.org