
Pickleball
Learn to play pickleball at Riverside Leisure Centre and Chelmsford Sport and Athletics Centre (CSAC).

Pickleball is a fun, friendly, fast paced racket game that combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis.
It can be played indoors or outdoors on a badminton-sized court using a tennis net. Two or four players use solid paddles to hit a plastic ball with holes over a net to score points.
Pickleball is easy to learn, the rules are simple, and it is suitable for all ages and abilities.
Once you become more experienced, pickleball can be a fast paced and competitive game that is a great workout. Improve your balance, coordination, agility and speed, and have fun!
At Riverside we have six pickleball courts, which can be booked on a pay as you go basis or as a regular block booking.
Court bookings start on the hour and are for 55 minutes.
ourChelmsford Lite card prices
- Standard peak: £14.20
- Standard off-peak: £11.10
- Discounted peak (under 21s): £12.90
- Discounted off-peak (all): £10.10
ourChelmsford Plus Card prices
- Standard peak: £13.20
- Standard off-peak: £10.10
- Discounted peak (under 21s): £11.90
- Discounted off-peak (all): £9.10
Times
- Peak: Monday to Friday, 5pm to 10pm
- Peak: Saturday and Sunday, 7am to 7pm
- Off peak: Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm
Equipment
You can hire a pickleball racket and ball for £2.90 from reception, but you will also need to pay a refundable deposit of £5.
Attending
- If you have pre booked, you can tap straight through the barrier with your ourChelmsford card, sticker, fob or wristband.
- If you need to pay for your court you will need to go to reception to pay and activate your ourChelmsford card.
- If you have forgotten your card you will need to collect a barcode from reception or a kiosk to get through the barriers.
- If you require use of the lift to access the first floor, you will need to go to reception to activate your ourChelmsford card.
Lockers and changing rooms
- There is a male group changing area and a female group changing area located by studio 2 on the first floor on your way to the sports hall.
- A Changing Places area is located by studio 1 on the first floor.
- Lockers are located in the changing rooms by studio 2. If you want to use a locker in the changing rooms, you will need a £1 coin to release the key. You will get the £1 back when you return the key.
At CSAC we have four pickleball courts, which can be booked on a pay as you go basis or as a regular block booking.
Court bookings start on the hour and are for 55 minutes.
ourChelmsford Lite card prices
- Standard peak: £11.40
- Standard off-peak: £9.90
- Discounted peak: £10.30
- Discounted off-peak: £9
ourChelmsford Plus Card prices
- Standard peak: £10.40
- Standard off-peak: £8.90
- Discounted peak: £9.30
- Discounted off-peak: £8
Times
Peak
- Monday to Friday, 7am to 9am and 5pm to 10pm
- Saturday, 8am to 12pm
- Sunday, 9am to 12pm
Off-peak
- Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
- Saturday, 12pm to 6pm
- Sunday, 12pm to 9pm
Equipment
You can hire a pickleball racket and ball for £2.90 from reception, but we will require full payment if you damage it beyond use.
Lockers and changing rooms
- If you want to use a locker, you will need a £1 token from reception to release the key. You will get the £1 back when you return the token.
- There is a male group changing area and a female group changing area.
- Accessible changing facilities are available.
We recommend that you book our sports hall activities in advance. You may be able to get a slot on the door, however we cannot guarantee availability.
You can:
- book online with an ourChelmsford card or book via the app
- book by calling the centre
- book when you visit the centre
You can book:
- seven days in advance if you have an ourChelmsford Premium or Plus card
- two days in advance if you have an ourChelmsford Lite
Cancellations
- If you want to cancel your booking, you need to cancel at least 24 hours before it starts either online or by calling the centre.
- We will charge you the full amount for the class if you do not cancel in time, or if you do not attend.
Pickleball is a fast paced racket game with two or four players, that combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis.
Pickleball can be played indoors or outdoors on a badminton-sized court using a modified tennis net.
Pickleball players use solid paddles to hit a perforated ball over a net and score points against their opponents.
You can read the full rules of play for Pickleball on the Pickleball England website.
You can find out more about pickleball clubs near you at Pickleball England.
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