JumpDay: Kensington Pickleball Club
Our second team bonding session of the year (which we call JumpDay) got the Jump team into a right old pickle.
At The Kensington Pickleball Club.
Pickleball has become incredibly popular over the last few years. It’s a great way for people of all fitness levels to get some exercise. If anyone is unfamiliar with Pickleball – it’s played on a smaller court than tennis, uses lightweight plastic bats and perforated plastic hollow balls – and feels a little bit like playing table tennis. Best of all … it’s great fun!
Russell Hilliard – Marketing Director at Jump and curator of JumpDays:
“I knew a few of the Jump team were already keen Padel and Pickleball players – so I was pretty confident this was going to be a popular event for a JumpDay. After a lot of googling and researching I discovered the Kensington Pickleball Club – who were really helpful giving me advice about how to put on a corporate event. Their rate also included all the equipment (not true of all places) and having expert coach Alex there to explain the rules and guide us through the session.”
Kensington Pickleball Club runs out of Kensington Primary Academy – so it’s mainly available to hire for corporate events during school holidays. They have outdoor courts in a site next to Holland Park but our indoor session was held two floors below ground level – in a huge gym space that allows four Pickleball courts. Memories of school gym classes, climbing ropes and black plimsolls came flooding back.
Karon Hall – Operations Director at Jump:
“I loved our Pickleball session, although my hips didn’t appreciate me the next day. I have played before and really enjoyed it. The scoring takes a while to understand, but once you do, it’s great fun.
I’ve also become a huge Padel fan and play two to three times a week. It’s one of those sports that becomes quite addictive very quickly – and I’m not even an athlete.
Pickleball is great for everyone as it’s pretty low impact – unless you’re a Jump employee that is. Some of the guys were really going for it. There were a couple of near ‘over the net’ moments … and one wall incident! But apart from that everyone survived intact and really enjoyed it.”
As always, the afternoon finished off with a few drink and nibbles at a local pub – which this time was at The Windsor Castle – a gorgeous little tucked away pub who celebrates previous patrons such as G.K. Chesterton and Agatha Christie.
If you’re looking for an idea for a work team-bonding event – or you’re looking for a fun way to get fit – we can definitely recommend you try your hand at Pickleball.
JumpDays are one of the ways we keep the team feeling connected – as Jump is a full-time remote-working company. We still see each other in real life for meetings, film shoots, events and business trips – and lots of the team work from hot-desking clubs.
Previous JumpDays have included exhibtion trips, clay throwing and wall-climbing.
