These players, however, are using solid paddles and a ball that looks more like a wiffle ball than a tennis ball.

The game is pickleball and it is fast growing in popularity.

“Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the country,” said Andy Kennebeck, a Fort Dodge man who has been playing the game for five years. “That’s because anybody of any age or skill level can start playing right away.”

Kennebeck and at least 10 other pickleball players went to the City Council Monday night to ask the elected officials to create a dedicated place for them to play their game.

Roxanne Kuhlman, another pickleball player from Fort Dodge, told the council that building pickleball courts would add another quality of life amenity which would help the city draw businesses and people.

“We think it would be a perfect way for Fort Dodge to be more competitive,” she said.

Kenneback told the council that the popularity of the game is growing.

“We want to raise awareness that there are a lot of people in town ready to play this new sport,” he said. “This is the new game. We think this is the future.”

“What we would really like to see is a public park with access so that everybody can come and play pickleball,” Kennebeck added.

A pickleball court is similar to a tennis court, but is smaller, measuring 22 feet by 44 feet. Fort Dodge does not have a true pickleball court.

The game is now played on the basketball courts at Dodger Courts. Lines have been painted on the courts for pickleball.

Kennebeck said because the basketball courts are so popular with neighborhood kids, pickleball can only be played there in the mornings. That means a lot of people can’t play because they work in the mornings, he said.

He said the surfaces on the tennis courts at Hydro-Electric Park and Butler Courts are too cracked and uneven to safely play on.

The city has plans for a pickleball site with four courts, according to Lori Branderhorst, the city’s director of parks, recreation and forestry. She said the Rosedale Rapids Aquatics Center has been identified as the best place to build it.

“We really want to be moving this project forward,” she said.

However, she said the project has not been funded.

The council took no action on pickleball Monday.

Councilman Kim Alstott suggested that pickleball players raise some money to help pay for construction of new courts.