The Hawaiʻi Convention Center recently transformed into the state’s largest, indoor pickleball event, with 38 air-conditioned courts during the Hawaiʻi Pacific Health ESPN Honolulu Open tournament.

Hitting the ball might have been the easy part for some “Learn to Play Pickleball” participants during the Hawai‘i Pacific Health Honolulu Open, where players of all levels mixed with elite and professional pickleball athletes.

Some top-ranked players took time out of their tour to teach a beginner’s class. The rules about who serves, score keeping, where to stand, where not to stand and even why it’s called “the kitchen” came out like a firehose of information during the short class.

Pickleballs are slightly larger and heavier than the Wiffle balls originally used in the game, which was invented decades ago as a backyard children’s game. As the sport and player proficiency grew, the design of the balls evolved to be more durable.

With the rise in popularity of pickleball — a Sports and Fitness Industry Association report released last year found that the sport had grown more than 200% over three years in the United States — complaints of the noise it creates also grew. But in this beginner class, the sound of laughter and joy drowned out the “pok, pok, pok” of the balls hitting the paddles.

The game can be leisurely, fast-paced or highly competitive depending on who you play with and how you play. Ching invited the beginners to come by the tennis center at Diamond Head, where players of all levels can show up for drop-in play, he said, and you don’t even need to bring a paddle.