A group of twenty people in three rows of a small bleacher in a gym each holding a pickleball paddle

Connecting Through Pickleball

A Parkinson's Community Program

Join this exciting opportunity to play pickleball and contribute to research on the impact of pickleball on people living with and caring for people with Parkinson’s and related disorders!

Connecting Through Pickleball aims to foster long term social connections among the Parkinson’s community and continues developing access to pickleball for people living with Parkinson’s. 

This program is a collaboration between the Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester Accessible Adventures, and community members with Parkinson’s, with generous support from a community grant from the Parkinson’s Foundation. 

A large light blue artistic letter P followed by the same blue lettering spelling out Parkinson's Foundation stacked on top of each other

Please Read Before Registering

  1. Who can participate?  People living with or caring for people with physician-diagnosed Parkinson’s disease and related disorders. This program will prioritize people with the following physician diagnoses:
    • Parkinson’s disease 
    • Atypical Parkinson’s condition, any of these: progressive supranuclear palsy, Lewy Body dementia, multiple systems atrophy, cortical basal syndrome
  2. Through support from the Parkinson’s Foundation, Connecting through Pickleball will be free for all participants.
  3. The program is also part of a research project with the University of Rochester Medical Center that aims to assess if structured pickleball programming can help persons living with Parkinson’s Disease and Related Disorder and their carepartners. Program participants will be invited to participate in a voluntary study, which involves completing pre- and post- program surveys (5-10 minutes) and interviews (5-20 minutes) with research staff. This information from these surveys and interviews will help pursue future programming and funding. 
If you have any questions about these elements, please contact RAA@RochesterAccessibleAdventures.org prior to completing the Registration section.
 
NOTE: A completed Registration Form is required for each participant, including the person with a qualifying Parkinson’s condition and their caregiver/friend. All players must register and receive a confirmation email prior to participation. We do anticipate that we may need to start a Wait List, so you will receive a FINAL CONFIRMATION as we process the registrations.

Program Features

Try It Clinics – Single sessions to see what pickleball is all about – Great for first-timers!

Beginner Courses – 6-week comprehensive courses designed to teach you the rules and skills to play the game!

Drop-In Sessions – Weekly instructor-facilitated sessions for players of all levels to foster longterm social connections!

A man in a sports chair on an indoor pickleball court with paddle extended to receive a volley
Two people standing on either side of an indoor pickleball net each with their paddles extended to the middle so all paddles are touching

Program Dates

*NEW DATES* Starts January 2026!

Try It Clinics – Registration Required

January 5

12:00-2:00PM

February 26

12:00-2:00PM

March 18

12:00-2:00PM

Beginner Course 2  – Commitment to attend all 6 classes – Registration Required

January 14, 21, 28

February 4, 11, 18  

All classes are

12:00-2:00PM

Beginner Course 3  – Commitment to attend all 6 classes – Registration Required

April 8, 15, 22, 29

May 6, 13

All classes are 

12:00-2:00PM

Drop In Sessions – Attend as you are able – Registration Required 

January

6, 13, 20, 27

February

3, 10, 17, 24

March

3, 10, 17, 24, 31 

April

7, 14, 21, 28

May

5, 12, 19, 26

 

Drop Ins are 12:00-2:00PM

Drop in sessions are best suited for those who have played pickleball before and/or who have completed a Beginner course. 

MUST register if you intend to participate in one or more drop in sessions. 

 

All classes and clinics in this session are scheduled at Dinkers Pickleball. 

We are grateful for their support of this program!

 

 

Address

135 Despatch Drive

East Rochester, NY 14445

Two women stand on an indoor pickleball court talking, one of them holding a pickleball
A woman in a light blue shirt stands with her pickleball paddle ready to return a serve
A man with a shirt that reads Never Trust an Old Man with a Pickleball Paddle holds a pickleball paddle and orange ball
A man in a blue shirt and black shorts is in full pickleball serve stance with one arm raised in upward motion with the paddle and one foot forward
A closeup of a line of people in a gym with pickleball racquets hitting volleys or waiting for the ball to come to them
A man in black shirt and pants has a wide stance as he sets up to return a pickleball volley
A line of people standing behind a pickleball net for a group photo with paddles in hand
Three people in an indoor gym hold their pickleball paddles as if ready to hit the ball
A large gym space with pickleball courts and people standing or sitting near an instructor

We can’t wait to see you on the courts with us!

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