Teenagers around the world are familiar with the great pain of boredom. And every parent is familiar with the sounds of groaning (咕哝的) kids, sulking (生闷气) in their room or pacing aimlessly around the house. But sometimes, it’s this very sense of boredom that can inspire creativity and create fast-growing trends.

This is true for pickleball (匹克球), now a popular sport in the West. According to the Mental Floss website, the sport was invented in the summer of 1965. At that time, Frank Pritchard, 13, had nothing to do in his family’s summer home in Washington, US. After complaining loudly, his father, Joel, suggested he make up a game. When Frank replied “Why don’t you?” his father gladly took up the challenge. Thus, pickleball was born.

Certain parts of tennis, badminton and ping-pong can be seen from pickleball. It’s a bat game played on a badminton-sized court with what looks like a wiffle ball (威浮球) over a low net. Only the serving team can score points, and all serves must be made with an underhand stroke (击球).

The popularity of pickleball has grown steadily over the last decade. According to Mental Floss, the number of pickleball courts has grown by an estimated 385 percent worldwide since 2010. One reason for its popularity is that it’s “a sport for everyone”. Anyone can play pickleball because it’s relatively easy to pick up. There are simple rules, and all people need is a couple of bats and a ball, which is affordable and accessible to all. Plus, pickleball is a sport centered around fun and friendship. The game lasts as short as 15 minutes, which means less running and stress for players.

Pritchard said that the game’s rapid rise in popularity was amazing, especially considering that a bad-tempered kid “inspired a sports craze by making a stink (吵闹) about being bored one afternoon 56 years ago”.

For sports fans, nothing could be better than watching a live event on TV or at a sports field. But there’s nothing worse than that event being called off because of bad weather. Bad light, a water-logged court or too much heat can cause matches to be postponed. But according to the latest research, extreme weather might be disturbing the sporting calendar more than ever in the future.

In one sport, golf, major tournaments like The Open, are already predicted to be victims of our changing climate. In the UK, an organization called The Climate Coalition says that golf courses such as St Andrews could be under water by the end of the century if sea levels rise even slightly. It told the BBC that its research predicts "cancelled football matches, flooded cricket grounds and golf courses sinking into the sea."

The threat to sporting events from climate change has been further highlighted in a new report, officially approved and licensed by the Rapid Transition Alliance. Writing about this for the BBC, Matt McGrath says that "By 2050, it's estimated that almost one in four English football league grounds can expect flooding every year." This will mean fewer matches played, less opportunity to watch the beautiful game and reduced government taxation from ticket sales.

Cricket also faces huge challenges globally as temperatures rise in places like India, Australia and the West Indies. The report says that stadiums in Adelaide and Perth will see a 60% increase in days with temperatures over 40 degrees centigrade over the next decade.

Of course, we know that the solution lies with reducing our carbon footprint. We could travel less to attend sports events, and reduce our waste when we do go. But this latest report finds that sports leaders are generally failing to address the issue seriously. However, because sport is universally popular and can be very influential, maybe it should be players, teams and their sponsors as well as fans who should promote a wide low carbon message to help protect sporting fields—before it’s 'game over'.

It goes without saying that sitting at a desk for a majority of the day will hurt our health. But don’t worry because there is a solution! After spending much time investigating the different offers when it comes to exercise equipment suitable for the office, I’d like to reveal some of my top recommendations.