...PICKLEBALL?
What is it?
Pickleball is a racquet sport best described as a combination of badminton, ping-pong and tennis. This sport can be played either indoors or outdoors on a badminton-sized court with a net similar to a tennis net. Players use a paddle that is similar to a larger version of a ping-pong paddle but it is usually made of more advanced materials. The ball used is very similar to a plastic whiffle ball with holes covering the surface. Pickleball can be played as singles or doubles, just like tennis.
Despite its funny name, Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in America and is catching on worldwide. The rules are simple enough for kids to easily pick up and many people develop a passion for the sport quickly after playing a few. The smaller court size and light ball makes pickleball incredibly popular among seniors looking for a low-impact form of exercise.
Where it came from:
One Saturday afternoon on Bainbridge Island, Washington in 1965, former Washington State congressman, Joel Pritchard and his two friends, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum decided to set up a game of badminton to keep the kids busy. They were hard pressed to find a shuttlecock so they improvised by using a whiffle ball and ping pong paddles to play on a lowered badminton net. They developed the rules on an on going basis as the game progressed
There has been some speculation as to the origins of the name, with some claiming that the name was derived from the family dog- Pickles. The true story was clarified by Joel’s wife, Joan, who explained: “after I said it reminded me of the Pickle boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other crews. Somehow the idea that the name came from our dog Pickles was attached to the naming of the dog, but Pickles wasn’t on the scene for two more years. The dog was named for the game.”
The game crossed over form the island to Seattle as the three moved back after the summer and from there it quickly caught the attention of the locals and soon after gained popularity across the USA with international acclaim to follow. Before long, tournaments were set up, and the rest is history.
How to play?
At its basic core pickleball is like any other racquet sport where the objective is to score points by getting the pickle ball across the net by hitting it with a pickleball paddle. The rules are simple to pick up and it is played on a court similar to that of badminton court. Check out the official rules below.