Imagine you’re a kid tagging along with your parents, they just finished a game of golf, and now off to a couple of drinks to yap.
You’re bored out of your mind looking for something to do, but there aren’t a lot of options. Other parents’ kids seem to have the same feeling, and you all collectively start to mope around. One of the parents, Joel, is telling a story about how they got that hole in one shot, but is bothered by the unionized chanting of you and your little goblin friends.
So in order to finish the story with no interruptions, he decided to entertain.
He walks to the little shack near the badminton court and takes two wooden paddles and an old plastic baseball. He calls his friend Bill from the table, hands him one paddle, and starts hitting the ball over the net in order to explain the improvised rules to you and your buddies.
At that moment, the first game of pickleball is being played.
The Humble Beginnings
This golden nugget of sports history happened on Bainbridge Island, Washington, in 1965. In addition to Joel Pritchard and Bill Bell, there was a third founder, Barney McCallum.
For the next two years, these guys would continue to develop the game further with no other goal in mind than to have fun.
They just loved the process and thought about things like:
- How to create a fair scoring system?
- What are the paddles going to look like?
- What’s the best ball for those paddles?
And by 1967, the first official rules of the game were established.
The end result was a very fun and social game that drew the attention of folks quickly – pickleball.
Why PICKLEball?
Surely, the word ‘pickle’ sounds strange here since there’s no correlation.
Joan Pritchard (Joel’s wife) compared the development of the game to a ‘pickle boat’ – a mixture of leftover team members (parts) from rowing teams – where leftover elements from different sports were combined (tennis, badminton, and table tennis).
There’s another story circulating about how the sport got its name, and it has to do with the Pritchard family dog, Pickles, who loved playing with the ball, chasing it, and running off with it. In honor of the dog’s favorite activity, the sport (supposedly) was named after it.
But this theory hasn’t been confirmed, plus the family dog might have gotten its name after the game invention.
It didn’t require great athletic skill to start, and that made it very accessible. It’s an easy to learn, hard to master type of game.
Because of that, it started to spread like crazy.
From family gatherings in a backyard, streets in the city, summer camps, to ultimately being played in recreational centers. Two people who had a great influence in spreading the game out of the island are Father John A. Fitterer (the president of Seattle University at the time) and one of the founders, Joel Pritchard (who was running for Congress), who would set up the game and play it at the political events.
All of this ultimately led to the first national tournament that was held in 1970.
That moment helped to put pickleball in the world of sports.
The Explosion of Pickleball in the 21st Century
Tournaments really did a favour to this sport, helping it establish its name.
In the early 2000s, we had pickleball as a demonstration sport at the Arizona Senior Olympics, and by 2008, it was officially included in the US Senior Olympics.
From there, USA Pickleball held its first regular USA Pickleball National Championships in 2009 (Buckeye, Arizona). It continued to hold National Championships each year until 2020 when the pandemic hit. Which is ironically funny because the pandemic itself later helped the sport gain more traction as people looked for outdoor activities. Media coverage and the interest of celebrities helped to get a few more eyes on this game too.
When Major League Pickleball was established in 2021, it offered opportunities for potential investors.
That drew some big names like NBA player LeBron James, NFL quarterback Drew Brees, and businessman Gary Vaynerchuk, who just by association, undoubtedly helped the sport to gain visibility. Alongside tournaments and media/celebrity exposure, pickleball in itself is easy to get into.
The courts are less expensive than tennis, and you don’t have to spend a small fortune to enter and play.
With the fun nature of sport, the competitive aspect has been increasing, and with that, the demand for special equipment has also increased. Regardless of level or playstyle, make sure to find the right gear that fits. You can shop for pickleball gear online to help you get the right paddle, balls, and gear.
Whether you’re new to the game or you’ve been at it a while, the right equipment can set you straight from the start.
The Global Phenomenon
In the past 10 years, the sport has spread to dozens of nations, with organizations forming on almost every continent.
Over 70 nations now have a pickleball federation, spreading all across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. In order to support this expansion, the International Pickleball Federation was founded in 2010, which is focused on growing the sport worldwide, creating uniformity of rules, and, of course, organising international play.
Today, pickleball is estimated to have more than 100 million players globally, making it one of the fastest-growing sports in the world.
Conclusion
From a simple backyard game to a worldwide sensation, pickleball shows the power of community, creativity, and accessibility of the sport.
It started as an improvised game to entertain children in the backyard and has become one of the world’s most popular sports. Regardless of whether you play competitively or just for fun, it’s a great way to get a workout. It is still a growing sport, and it’s not slowing down.
And who knows?
The next champion is currently learning the game and having fun just like the founders of the game, in their backyard.