How did Pickleball get its name?
Pickles was the family dog that would chase after errant balls and hide them in the bushes, thus Pickle’s ball which was shortened to Pickleball. Initially families played Pickleball in backyards on a hard surface like a driveway. Beginning in 1970, residential dead-end streets were used. Since the mid-1970’s, Pickleball has evolved from a family activity to a net-court sport with formalized rules. Now, more than 20 years later, the sport is played throughout the country and in Canada, Japan, Singapore and western Europe. Pickleball courts are found at many fitness centers, parks, educational institutions and correctional facilities. A national group has been formed and Pickleball tournaments have been organized. As in racquetball and tennis, participants provide their own equipment. However, they need a court on which to play. Vincent presented information about this sport to the recreation committee at its May meeting. She asked if an under-used tennis court in the DeSoto Family Recr
The name, pickleball, comes from the Pritchard’s dog, Pickles. Pickles would hide in the bushes and chase down errant balls. You see it was Pickles’ ball! And thus, pickleball was “born.” The following weekend Barney McCallum, a close friend, came out for a visit. After playing for a while, he too loved this game. It was then that Pritchard, Bell and McCallum decided to formalize the game with rules to make it a competitive sport for the entire family. Many of the rules came from badminton. Adding a few court modifications and some new rules greatly enhanced the game of pickleball. A tree in one comer of the Pritchard’s court forced the server to have one foot inside the court. So a rule allowing the server to have one foot inside the court was initiated. The better players would position themselves right up at the net for an easy put-away. Thisproblem was resolved with the creation of a non-volley zone. You could not enter the non-volley zone to hit the ball unless the ball bounced in
The inventors of the sport had a dog named Pickles, thus the sport’s name. Pickleball was created during the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island near Seattle by the late U.S. Rep. Joel Pritchard of Washington and two friends. They wanted to provide a pastime for the children in their families. The court still exists on Bainbridge Island, but Pickles has gone to pickleball heaven. — Where can you play pickleball in South Carolina? The Del Webb community in Bluffton has formed a pickleball club and has more than 530 members. For more information, go to oursuncityhiltonhead.net. A couple in Greenville are looking for more people to play pickleball. For more information, e-mail Lynn_corbett@yahoo.com. If someone wants to start a pickleball group in Charleston, the USA Pickleball Association has a place on its Web site to do so. — Is pickleball a legitimate sport? Definitely! Pickleball is an official sport in some states’ Senior Games competitions, and pickleball is so popular among seni
The name, pickleball, comes from the Pritchard’s dog, Pickles. Pickles would hide in the bushes and chase down errant balls. You see it was Pickles’ ball! And thus, pickleball was “born.” The following weekend Barney McCallum, a close friend, came out for a visit. After playing for a while, he too loved this game. It was then that Pritchard, Bell and McCallum decided to formalize the game with rules to make it a competitive sport for the entire family. Many of the rules came from badminton. Adding a few court modifications and some new rules greatly enhanced the game of pickleball. A tree in one corner of the Pritchard’s court forced the server to have one foot inside the court. So a rule allowing the server to have one foot inside the court was initiated. The better players would position themselves right up at the net for an easy put-away. This problem was resolved with the creation of a non-volley zone. You could not enter the non-volley zone to hit the ball unless the ball bounced
