History of Pickleball
In the summer OF 1965, Joel Pritchard, congressman from Washington State and Bill Bell, A successful businessman, had nothing to do. There was an old badminton court nearby, so Pritchard and Bell looked for some badminton equipment. They could not find a full set of rackets. They improvised and started playing with ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. At first they placed the net at badminton height of 60 inches and volleyed the ball over the net.As the weekend progressed, the players found that the ball bounced well on the asphalt surface and soon the net was lowered to 36 inches. The following weekend, Barney McCallum joined the game. Soon, the three men created rules, relying heavily on badminton. They kept in mind the original purpose, which was to provide a game that the whole family could play together.
In 1967, the first permanent pickleball court was constructed in the backyard of Joel Pritchard’s neighbor.
In 1972, a corporation was formed to protect the creation of the new sport and in 1975-76, The National Observer and Tennis magazine published articles about “America’s newest racquet sport.” The first
known Pickleball tournament was held in Tukwila, Washington in the spring of 1976, with many of the participants being college tennis players. USAPA was formed in 1984, the first rule book was published that year, and the first 1,000 composite paddles were made by an engineer. He used fiberglass/nomex honeycomb panels that are used in building commercial airliners. By 1990, pickleball was being played in all 50 states. In 2003, there were 39 listed places to play in North America (with about 150 courts) and Pickleball was included in the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah. A new USAPA non-profit corporation and Board of Directors was formed in 2005 and a new, improved website went live. In 2008, the Rules Committee published the USA Pickleball Association Official Tournament Rulebook – Revision: May 1, 2008 and Pickleball was included in the National Senior Games Champion Festival held in Providence, Rhode Island. By 2008, there were 420 listed places to play in North America and more than 1,500 courts. The first USAPA National Tournament for players of all ages was held in Buckeye, Arizona, in 2009. It drew almost 400 players from 26 states and several Canadian provinces. Continued Growth: Pickleball is exploding in popularity. The number of places to play has nearly doubled since 2010. There are now well over 2,000 locations on the USAPA’s Places to Play map. The sport continues to grow worldwide as well with many new international clubs forming and national governing bodies now established in Canada and India.
The Name
Accounts of how the name originated differ. (1)According to Joel Pritchard’s wife (Joan), she started calling the game pickleball because “the combination of different sports reminded me of the pickle boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats”. (2) However, according to Barney McCallum, the game was officially named after the Prichards’ dog Pickles who would chase the ball and run off with it.. Others claim both accounts may actually be true.
How to Play the Game
Pickle-ball® is played on a badminton-sized court (20’ x 44.’) The ball is served diagonally (starting from the right-hand side behind the end-line,) and points can only be scored by the side that serves. The server continues to serve, alternating sides of the court, until he or she loses a point. The serve must clear the seven-foot non-volley-zone on the other side of the net and land in the diagonal service square. Only one serve attempt is allowed and a bad serve results in loss of serve. Players on each side must let the ball bounce once before they may hit the ball in the air (volley,) and there is a seven-foot no-volley zone on each side of the net, to prevent “spiking.” The first side scoring eleven points and leading by at least two points wins. Pickle-ball® can be played with singles or doubles.
Serves are always done underhand with the paddle hitting the ball below the waist, and the server cannot step over or on the end-line until the ball is hit. The ball can not be bounced before it is served. A served ball hitting any line other than the no-volley line is good. If the ball touches the net but still lands within the appropriate service square, the serve may be taken over. The first serving person/team may decide with a coin toss. The winner of the coin toss will have the option to serve or pass. After the first service fault, each team in doubles will have each player serve before losing the serve to the other side.
Volleys (hitting a ball in the air without first letting it bounce) can only be done when the player’s feet are behind the no-volley zone line (seven feet behind the net) and the player may not immediately step into the no-volley zone during the motion of hitting the ball in the air. A player may enter the no-volley zone to hit the ball after it bounces..
There is a "Two Bounce Rule." The receiving team must let the serve bounce and the serving team must let the return of the serve bounce before playing it. Once these two bounces have occurred, the ball can either be volleyed or played off the bounce.
A "fault" results in either a loss of serve or a loss of a point and is committed when the ball :
During rallies, any hit ball touching any line is good. Each side is responsible for making calls on its' side of the net.
In the summer OF 1965, Joel Pritchard, congressman from Washington State and Bill Bell, A successful businessman, had nothing to do. There was an old badminton court nearby, so Pritchard and Bell looked for some badminton equipment. They could not find a full set of rackets. They improvised and started playing with ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. At first they placed the net at badminton height of 60 inches and volleyed the ball over the net.As the weekend progressed, the players found that the ball bounced well on the asphalt surface and soon the net was lowered to 36 inches. The following weekend, Barney McCallum joined the game. Soon, the three men created rules, relying heavily on badminton. They kept in mind the original purpose, which was to provide a game that the whole family could play together.
In 1967, the first permanent pickleball court was constructed in the backyard of Joel Pritchard’s neighbor.
In 1972, a corporation was formed to protect the creation of the new sport and in 1975-76, The National Observer and Tennis magazine published articles about “America’s newest racquet sport.” The first
known Pickleball tournament was held in Tukwila, Washington in the spring of 1976, with many of the participants being college tennis players. USAPA was formed in 1984, the first rule book was published that year, and the first 1,000 composite paddles were made by an engineer. He used fiberglass/nomex honeycomb panels that are used in building commercial airliners. By 1990, pickleball was being played in all 50 states. In 2003, there were 39 listed places to play in North America (with about 150 courts) and Pickleball was included in the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah. A new USAPA non-profit corporation and Board of Directors was formed in 2005 and a new, improved website went live. In 2008, the Rules Committee published the USA Pickleball Association Official Tournament Rulebook – Revision: May 1, 2008 and Pickleball was included in the National Senior Games Champion Festival held in Providence, Rhode Island. By 2008, there were 420 listed places to play in North America and more than 1,500 courts. The first USAPA National Tournament for players of all ages was held in Buckeye, Arizona, in 2009. It drew almost 400 players from 26 states and several Canadian provinces. Continued Growth: Pickleball is exploding in popularity. The number of places to play has nearly doubled since 2010. There are now well over 2,000 locations on the USAPA’s Places to Play map. The sport continues to grow worldwide as well with many new international clubs forming and national governing bodies now established in Canada and India.
The Name
Accounts of how the name originated differ. (1)According to Joel Pritchard’s wife (Joan), she started calling the game pickleball because “the combination of different sports reminded me of the pickle boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats”. (2) However, according to Barney McCallum, the game was officially named after the Prichards’ dog Pickles who would chase the ball and run off with it.. Others claim both accounts may actually be true.
How to Play the Game
Pickle-ball® is played on a badminton-sized court (20’ x 44.’) The ball is served diagonally (starting from the right-hand side behind the end-line,) and points can only be scored by the side that serves. The server continues to serve, alternating sides of the court, until he or she loses a point. The serve must clear the seven-foot non-volley-zone on the other side of the net and land in the diagonal service square. Only one serve attempt is allowed and a bad serve results in loss of serve. Players on each side must let the ball bounce once before they may hit the ball in the air (volley,) and there is a seven-foot no-volley zone on each side of the net, to prevent “spiking.” The first side scoring eleven points and leading by at least two points wins. Pickle-ball® can be played with singles or doubles.
Serves are always done underhand with the paddle hitting the ball below the waist, and the server cannot step over or on the end-line until the ball is hit. The ball can not be bounced before it is served. A served ball hitting any line other than the no-volley line is good. If the ball touches the net but still lands within the appropriate service square, the serve may be taken over. The first serving person/team may decide with a coin toss. The winner of the coin toss will have the option to serve or pass. After the first service fault, each team in doubles will have each player serve before losing the serve to the other side.
Volleys (hitting a ball in the air without first letting it bounce) can only be done when the player’s feet are behind the no-volley zone line (seven feet behind the net) and the player may not immediately step into the no-volley zone during the motion of hitting the ball in the air. A player may enter the no-volley zone to hit the ball after it bounces..
There is a "Two Bounce Rule." The receiving team must let the serve bounce and the serving team must let the return of the serve bounce before playing it. Once these two bounces have occurred, the ball can either be volleyed or played off the bounce.
A "fault" results in either a loss of serve or a loss of a point and is committed when the ball :
- Is hit out of bounds
- Does not clear the net
- Bounces twice before it is hit or is hit twice
- Is volleyed from the non-volley zone
- Is volleyed before a bounce has occurred on each side
- Hits a permanent object
- Is touched or hits a player or his/her clothing, shoes, hat, etc.
During rallies, any hit ball touching any line is good. Each side is responsible for making calls on its' side of the net.