The game started during the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, at the home of then State Representative Joel Pritchard who, in 1970, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for the State of Washington. He and two of his friends, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum, returned from golf and found their families bored one Saturday afternoon. They attempted to set up badminton, but no one could find the shuttlecock. They improvised with a whiffle ball, lowered the badminton net, and fabricated paddles of plywood from a nearby shed.
Although some sources claim that the name "Pickleball" was derived from that of the Pritchard's family dog, Pickles, other sources state that the claim is false, and that the name came from the term "pickle boat", referring to the last boat to return with its catch. According to Joan Pritchard, Joel Pritchard's wife, the name came "after I said it reminded me of the Pickle Boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats. Somehow the idea the name came from our dog Pickles was attached to the naming of the game, but Pickles wasn't on the scene for two more years. The dog was named for the game."
Today, the game is played on a smooth, hard surface, usually concrete, blacktop or a gymnasium floor. The court resembles a tennis court, but its net is a bit lower. It doesn’t have alleys for doubles (although the game is often played in doubles), and at about half the size of a tennis court, it is more like a badminton court. The ball is hard, hollow and perforated, a modified whiffle ball.
Like table tennis, pickleball is played with a paddle, about 8 inches wide and 15 inches long, including the handle, faced with plywood, graphite or composite. In singles or doubles, players serve underhand and diagonally from one side of the baseline, then the other. The ball must bounce before the serve is returned, and, unlike in tennis, the return, too, must bounce. Then volleying, or hitting midair before a bounce, can begin.
Pickleball's growth is mainly in the 55 and over crowd. In 2014, the USA Pickleball Association (yes, there is one) registered 150,000 active players which is triple the amount in 2010. The play can be dainty and slow, or it can be fast and ferocious. Pickleball’s appeal to older adults lies in its kindness to joints and bones. Most play doubles, so they can hit most balls within one or two steps. In 2013, it was added to the National Senior Games (yes, there are those too) and it was the first new game to be added in 20 years.
So, what self-respecting 55 and older community would not have a pickleball court? That is exactly what most of the parks in the valley think and Tropic Winds is one of them. They actually have 4 courts and believe me, the courts stay pretty full.
Mr. W went one morning to play and learned very quickly and the guys playing were S-E-R-I-O-U-S about their pickleball playing. Fortunately for Mr. W, he is very athletic and picks up new sports quickly. He held his own and even was asked to come back and play with them sometime. He was hooked.
After some investigating, we found out, if you are new, you come out after 11:00 and more relaxed, not so serious, players will occupy the courts and it is more about fun instead of competition. OK, now there's my group of people. Now I'm hooked.
We had gone to Academy and purchased some "beginner" paddles. After playing a few rounds, we quickly realized that we needed to buy some better paddles. We lucked out and went back to Academy to find that they had marked their better paddles down half price so we snatched up the last 2. I'm sure these paddles are going to improve our game to the point that the S-E-R-I-O-U-S people will be begging us to play with them! (OK, so maybe I like a little competition) :)
Anyway, we met a couple who liked playing, were about the same level of players as we were, and we started going to play in the evenings after it cooled off. (It has been in the 90s here.) However, you can hear the ball being hit from quite a distance. So, anytime we were playing, people would be walking by and at least 1 person would go get their paddle and come join us. It never ended up just being the 4 of us playing.
One caution, the court is not made for you to slide. Your feet grip. So be careful if you try it. I fell. I know you are saying "so what else is new" because I can fall on any kind of surface. But, I'm lucky I didn't break something or hurt myself worse than I did. I did have to skip playing for a couple of days. We may not touch our paddles until we get back next year, but it was fun and we can't wait!
Pickleball court
Our new, "better" paddle
Here are some random pictures of Tropic Winds.
The Pavillion area
The pool
The bath house. It is in the pool area so you can shower off before you get in the pool and/or after you get out of the pool.
The office
This is the main hall where most of the activities took place. They were setting up for a dinner. I will say that this place had it going on with how to serve a lot of people in a short period of time.
This is Bonnie, the activity director. She does a great job and she is a funny, lovely person.
I have never heard of pickleball, although Wes and I went to Bainbridge Island while we were in Seattle. We sprent a few days there before we cruised to Alaska with Second Baptist travelers.
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