PICKLEBALL

PICKLEBALL. In 1965 Joel Pritchard, congressman from Washington State and Bill Bell, successful businessman, returned to Pritchard’s home on Bainbridge Island, WA to find their families with nothing to do. The property had an old badminton court so Pritchard and Bell looked for some badminton equipment. Not find a full set of rackets, they 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 was introduced to the game at Pritchard’s home. 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.

Pickleball spread during the 1970s. In 1972 a corporation was formed to protect the creation of this new sport. In 1975 The National Observer published an article about Pickleball followed by a 1976 article in Tennis magazine about “America’s newest racquet sport.” During the spring of 1976, the first known Pickleball tournament in the world was held at South Center Athletic Club in Tukwila, Washington. David Lester won the Men’s Singles and Steve Paranto placed second.

In 1984 the USAPA “was organized to perpetuate the growth and advancement of Pickleball on a national level” and the first rulebook was published. The first composite paddle was made that year by Arlen Paranto, a Boeing Industrial Engineer. He used the fiberglas/nomex honeycomb panels that commercial airlines use for their floors and part of the airplane’s structural system. Arlen made about 1,000 paddles from fiberglas/honeycomb core and graphite/honeycomb core materials until he sold the company to Frank Candelario.

By 1990, Pickleball was being played in all 50 states.

The game of Pickleball was introduced in 2001 for the first time in the Arizona Senior Olympics through the efforts of Earl Hill. The tournament was played at Happy Trails RV Park in Surprise, AZ and drew 100 players. It was the largest event ever played to that point. Over the next few years the event grew to nearly 300 players. In 2003 Pickleball was included for the first time in the Huntsman World Senior Games, held each year in St. George, Utah during October. Pickleball has been included in 2008 for the first time in the National Senior Games Champion Festival to be held in Providence, Rhode Island September 4 – 7.

By 2008 there were 420 places to play in North American as listed on the USAPA website. This represented 43 States and 4 Canadian Provinces and about 1500 individual courts. This did not include those places that are adding courts or the many courts at private homes.

The first USAPA National Tournament for players of all ages was held in Buckeye, Arizona, November 2-8, 2009. The tournament drew almost 400 players from 26 states and several Canadian provinces. That year the USAPA establish the Grant Program to assist players in creating new sites for new players. By the end of 2013 the program had accounted for over 1,400 new locations. (1)

The number of places to play more than doubled since 2010. By 2019 there were nearly 4,000 locations on the USAPA’s Places to Play map. The spread of the sport is attributed to its popularity within community centers, PE classes, YMCA facilities and retirement communities. The sport continues to grow worldwide as well with many new international clubs forming and national governing bodies now established in Canada and India. (2)

The City of Dubuque working with a group of enthusiasts opened nine Pickleball courts at VETERANS' MEMORIAL PARK on November 1, 2018 open to everyone on a first-come, first-serve basis. Four existing TENNIS COURTS were converted to create the new courts. The $100,000 project was funded from the city’s capital improvement program and a grant from Grant Wood Loop Parks to People Initiative. (10) City officials in Platteville, Wisconsin partnered with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville to paint Pickleball court lines on existing tennis courts. (3)

To underscore its popularity, Pickleball was added to the IOWA WINTER GAMES. In 2025 it was also made available to students through the MIRACLE LEAGUE OF DUBUQUE.

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Source:

1. "History of the Game," USAPA Pickleball, Online: https://www.usapa.org/history-of-the-game/

2. "City of Dubuque Opens Nine Pickleball Courts," Telegraph Herald. Online: https://www.telegraphherald.com/news/tri-state/article_167158c9-71db-59e2-b68b-1936ed1ea0ac.html

3. Kruse, John, "Recreation Officials Court Pickleball Trend," Telegraph Herald, June 28, 2019, p. 1A