Pickleball Club plays sport dating back to 1965
Simply stated, pickleball is a paddleball game played with either two or four participants.
It was created in 1965 in Bainbridge, Washington, by Joel Pritchard, Barney McCallum and Bill Bell as a way to engage their bored children in a fun activity. The three devised the sport by adapting left-over bits from other sports close at hand.
Apparently the kids couldn’t play badminton because they could not find the shuttlecock. So the enterprising dads lowered the badminton net to the ground, found four ping-pong paddles and a whiffle ball. Voila— a sport was born. Its name was suggested by Pritchard’s wife, who was reminded of the pickle boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from leftovers of other boats.
The activity became popular with neighbors and friends. By the early 1970s, the sport spread beyond the Pacific Northwest. Interest grew with official rules and an association formed; it published its first annual report in 1972, and the United States Amateur Pickleball Association was formed in 1984. Today the sport is considered the fastest growing in the world, with professional players and league teams being developed. In 2001, pickleball was included as a demonstration sport in the Arizona Senior Olympics and in 2008, in the United States Senior Olympics.
In Leisure World the sport was introduced with indoor play in Clubhouse 1 in October 2016, when a group of about 40 residents formed a club. With increasing enrollment and persistence, the club was able to petition the GRF Board to establish four outdoor pickleball courts behind Clubhouse 2. Today there are about 200 active members in the club.
Play on the Leisure World courts is restricted to residents of Leisure World, although players do not need to be a member of the club. Club membership, however, offers introduction to other players, enrollment into the Team Reach roster, and welcoming social events such as the weekly potluck Dink and Dine.
Club members offer basic instruction. New players may borrow paddles and balls to learn the basics. Courts are open daily from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. and are illuminated in the evening.
The club hosts tournaments for members here in Leisure World and in Laguna Woods.
—Donna Gambol
