Pickleball

What is an incredible fast growing, fun to play sport which is available to all and good for your physical, emotional, mental and social health?

The answer is pickleball. Pickleball came to Australia in 2015. First games were played in Cairns and were organised by Gabi Plumm who had a son playing pickleball in the USA.

First played in Tasmania in Launceston YMCA in 2017. First played in Hobart at Glenorchy YMCA and Kingborough Sports Centre in 2019.

Today over 200 people play pickleball regularly at 10 different locations. Old people, young people, fit abled bodied people, people with a handicap, people of any sex, even Collingwood supporters.

The inaugural state championships were recently played at Kingborough Sports Centre. Over 60 players in with two divisions.

 

1965: Pickleball began when some  politicians, on holiday in Bainbridge Island off the coast of Seattle, decided to have a game of golf. They returned from their game of golf and saw their kids listlessly mopping around.  They thought this is not good enough. They rounded up some sports equipment lying around and headed to the vacant badminton court.

Everybody started playing with the table tennis bats and ball. A game with rules evolved. Everybody loved the game.  The game spread rapidly amongst neighbours and friends.

The new game needed a name. Sometime years ago, in English yachting, the last boat to finish was called the pickle boat. It was said it was slow because it stopped to fish for herring and then pickle them.

Rowing used the name pickle boat to describe a boat crewed by all the people left over from the other boats. One of the founders of pickleball rowed when younger.

She thought the new game reminded her of a pickle boat. It was a game made from left over equipment and bits and pieces thrown together.

She named the game pickleball. The founders of pickleball  had a dog named pickle who always pinched the ball. This led to a myth that pickleball was named after the dog. It is likely the dog was named after the game not the reverse.

 

1972: Pickleball Inc was officially incorporated with official rules and equipment.

Today: Pickleball is a bat and ball game. Can be played indoors or outside. Normally doubles. But can be singles.

Like most bat and ball games the game begins with one person serving across the court. Their opponent then returns the ball.  A rally occurs with both sides hitting the ball over the net into the court until the point is won.   

A rally is won when one person hits the ball into the net, out of the court or fails to hit the ball.

 

Basic rules of pickleball: 

Court is a badminton court. Covered with lines that divide the court into four quarters and a non-volley zone.

Serve is served diagonally across the court into service square.

To prevent the sever dominating the server is not allowed to volley the ball until it has bounced. The ball must bounce twice, on both sides of the net before a volley can be played. In pickleball the serve is not an offensive weapon.

 

At any time in any rally a volley cannot be played directly behind the net. This non-volley area is marked out and called the kitchen.

The serving team gets two serves. One serve to each person. The person in the right-hand box serves first. If the first serve is lost the serve goes to their partner. A point is awarded to the server if they win the point.   If the server wins a point the serving team changes sides.

You can decide what number of points is the aim.  Normally the first side scoring 11, 9 or 7 points wins but I think everybody wins.