Pickleball is played at the Macedonia YMCA located at 8761 Shepard Road. All ages and genders are welcome and all skill levels. There are three indoor courts at the YMCA with all equipment provided for play. Just show up and play. Cost is $20 a month or $3 day for Pickleball play, open courts are available Mondays and Fridays from 12:30-2:30 pm. Teams are typically chosen upon arrival. It is a wonderful activity that mixes movement and exercise with making new friends.
The sport was invented when Congressman Joel Pritchard arrived at his Bainbridge Island home near Seattle, WA, after golfing for the day with Bill Bell. They arrived home to their families and wanted something fun to do together that involved everyone. Pritchard had an old badminton court on the property, but could not find all of the paddles that they needed to play with, so he pulled out some ping pong paddles they had, and a perforated plastic ball. The men ended up creating their own rules, some of which came from badminton, preserving the original intention of a family of four to be able to play together. Two individuals are on each team, on each side of the court.
Pickleball is described as a combination of badminton, ping pong and tennis It can be played on inside or outside courts. The pickleball name came from the way the three sports came together with rules and equipment from each. Joel Pritchard’s wife decided it reminded her of a pickleboat crew, being picked out of whomever is left over from each boat. Pritchard also had a dog named pickles who often ran off with the ball as they tried to play their game, so it has been thought that is another way the game got the name.
References:
https://usapickleball.org/what-is-pickleball/history-of-the-game/
Video of how to play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se7wIlGeo_o
