I have been asked by so many people what Pickleball is, so here is the short and simplified version:
Pickleball is a court sport best described as half way between tennis and ping-pong. The court is 44' x 20' and divided in two courts by a 36" high net. It is played as a singles game with one person/side or as a doubles game with 2 people on each side of the net. Each player has a paddle (think larger than a ping pong paddle) The object of the game is to score points by successfully hitting a 3" diameter plastic ball (that is perforated with holes (commonly known as a whiffle-ball) across the net without it being successfully returned by the opponent(s).
Over time the rules of the game have become more sophisticated but when first developed, Pickleball was a simple game designed for all ages and any athletic ability level. In fact it was first played in a backyard where there was a dog that loved to chase and carry away the ball. The first players soon found themselves calling the dog, named Pickles, to bring back the ball. Hence the name: Pickleball.
Today the sport is played by people all across North America and even in far away places like India & Japan. Many seniors have taken up the sport in their retirement years but it is also played by thousands of school children and top athletes in their 20s, 30s and 40s. It is an easy sport to learn and most everyone can play the game after just a short time of hitting the ball back and forth across the net. However, it is also a sport where you can keep learning new strokes and increasingly sophisticated strategies for years on end. As the sport has grown in popularity it has continued to be played in back yards but it has also spawned many competitive tournaments across the country.
Over time the rules of the game have become more sophisticated but when first developed, Pickleball was a simple game designed for all ages and any athletic ability level. In fact it was first played in a backyard where there was a dog that loved to chase and carry away the ball. The first players soon found themselves calling the dog, named Pickles, to bring back the ball. Hence the name: Pickleball.
Today the sport is played by people all across North America and even in far away places like India & Japan. Many seniors have taken up the sport in their retirement years but it is also played by thousands of school children and top athletes in their 20s, 30s and 40s. It is an easy sport to learn and most everyone can play the game after just a short time of hitting the ball back and forth across the net. However, it is also a sport where you can keep learning new strokes and increasingly sophisticated strategies for years on end. As the sport has grown in popularity it has continued to be played in back yards but it has also spawned many competitive tournaments across the country.
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