Tracey Thompson and Kim Kuester of the Northern Paddles Club in St. Cloud were the instructors.

 

Pickle-ball® is a racket sport in which two to four players use solid paddles made of wood or composite materials to hit a polymer perforated ball (sort of like a small wiffle ball) over a net. The sport shares features of other racket sports  - the dimensions and layout of a badminton court, and a net and rules similar to tennis with a few modifications. 

 

One of the fastest growing sports in North America, Pickle-ball was invented in the mid 1960s as a children's backyard pastime but quickly became popular among adults as a game fun for players of all skill levels.

 

The lower net and wiffle ball allow the game to be accessible to people of all ages and abilities, while still allowing more competitive players to test their mettle.

 

To begin a game of Pickle-ball, the ball is served underhand from behind the baseline, diagonally to the opponent’s service zone.

 

Points are scored by the serving side only and occur when the opponent faults (fails to return the ball, hits ball out of bounds, steps into the 'kitchen' area in the act of volleying the ball, etc.). A player may enter the non-volley zone to play a ball that bounces and may stay there to play balls that bounce. However, the player must exit the non-volley zone before playing a volley. The first side scoring 11 points and leading by at least two points wins.

 

The return of service must be allowed to bounce by the server and cannot be volleyed. Consequently, the server or server and partner usually stay at the baseline until the first return has been hit back and bounced once.

 

In doubles play, at the start of the game, the serving side gets only one fault before their side is out and the opponents begin their serve. After this, each side gets two faults (one with each team member serving) before their serve is finished. Thus, each side is always one serve ahead or behind, or tied.

 

In singles play, each side gets only one fault before a side out and the opponent then serves. The server's score will always be even (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10...) when serving from the right side, and odd (1, 3, 5, 7, 9...) when serving from the left side (singles play only).

 

Pickle-ball started during the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island, WA, at the home of then State Rep. Joel Pritchard who, in 1970, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for the State of Washington. Pritchard and two of his friends, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum, returned from golf and found their families bored one Saturday afternoon. They attempted to set up badminton, but no one could find the shuttlecock. They improvised with a wiffle ball, lowered the badminton net and fabricated paddles of plywood from a nearby shed.

 

The unusual name of the game originated with the Pritchard's family dog, Pickles. While playing the backyard game with family and friends, the Pritchard's daughter's young puppy Pickles frequently disrupted the action by stealing the ball. The dog's affinity for the ball led the family to call it Pickle's ball which spawned the name for the game.

 

Ten people attended the demonstration (mostly seniors from the senior center) Wednesday afternoon and all seemed to enjoy the game. The game is open for kids and adults but is very appealing to seniors who don’t have to do a lot of running around to enjoy the sport.

 

While at a Recreation and Parks Conference a year ago, BCC Director Jamie Cassidy saw a video of the sport and knew it would be a perfect addition to the many activities offered at the community center.

 

“It’s a popular sport, especially at senior centers and in the south, like Florida,” said Cassidy. “We have the paddles, the balls and the nets, so there’s no equipment to buy for those interested in giving it a try.”

 

The BCC hopes to offer the sport to seniors on Wednesdays from 1 to 3 p.m. and also to the kids who attend the Adventure Zone program on Fridays. Cassidy said they’ll leave the courts up in the evening on Fridays to get walk-ins and members to participate.

 

For more information, call the BCC at 763-200-4271.