Marilyn and Alan, who write a blog called Bless Our Voyage, left me a comment asking about pickleball. It's one of my favorite sports, so I never get tired of telling people about it.
Pickleball is a racquet sport which combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis. The sport is played on a court with the same dimensions as a doubles badminton court. The net is lower than most other racquet sports allowing for faster play. The game is played with a hard paddle and a wiffle ball, making the technique required for pickleball different than other sports.
Pickleball originated in Olympia, WA, around 1965. A portion of Congressman Pritchard's tennis court was removed for I-5 at the US-101 interchange. Pickleball was created for use in the smaller court. The sport was named after the Pritchards' dog, Pickles.
Our family first came across pickleball at a Yogi Bear Campground in Cheney, WA, about fifteen years ago. The park had a pickleball court. We checked out the equipment from the office, and our family of four had a great time playing the game.
Here are a couple of short videos that tell about this fast-growing sport.
http://www.king5.com/sports/Pickle-ball-Americas_fastest-growing-sport-106784313.html
and another one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2KNhIgOkXM&feature=player_embedded
Hey, you have to love any game that uses a wiffleball, right?
