Cosmos Toastmasters Club
Seattle, WA
Friday, April 07 2023
I like to play sports frequently.
And I like variety.
(hands on bottom) This is my tennis and table tennis expertise level.
(hands on top) This is my badminton expertise level.
I was wondering, is there any sport that could help with my desire of variety and where I don’t suck?
(hands in middle) And thats where I found pickleball.
Lets talk about it.
Three questions before I start
- Has anyone played pickleball before?
- Can you guess the country where it was originated? I need 3 guesses.
- The answer is US. Can you guess the state where it was invented? Bainbridge Island, WA
Origin Story
Pickleball is a relatively new sport, having been invented in 1965 by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum.
After playing golf one Saturday during the summer, these gentleman returned to find their families sitting around with nothing to do.
The property had an old badminton court so Pritchard and Bell looked for some badminton equipment and could not find a full set of rackets. They improvised and started playing with ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball.
Soon, the three men created rules, relying heavily on badminton. They kept in mind the original purpose, which was to provide a game that the whole family could play together.
Technical
- Show ball. Perforated and light weight
- Racquet, light weight. Makes pleasing sound. (dot) (dot) (dot)
- Can be played both indoors and outdoors
- Rules are designed to rally shots
- Court dimensions are same size as badminton
- Need agility, but more importantly you need strategy
Convince
- Extremely easy to learn, doesn’t matter if you’ve never played any racquet sports
- Social game, best played with partners
- Low-impact, easy on body and joints
If you’re convinced and want to give it a shot, your point of contact is right here. Fair disclosure, I might smoke you and not let you win any points. 🙂
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