By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter
Pickleball was invented in 1965, on Bainbridge Island, Washington, by three dads — Joel Pritchard a state representative and later a U.S. congressman; Bill Bell, a businessman; and Barney McCallum, a printing-company owner.
The men and their families, who lived in nearby Seattle, summered on Bainbridge, and they wanted to amuse their bored kids after returning from a game of golf. The Pritchards’ house had a badminton court, but there wasn’t enough functional equipment to yield a game, so the dads used paddles and a Wiffle ball, and lowered the net to three feet.
They wanted the game to be equally playable by kids and adults; the area close to the net was restricted, to deter smashes.
The court was small – about a quarter of the size of a tennis court — and the rules further minimized the unfairness of height and strength disparities.
The game spread across the northwest; to Washington, D.C.; and to Jakarta, where Bell introduced it, and watched with satisfaction as the Australian Davis Cup team got trounced by Indonesians on a court he installed.
And on Sunday, September 18 Pickleball arrives at Five Seasons Family Sports Club in Crescent Springs as a fun fundraiser for The Point/Arc – a non-profit organization in Covington celebrating its 50th year.
“We were looking for an event as part of our 50th Anniversary,” said Judi Gerding, Founder and President of The Point/Arc, “and we thought a Pickleball Tournament would create much interest and lots of fun.”
Teams must include one female, and registration is $130 per-two-person team.
Each team will be guaranteed four games and registration includes drinks, a T-shirt and prizes for the winners.
Pickleball has exploded in popularity in recent years. During the pandemic, more than a million Americans began playing it, bringing the total to around five million.
Stars and athletes play Pickleball – Michael Phelps, Leonardo DiCaprio and the Clooneys – so do grandparents, parents and children, often together.
“Our tournament should be a great family affair,” Gerding adds. “We’re looking for 20-plus teams to compete.”
The Point/Arc was founded in 1972 by a group of parents fighting for the educational rights of their children, who were diagnosed with an intellectual and developmental (I/DD) disability. The mission – to help people with disabilities archive their highest potential educationally, socially, residentially and vocationally. More than this, The Point/Arc has been an organization that identifies gaps in services and provides care and support to fill these gaps – even when government funding sources are not available.
Registration for The Point Pickle Pickleball Tournament may be done via calling: (859) 491-9191; emailing gerwepw@gmail.com or on-line at the Point/Arc website.
I’m trying to find the coverage on the Sept 18 The Point Arc Pickle Ball tournament held at 5 seasons —it was on the channel 12 news
The story is now up at the NKyTribune — under NonProfits. We published as soon as we had the results.