The popular game with the goofy name

Created one Sunday afternoon in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, by then State Representative Joel Pritchard, pickleball is now played in all 50 states – and has nothing to do with pickles.

Springfield resident Jack Handy loves to play pickleball, and so do 140 of his closest friends in the Springfield Pickleball Club who play in Iles Park on the largest dedicated outdoor facility in the Midwest. November through March they move indoors and keep playing. Yeah it’s popular.

“People like it for different reasons,” says Handy, 63 years young, who plays at least six times a week. “It can be social or ultra-competitive, players like moving around and getting exercise, and you can compete in local, regional, national, even international tournaments. Members range in age from 15 to 81. About half our club members are seniors,” he adds. But all ages, men and women, parents, kids and grandparents can and do play together.

Mike and Barb DiDonato of Springfield, their daughter, Rachel Tinsley, and 13-yearold grandson, Nace, of St. Louis play together as a family and competitively in tournaments. “It’s something fun to do together that’s active. My mom and dad have always been active and that’s what we do together,” says Rachel.

Here’s how it works. Two, three, or four people with oversized wooden ping pong paddles hit a softball-sized wiffle ball over a net 34 to 36 inches high on badmintonsize concrete courts until one side wins 11 points. “Think ping pong on steroids,” says Handy. “The court is one-third the size of a tennis court, so there’s a lot less running, it’s not as fast as tennis, and you cover less territory. It’s more quick reaction and strategy than power and fast running.”

Handy first discovered pickleball several years ago when he was in a group that played badminton at the YMCA. That year, the Senior Olympics added pickleball to the lineup and asked Handy’s group to play. “We thought it sounded goofy but said we’d come out and try it,” Handy says. “It was fun, we played more, the group grew and, by spring of 2012, the Springfield Park District had approved building eight courts for public play in Iles Park.

Since then, the Springfield Pickleball Club has established a small membership fee for unlimited play that covers court maintenance and helped purchase court lighting. And they host a USAPAsanctioned tournament every summer.

Michelle Cheffy, at 81 the most senior member of the group, has played at least three times a week since 1993. “It’s fun, and it’s exercise,” she says. “The people are very nice, very friendly.” She helps with snacks at the tournaments and will play in the Senior Olympics this fall. “Last year I was paired with a tennis player. We won a gold medal by default – there was no one else in our bracket.”

There were 160 pickleball players competing in the Senior Olympics last fall, says Handy. It may have been the most players of any sport.

Not surprising. According to the USAPA Pickleball website, http://www.usapa.org, “Pickleball is exploding in popularity. The number of places to play has nearly doubled since 2010. There are now well over 2,000 locations on the USAPA’s Places to Play map. The spread of the sport is attributed to its popularity within community centers, PE classes, YMCA facilities and retirement communities.”

That same site lists significant benchmarks in the sport roughly every 10 years: creation of a family game in 1965, first tournament in 1976, formal organization of the sport through the USA Pickleball Association in 1984, play in all 50 states by 1990; and growth from 39 places to play in 2003 to more than 2,000 today.

In July, the Springfield Pickleball Club hosted the Scheels Capital City Pickleball Classic that was nothing if not flexible. Drawing players from across the region, including the women’s national champion, Stephanie Lane, the morning opened with a downpour and strong storm system moving across the radar. Handy quickly moved the first rounds to the indoor courts at the Nelson Center, then back to Iles Park when the weather cleared. Staying in touch by cellphone and Facebook, the tournament leaders, scorers, announcers and players enjoyed another great event.

That camaraderie characterizes pickleball across the country. “People see each other in tournaments and make lasting friendships. It’s like a circuit,” says Handy, who has even vacationed with pickleball friends.

To give it a try, stop by and pick up a paddle. “People are welcome to come and play with us and join the club if they want,” Handy says. For schedule and contact information, and lots of photos of friends and fun, visit the Springfield Pickleball Club’s Facebook page.

But what about that name? One story is that the Pritchards’ cocker spaniel, Pickles, fetched the game ball and hid it in the bushes, so they just named the game after the dog. Another story attributes the name to Joan Pritchard: “The combination of different sports reminded me of the pickle boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats.” Either, neither, or both may be true, according to the USAPA. It’s all part of the game’s great, goofy charm.

DiAnne Crown of Springfield is a syndicated feature writer with enough racket sports experience to watch from the stands with the best.