Pickleball

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pickleball is a sport similar to badminton. It involves playing on a court with the same dimensions as a badminton court with a wooden paddle.

1 History
2 The Court
3 Terminology
4 In-Game Rules
5 References
6 Clubs and Organizations
7 External links

[edit] History

Pickleball was created during the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island - a short ferry ride from Seattle, WA. The original purpose of the game was to provide a sport for the entire family, according to co-inventors U.S. Congressman Joel Pritchard, William Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum.

It's a mystery how Pickle Ball got its name. Some say a mean bully threw the ball at his friend and the kid said "Oh, pickle's ball." Some say it obtained its name from a family dog named Pickles that would chase after balls and then hide them in the bushes. Pickle's ball was later shortened to "Pickleball", its name today. Initially, families played Pickleball in their backyards on a hard surface, on driveways, and even on residential dead-end streets. Since the mid-1970's, Pickleball has grown and expanded from a family activity game to a paddle court sport with formalized rules. Now, over 40 years later, Pickleball is played at thousands of school Physical Eduation programs, parks and recreation centers, correctional facilities, camps, YMCAs and retirement communities. This sport is becoming very popular among active senior adults at community centers.

[edit] The Court

The game itself is played on a court that is the same size as a badminton court (20 feet wide by 44 feet long). The net is set at 36 inches high on the edges and 34 inches in the middle.^[1]

[edit] Terminology

Fault – Infringements of the rules that end the rally.

Rally – Consecutive hits without a fault between players on opposing teams

Volley – To hit the ball in the air without first letting it bounce.

Carry - Hitting the ball in such a way that it does not bounce away from the paddle but tends to be carried along on the face of the paddle during its forward motion.

Cross-court - The court diagonally opposite your court.

Dead Ball - A dead ball is declared after a fault. See fault.

Dink Shot - A soft shot that is intended to arc over the net and land within the non-volley zone.

Double Bounce - A ball that bounces more than once, on one side, before it is returned

Double-Hit - One side hitting the ball twice before it is returned over net. Double hits may occur by one player or could involve both players on a team.

Drop Shot - A groundstroke shot that falls short of the opponent's position.

Drop Shot Volley - A volley shot that is designed to “kill” the speed of the ball, and return it short, near the net, to an opponent positioned at or near the baseline. This shot is especially effective when initiated close to the non-volley line.

Non-Volley Zone - The section of court, adjacent to the net in which you cannot volley the ball. It includes all the lines comprising the zone.

Side Out - Declared after one side loses its service and other side is awarded service

[edit] In-Game Rules

Each team consists of one to two players each. Each team's goal is to get the ball, or pickleball, across the net until there is a fault in the rally, until someone gets hit with the ball, or a mistake in the play, such as the ball hitting the net, falling out of bounds, or the ball does not get hit by a paddle. When the for a turn at serving. The ball goes directly to the other team where they get a first serve. This only happens on the first serve. All other serves are passed to his/her partner once, then if a mistake happens, and both team members have served, the ball is passed to the other team. Every time the ball is hit by a participating team member, the ball must bounce once on the other side of the net before the other team may hit the ball. If the ball bounces twice it is considered a fault for the team on the side of the net that the ball landed on. The team that served gets one point every time the other team makes a fault. If the ball is in the Non Volley Zone in the air, the ball cannot be hit, or it is considered a fault. Every time a team scores a point, the side on which he/she serves on varies. If the team has an even number of points, the server serves on the right side of the court. If the server has an odd number of points, the server serves on the left side of the court. Every time a fault is committed on the team who did not serve last, the server switches sides on the court and continues to serve. He/She does not pass the ball over to their teammate.