Pickle-ball is a game for the whole family. So it's only fitting that it was invented by a family, too. The game got its start back in 1965, in Bainbridge Island, just a short ferry ride away from Seattle, WA When Congressmen Joel Pritchard, William Bell and Barney McCallum came home from a game of golf one day to find their kids bored and restless, they set out to create a game that would engage them through the lazy days of summer. They wanted to create a game that would be challenging, but still accessible. They handed the kids ping-pong paddles and a wiffle ball, and lowered the net on their badminton court. In the coming days both kids and adults alike fell in love with the game.
Pickleball is the world's most-fun racket sport. It is played on a court that is 20' x 44' and is ideal for all levels of athleticism. Pickleball combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong. It's played with a wiffle ball (a round, perforated plastic ball). It can be played doubles or singles, and like tennis, it can be played by men, women, mixed couples, adaptive players, and people of all ages. Opponents hit a pickleball over a 36-inch high net using composite or wooden paddles. After getting a serve into the opposite corner, players rally the ball back and forth hitting it out of the air or off a single bounce. A point can be scored by the serving team when the opposing team misses, hits out of bounds, hits the net, or commits another infraction. Serve passes to the next player and each point is played out.
Sunil Valavalkar, a true sport lover, played this sport for the first time in Canada in the year 1999. His attraction towards this sport made him visit second time to Canada in the year 2006. While returning back home he brought few paddles and balls with him. Ever since he came back from Canada, he started giving demonstration of this unique sport to various sports lovers of Mumbai. To his surprise this sport was very warmly received by cross section of the society. Majority of today's population is eager to play such a sport which is easy to play, which would offer them fun and at the same time it would also make them fit. Pickleball is satisfying all these requirement of modern society of India and hence there is encouraging response for this sport in India. Today, Pickleball has reached to 16 states of India with around 3000 registered players playing the game. The players participate in national and international tournaments. The formation of All India Pickleball Asscociation (AIPA) was an important happening in the history of Indian Pickleball. Since then, there has been a structured growth of Pickleball in India.
India, in fact, has witnessed various pickleball tournaments over the years, be it by AIPA at the national and state level or by private entities (a Global Sports Pickleball Championship is currently ongoing in Mumbai). Every year from 2013, except the pandemic-hampered 2020, the association has organised Nationals across categories and in cities of Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Panipat, Jaipur and Dehradun. The AIPA also held a national ranking tournament in Goa.
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