Chronicle writer gets the pickleball experience

By John Dalton

One of America’s fastest growing sports, Pickleball, is now open and ready for play at Dodgeville’s John Wilson Memorial Park.  

Three courts opened two weeks ago and replaced the decaying tennis court.  If you’re like me, I was curious about the game, its meaning, how it derived, and decided to see what it is all about.  

The game is similar to tennis, but only on a smaller court about a quarter of the size of a tennis court.  The game is very comparable to badminton and ping pong.  No, you do not use a dill pickle or anything shaped like it to hit it back and forth over the net.  You don’t hit a badminton birdie, a ping pong ball, or a tennis ball, but rather, a whiffle ball. 

I’m old enough to remember whiffle ball as a kid growing up in this town using a bat.  We had to create our own fun and use our imagination for games back then.  Cell phones, tablets, computers, and TikTok videos didn’t exist.   We’d actually call our friends on a rotary dial landline phone and try to organize a whiffle ball game in someone’s backyard, whereas if you hit the big oak tree down the left field side it was a ground rule double and over the road was a home run.  I was now curious about Pickleball.

So I went to Walmart (no we didn’t have Walmart’s or Target’s back then either) and for about $35 one can purchase two paddles and a sleeve of 3 balls.  A fairly inexpensive investment to force oneself out and get some exercise.  I found the game to be fun, social, easy to learn as a beginner, and needing to play more to get into better shape!  But, I digress.  

After doing some research on this game called Pickleball, I was somewhat surprised that it was born in 1965, according to a Sporting News article from April of 2023.  As the story goes, Pickleball was invented on a badminton court following a round of golf on a summer Saturday in Washington State. Joel Pritchard, a state representative at the time and later a congressman, wanted to find something for their families to do besides sitting around doing nothing all day.  So he and his neighbors Bill Bell and Barney McCallum were looking for badminton equipment to occupy their families' time. 

Unable to find any badminton equipment, the group opted for ping-pong paddles and a Whiffle ball.   At first they used the badminton height of 60 inches and volleyed over the net but later found out the ball bounced better on asphalt, so it was lowered to 36 inches.  The next challenge for the group was figuring out what to name their new discovery. 

As for how it got its name?  According to USA Pickleball, there are two versions of how the sport's name was created, but only one that has stood the test of time. The popular — but rejected — version is that the game was named after the Pritchard's family dog, Pickles. 

As for the true origin of the sport's name, it is said that Pritchard's wife, Joan, named it after the pickle boats in crew, also known as rowing. That boat would often be the least competitive boat in the race, with a crew that was thrown together at random. It makes for a fitting name since the game was born out of using leftover equipment from other sports. 

So there you have it!  The game slowly grew in popularity.  In 1984 The United States Amateur Pickleball Association was organized and the first rulebook was published in March 1984.  By 1990, Pickleball was being played in all 50 states.  In 2005 the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) was formed and has grown from a few hundred members to over 70,000 members today.  

I caught up with a Dodgeville couple, Terry and Penny Edwards, and since the courts have opened they have enjoyed many hours at the court and volleying back and forth.  “It’s just a fun time to get outside and get some exercise,” said Terry.  His wife Penny concurs, “we love getting out to play and encourage everyone to get out and give it a try.  It’s a beautiful court and all ages can play.”  And I agree with Terry after he beat me in my first ever game 11-6.  Its good exercise, and we had many laughs and worked up a good sweat in doing so!  

And Penny is right.  Many people may think it’s just a game for ‘us older folks.’  But au contraire! According to recent article in the Wisconsin State Journal, despite its appeal to players of all ages, Generation Z — those between the ages of around 11 to 26 — are leading the Pickleball trend nationally. Nearly 35% of Gen Zers said they have played Pickleball, followed by 20% of Millennials, 14% of Generation X and 7% of Boomers.  

Nationwide, According to a report by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), Pickleball is now up to 8.9 million players over the age of 6 in the United States. That is an increase from 4.8 million in 2022. 

Cities like Madison and Milwaukee can hardly keep up the demand with building enough courts for the demand.  One can play singles, but doubles is very popular.  Leagues have developed for all skills for all ages all around the United States.  Here is the website for USA Pickleball, usapickleball.org, for more information on rules and scoring, which you’ll find easy to understand.  You’ll also find more information about the game, tournaments, equipment and the like.  

For Dodgeville residents, because of its popularity, it came about as a discussion with the city council and became an agenda item last May.  Public Works Director Greg Lee said “we had several calls inquiring about if Dodgeville would get a Pickleball court.  The tennis court at Wilson Park was deteriorating and cracking so we discussed replacing the tennis court with Pickleball courts.’  

The council unanimously approved Lee’s proposal. The cost to replace the tennis courts was approximately $105,000.00 for the now 3 Pickleball courts. But the costs were covered by "Environmental Impact Fees" that were received as part of the Cardinal-Hickory Creek Transmission Line project. 

SnapSports installed the courts with its patented PickleGrip Surface and I found the surface to be exceptional.  According to their website its slip-resistant technology and low-maintenance design gives players’ peace of mind and allows players’ to focus on the game instead of worrying about their footing.

So Dodgeville residents of all ages, this Fall get out and play some Pickleball at Wilson Park!  Days are getting shorter but you can play under the lights as well!  Get out and see why Pickleball is all the craze!