02-21-2022, 05:59 PM
https://www.npr.org/2022/02/19/108125767...5465673836
For the rapidly decreasing number of Americans who've never heard of pickleball, the obscure paddleball game is one of America's fastest-growing sports.
Invented in 1965 by three middle-aged fathers in Washington state, pickleball is a quirky cross among tennis, pingpong and badminton, played with a paddle and a perforated plastic ball. The founders are said to have named the game after a family dog called Pickles.
With 4.8 million people now playing — almost double the number from just five years ago, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association — some of the sport's devotees are capitalizing on pickleball's spike in popularity.
The game now has two national professional tournaments, both formed in the last four years, and pickleball organizers are courting corporate sponsors to help grow the sport in the U.S. and abroad as part of a bid for Olympic inclusion.
Well, given that this sport has been around since 1965, I'm surprised that it's growing now . But then, perhaps people had just never heard of it, and it wasn't promoted very much.
So, is this something you've played, or would be interested in playing? And do you think it's just a passing fad, or will it achieve lasting long-term popularity?
For the rapidly decreasing number of Americans who've never heard of pickleball, the obscure paddleball game is one of America's fastest-growing sports.
Invented in 1965 by three middle-aged fathers in Washington state, pickleball is a quirky cross among tennis, pingpong and badminton, played with a paddle and a perforated plastic ball. The founders are said to have named the game after a family dog called Pickles.
With 4.8 million people now playing — almost double the number from just five years ago, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association — some of the sport's devotees are capitalizing on pickleball's spike in popularity.
The game now has two national professional tournaments, both formed in the last four years, and pickleball organizers are courting corporate sponsors to help grow the sport in the U.S. and abroad as part of a bid for Olympic inclusion.
Well, given that this sport has been around since 1965, I'm surprised that it's growing now . But then, perhaps people had just never heard of it, and it wasn't promoted very much.
So, is this something you've played, or would be interested in playing? And do you think it's just a passing fad, or will it achieve lasting long-term popularity?
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