b'More and more people relish PickleballPICKLEBALLis one of Northboat. Here, oarsmen who wanted tothis case, this aspect borrowed from Americasfastest-growingsports,aenter a race but lacked an assignedbadminton)intoarectangulararea challenging and enjoyable game forboat would join together to form abehindthenetandbeyondanon-people of all ages and skill levels.Butmakeshift team.The as-yet-unnamedvolleyzone.Pointsareearnedby according to enthusiast Jos Sikorski,gamerepresentedelementsfromwinning the volley after serving; lose, it was initially dogged by an unde- other sports cobbled together, henceand serve passes to the other player. served stigma. the o beat, but certainly memorable,Ideally,onewouldmoveanoppo-Pickleballsprobablytheonlypickleball. nentoutofcentralpositiononthe sport which wasrst popularized byThegamegainedtractioninthecourt, either front to back or seniors and then spread to youngerUnitedStates.Snowbirdsenjoyedside to side, leaving him age groups, she explains.So it wasitduringtheirsouthernstays,or her unable to return a unfairlylabelledasagameforoldandwouldultimatelybringittowell-placed volley.The people,andthatsnottrue.TruthCanada.Not surprisingly, Jos says,winner will earn eleven is,youngpeoplenowdominatethat introduction began on our westpoints, but the margin thegame,anditstaughtinmanycoast. of victory must be two schools.Theresarealinter-gener- By 1984, there was apoints or greater.ational mixthats one of its strong48-team pickleball league. Please turnpoints. in Vancouver.to page 4Ironically, the game was conceivedThegameisadaptable as an active pastime for its creatorsto indoor and outdoor set-children. tings, using similar dimen-Three dads near Seattle dreamedsionsandmarkingsasa it up in the mid-60s.The story goesbadminton court.The pick-that the kids were bored with theirleball paddle, comparable usual summertime activities, so theinshapetoitspingpong dads came up with a new game.Thatcousinbutlargerinsize, was the beginning of pickleball. volleysaperforatedplastic Thethreefashionedhomemadeballacrossa36-inchnet equipmentfortheirconcept,bor- placed lower than the height rowed elements from existing games,used for badminton. The ball and kept their rules simple.Easy tobouncesnot as readily as learn, fun to compete; the inventiona tennis ball, but more so had the makings of a widely popularthan squash.activity, and the history of pickleballPickleball shares stra-supports that outcome. tegic characteristics withGraham Hilyer won Gold Thentheresthematterofitsanother of its sportingin the 2019 Kingston unusualname.Explanationsvary,relatives, tennis.TheLimestone Classic and is but one which resonatesgiven theball is served cross- now one of the top young games coastal originssuggests itcourt on a bounceplayers in Ontario.grew from the nautical term pickle(underhandinPHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL GAUTHIER, FREEDOM PHOTOGRAPHYFOCUS - MAY 20193'