On December 28, 2019, pickleball enthusiasts gathered for a special holiday session that highlighted the sport's growing community spirit, as detailed in the Pickleball Journey blog by player and writer Cindy Newberry. This event took place during Christmas week on Bainbridge Island, the birthplace of pickleball, where families and friends came together on local courts despite the winter chill. Newberry described playing alongside Dean, Jane, Mike, and Sally on the far court, turning a post-Christmas Saturday into a joyful celebration of the game invented just miles away in 1965.
Pickleball Journey reports that the week started with Newberry gifting her family a book on pickleball history on December 26, sparking conversations about its origins. By December 28, the group was fully immersed, paddling under the crisp Pacific Northwest sky. This casual yet meaningful gathering captured the essence of pickleball's appeal, a sport created by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum to entertain bored families using a badminton court, ping-pong paddles, and a wiffle ball. They lowered the net to 36 inches at the hip, added an underhand serve to navigate a madrona tree, and crafted plywood paddles in McCallum's basement, making it accessible for all ages.
What made this December 28 stand out was its timing amid the holidays, blending festive downtime with active play. Newberry noted the electric energy as players of varying skills swapped stories of dinks, drives, and kitchen rallies, the non-volley zone that keeps games strategic and fun. According to USA Pickleball's official history, the sport had already spread to all 50 states by 1990, but moments like this one fueled its grassroots growth. Bainbridge History Museum records confirm the island's role as ground zero, where Pritchard's son Frank once challenged his dad to invent a family game, leading to rules that mixed tennis smashes, badminton boundaries, and table tennis agility.
Fast forward, and pickleball's popularity exploded, becoming Washington's official state sport on March 28, 2022, when Governor Jay Inslee signed the bill, as reported by HistoryLink.org. Yet, that 2019 December 28 gathering reminds listeners of its humble, heartfelt roots, before massive tournaments like the 2024 World Championships drew over 4,200 players and 55,000 spectators, per Pickleball.com. Imagine the laughter echoing off those island courts, paddles popping perforated balls over the net, everyone from kids to grandparents joining in, proving pickleball's magic lies in bringing people together, no matter the date or weather.
PlayPickleball.com timeline emphasizes how early innovators like Bob O'Brian built the first permanent court in 1967, paving the way for such community play. Newberry's account paints a vivid picture of holiday paddles clashing, balls sailing true, and bonds strengthening, a perfect snapshot of why pickleball thrives today in over 67 countries.
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