WHEREAS, Pickleball was invented in 1965 in Bainbridge Island, Washington by Joel Pritchard, a congressman from Washington, and Bill Bell, a successful businessman, who sought to play badminton on an old badminton court, but could not find the proper equipment; and

WHEREAS, Pritchard and Bell improvised and played with table tennis paddles and a perforated plastic ball. They began with the net at a badminton net height of 60 inches high and volleyed the ball back and forth over the net. Eventually as play progressed during the weekend, they found the ball bounced well on the asphalt surface and they would eventually lower the net to 36 inches high; and

WHEREAS, The following weekend, Barney McCallum joined to play and Pritchard, Bell, and McCallum created the rules for pickleball; and

WHEREAS, Pritchard, Bell, and McCallum remembered the original purpose of creating pickleball was for a game the whole family could play when they were bored; and

WHEREAS, By 1967, the first permanent pickleball court was constructed in the backyard of Pritchard’s friend and neighbor, Bob O’Brian.

WHEREAS, In 1972, a corporation was formed to protect the sport and in 1975, the National Observer wrote for the first time about pickleball. Tennis magazine followed this with an article about America’s newest racquet sport in 1976; and

WHEREAS, By spring 1976, the first known tournament in the world was held at South Center Athletic Club in Tukwila, Washington. Team ONIX’s Steve Paranto placed second and David Lester won Men’s Singles. Because this was such a new sport and players knew so little about it, at the time of the tournament, they practiced with large wood paddles and a softball-sized whiffle ball; and

WHEREAS, In 1978, a book called The Other Racquet Sports was published and it included information about pickleball. Four years later, Sid Williams began playing and organizing tournaments in Washington; and

WHEREAS, The first pickleball rulebook was published in 1984 by the United States Amateur Pickleball Association, which is committed to the growth and advancement of the sport. Sid Williams served as the executive director and president from 1984 to 1998 and Frank Candelario followed him until 2004; and

WHEREAS, Steve Paranto’s father, Arlen Paranto, a Boeing Industrial Engineer, created the first composite pickleball paddle. Arlen used fiberglass and nomex honeycomb panels that commercial airplanes used for their flooring and structural system. Arlen made 1,000 paddles from this fiberglass honeycomb core and graphite honeycomb core until he sold the company to Frank Candelario; and

WHEREAS, By 1990, pickleball was being played in all 50 states. Two years later, Pickle-Ball, Inc. manufactured pickleballs in-house with a custom drilling machine. By 1999, the first ever pickleball website launched called Pickleball Stuff; and

WHEREAS, In 2001, pickleball was introduced in the Arizona Senior Olympics drawing 100 players, which was the largest event to be played at that point. Later, events would begin growing to nearly 300 players. By 2003, Pickleball Stuff would list 39 known places to play in North America, including in 10 states, 3 Canadian provinces, and 150 individual courts; and

WHEREAS, In 2005, the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) was established. Three years later, the USAPA Rules Committee published an official rulebook. Pickleball was included for the first time in the National Senior Games Association. Good Morning America aired a live segment on pickleball for the first mass media exposure for the sport. The first USAPA National Tournament was held in 2009 and drew almost 400 players from 26 states and several Canadian provinces; and

WHEREAS, Since then, pickleball has been exploding in growth and popularity with tournaments played by millions ranging from young to old all over the world. The USAPA has more than 40,000 members and it is estimated that pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States as participants reach around 3,300,000; and

WHEREAS, Pickleball is a fun, social, and simple game that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong into one and can be played at any age, from beginner to pro level; now, therefore, be it