The legislature recognizes that the sport of pickleball was created in 1965 on Bainbridge Island by Joel McFee Pritchard, who went on to be elected lieutenant governor and member of Congress for Washington, along with two of his friends, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum. These men created the game at Pritchard's summer cabin after they "persuaded" their abnormally hyper children to go outside to play a few games of badminton, but there was no badminton equipment to be found. Instead, these fathers did some brainstorming and created a new game using ping-pong paddles, a net, and a neighbor's plastic wiffle ball. The rules that they created for the new game, which they named pickleball, are still used today by the USA Pickleball Association.
The legislature finds that pickleball is a game that can be played by anyone, one-on-one, or as a team, and has expanded far beyond Washington to become a nationally and internationally beloved game; over four million people play pickleball in the United States and there are currently 67 member countries in the International Federation of Pickleball. Soon pickleball will even be televised by Fox Sports. The legislature intends to honor and recognize the Washingtonians who created, popularized, and continue to enjoy this sport by designating pickleball the official sport of the state of Washington.
This section adds a new section to an existing chapter 1.20. Here is the modified chapter for context.
The sport of pickleball is hereby designated as the official sport of the state of Washington.