MOUNT VERNON – Pickleball isn’t a fad.
Knox County has seen the sport played in its parks, gymnasiums and sports complexes for ten years now. And it is as popular as ever.
Pickleball, described by some as table tennis but with the players standing on the table, was first played in Mount Vernon at the YMCA. Two players – or two teams of two players – use paddles and a wiffle ball under rules similar to tennis. The movement of the ball allows for players of all ages to compete against each other.
Several sources credit the state of Washington as the birthplace of pickleball. Former Lt. Gov. Joel Pritchard and his friends created the game for their kids in the 1960s, when their families wanted to play badminton but could not find a shuttlecock.
The game spread throughout the 1970s and '80s, when snowbirds took the game with them from the Pacific Northwest to the Southwest. Friends then spread the game throughout the American South.
Two local players, Bob Frost and Larry Smith, picked up the game in Florida while on vacation. They brought the game to Knox County and, with the help of good friend Larry Miller, began spreading the word.
Since then, the game was introduced to Mount Vernon schools during gym class, and courts have been opened at Memorial Park and Hillcrest Park. New courts were dedicated at the YMCA in August.
In April, Columbus hosted a $10,000 Pickleball tournament. Four months later, Mount Vernon hosted its own tournament, the Summer Slam.
The Mount Vernon Pickleball Club reported that the number of players around the country grew by 21 percent in 2020.
