Pickleball Gaining Popularity One Dink at a Time

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 20 July 2022

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you overheard someone shout, “nice dink in the kitchen!” you probably just walked by a pickleball court. Pickleball, the fastest growing sport in the United States, is taking over park and rec centers all over California as players clamor for more court time. Invented in 1965 by a Washington state congressman and his friend to entertain their bored kids, pickleball’s popularity took off during the pandemic, with an almost 40% increase in players. Across the country over four million people are playing pickleball, and its enthusiasts have formed a variety of professional organizations, leagues and tournaments with an eye to getting certified as an Olympic sport. We’ll look at how and why pickleball has become an American obsession. Have you picked up a paddle? Guests: John Walters, sportswriter, Sports Illustrated; adjunct professor of Sports Media, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Walters wrote the Sports Illustrated cover story about pickleball "Barbarians in the Kitchen" Rachel Simon, author, "Pickleball for All: Everything But the 'Kitchen' Sink" which comes out on August 30 Jordan Briones, pickleball professional and instructor; co-founder, Primetime Pickleball; creator, pickleball YouTube instruction channel: @brionespickleball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:09.5	From KQED. From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Nina Kim.
1:28.3	Coming up on forum, if you overheard someone shout, nice dink in the kitchen, you probably just walked by a pickleball court.
1:35.3	Pickleball, one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S. is taking over rec centers, parks, and moving in on tennis clubs across California.
1:44.8	We'll look at why pickleball has become an American obsession, and we want to hear from you.
1:50.7	What do you love or maybe don't love about pickleball?
1:54.7	Tell us after this news.
2:00.0	Music Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim.
2:14.6	Long ago and far away, a Washington State Congress member and his friend were trying to entertain their bored kids.
2:23.0	First, they tried badminton, but they didn't have enough equipment.
2:26.7	So being resourceful parents, they invented a game using paddles, a wiffle ball, and a net.
	...

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