Pickleball was conjured up by Joel Pritchard of Bainbridge Island, Wash., in 1965, with the help of two friends. The earliest version of the game was played on an old badminton court, using Ping Pong paddles and a Wiffle ball. The men wanted to create a game that the whole family could enjoy, using gear that they already owned. But what’s the deal with the name? One story goes that the game was named after the Pritchard family dog, Pickles. But pickleball researchers—because sure, that’s a job—felt they’d busted this theory after concluding that the dog hadn’t come along until several years after the game was invented. The other theory— “The Boat Theory”—says that Pritchard’s wife, Joan, named the sport in reference to the “leftover,” poor-performing rowers in crewed rowing competitions—the rowers that formed the hodge-podge crews of the “pickle boats.” The boats were a mishmash of rowers, just as the newly invented sport was a mishmash of different sports. Which story is true? There’s still some debate. But one thing is for certain: it seems like the Pritchards had a thing for pickles.
Pickle lingo
Pickleball is known for its colourful language, but not in the way you might expect. Here are some terms you might hear on the court.
Cookie
An easy shot
Banger
An aggressive player
Poach
Crossing over to a partner’s side of the court to hit the ball
Flapjack
A shot that must bounce before being hit
Dink
Short shot that lands in the non-volley zone (also known as the kitchen) near the net
Falafel
A shot that falls short because the player didn’t hit the ball with enough force
Pickle
A warning shout from one player to alert others that they’re about to serve
Kitchen
Slang for the “non-volley zone,” a seven-foot zone on either side of the net
This story originally appeared in our May ’25 issue.
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