PICKLE BALL
History
Pickle ball was invented during the summer of 1965 by three men who lived on
a small island very close to Seattle, Washington. Joel Pritchard, William Bell and Barney
McCallum were looking for a sport the whole family could play when they created pickle
ball. This game was named after Joel Pritchard’s dog named Pickles. Pickles became
interested in the new game and would pick up any loose ball and disappear with it.
Rules
Court: The net is hung 36” on ends and should be 34” at the middle.
Serve: Player must keep one foot behind the back line when serving. The serve is made
underhand. The server must contact the ball in the air; it cannot be hit after a bounce.
Also, the serve is made diagonally cross court and must clear the non-volley
zone. Only one serve is allowed, except if the ball touches the net on the serve and lands in the proper service court. At the start of each new game, the 1st serving team is allowed only one fault before giving up the ball to the opponents. The person on the right always
serves first.
Volley to Volley: To hit the ball in the air without first letting it bounce. All volleying
must be done with the player’s feet behind the non-volley
zone line. It is a fault if the player steps over the line on the follow through.
Double Bounce Rule: Each team must play their first shot off the bounce. That is, the
receiving team must let the serve bounce, and the serving team must let the return of the
serve bounce before playing it. After the TWO bounces have occurred, the ball can be
volleyed or played off the bounce.
Fault:
1. Hitting the ball out of bounds.
2. Not clearing the net.
3. Stepping into the non-volley zone and volleying the ball.
4. Volleying the ball before the double bounce rule has occurred.
Scoring: A point is scored when the receiving team does not return the ball over the net.
(fault) This means you only get a point when your team is serving. The game is over
when one team gets to 11 points. A team must win by 2 points.
Determining serve: To start the game you use a coin toss or rally the ball until a fault is
made. The winner can choose if they want to serve first or receive.
Doubles Play: The player on the right hand court serves first to the court diagonally, who
is the receiver. The ball must clear the non-volley zone and land in the right hand serving
court. The receiver must let the ball bounce once before returning the serve. The serving
team must also let the ball bounce one time before playing it. After the two bounces have
occurred, the ball can be volleyed or played off the bounce until a fault occurs.
The line is good if the ball lands on it. Switch courts when you make a point when you
serve until a fault occurs. Then your partner serves. Your partner will also switch courts
when they score points. Once both team members have served the ball it goes to the
other side.
Singles play: The same rules apply as Doubles play except when serving. In singles,
each player serves from the right hand court when the score is 0 or an even number and
from the left side when it is an odd number.
Pickle Ball Vocabulary
Base line – The end boundary line
Doubles – A match played with four people, each team has 2.
Drop shot – A softly hit ball just over the net
Fault – An error in the service attempt or an improperly hit ball
Foot Fault – Caused b the server stepping over the baseline with both feet before serving
the ball
Let – A point replayed and it usually is caused by outside interference or during a serve
when the ball touches the top of the net and lands in the proper court
Lob – A ball hit high enough in the air to pass over the head of the net player
Non-volley Zone – an area that cannot be entered unless the ball bounces in it
Rally – Hitting the ball back and forth
Serve (service) – Method of starting a point
Singles – A match played with 2 people
Smash – A hard overhead shot
Volley – To hit the ball before it bounces