Pickleball is in the news right now – in February it was named the fastest growing sport of the year for the second year in a row. A game played with rackets, nets and small balls, it is described as a mix of tennis, badminton and table tennis.But it’s nothing new for billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who explained in a video posted Tuesday that he’s been playing pickleball for 50 years.
Gates said: “Despite its silly terminology and funny name, Pickleball is actually a pretty complicated game. It’s easy – people say that for a lot of sports, but in the case of Pickleball it’s real.”
In the video, he shares faded old photos of himself playing the game when he was younger.
The pickleball was invented in Bainbridge Island, Washington, in 1965, and Gates grew up in nearby Seattle. Gates introduced that his father, Bill Sr., was friends with the three inventors of the sport. Washingtonians Bill Bell, Barney McCallum and Joel Pritchard invented the game. Prichard later became the lieutenant governor of Washington state. According to the American Pickleball Association, the game was invented on a day when the families could only find some badminton equipment, so they improvised with ping-pong bats and a punched ball.
“It’s totally localized in Seattle,” Gates said. “So it’s kind of shocking that 50 years after it was invented, it’s starting to take off, and now there’s incredible momentum.”
