Pickleball is a great sport because it’s fun, social and keeps people active! The sport has grown so much over past few years that there is now a day dedicated to it.
National Pickleball Day is held in the United States on August 8 each year. The number 8/8 makes it easier to remember the special day than it does to remember your pickleball score! Ha!
In Canada, National Pickleball Day is held on the second Saturday of August each year. It is on August 10 in 2024.
Although pickleball was first played in 1965, it had been a relatively unknown sport in most of the world until more recent times. Its popularity has exploded in the U.S. over the past few years. With its growing popularity, instructor Deirdre Morris created National Pickleball Day in 2021 as a way to encourage people to play the sport and to celebrate the passion that players have for it.
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Pickleball History Timeline
- 1965 – Pickleball was invented in 1965 by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum on Bainbridge Island, just outside of Seattle, Washington
- 1972 – Pickleball, Inc. was founded by Barry McCallum to sell wooden pickleball paddles
- 1976 – First known pickleball tournament was held in Tukwila, Washington
- 1984 – USAPA formed to maintain and update the official rules of pickleball
- 1999 – The first pickleball website launched called Pickleball Stuff
- 2010 – USAPA established the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) organization
- 2019 – The Sports Fitness Industry Association 2019 report indicates pickleball continues as one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S. as participants reaches 3.3 million
- 2020 – APP and PPA launch professional tours
- 2021 – Major League Pickleball launched
- 2021 – National Pickleball Day created
Celebrate with Fun Pickleball Activities
Pickleball clubs and venues will be holding events to celebrate the special day. With each passing year, National Pickleball Day becomes more widely known and celebrated. Be sure to check out what your local courts are planning.
Whether your local courts are celebrating or not, you can host an event such as planning a small tournament, giving lessons to new players, having exhibition matches with top players, or throwing a party after you play. Celebrate with your fellow players by bringing food and music to the courts.
Be sure to share events and pictures of what you do for the day on social media with the hashtag: #NationalPickleballDay. This will continue to introduce more people to the sport.
Please let us know in the comments below how you celebrated the day. It helps to give others ideas of what they can do to celebrate and promote the sport in future years.
About Teresa
Teresa is the idea-maker behind PickleballMAX. Teresa joins Todd to manage and market PickleballMAX. She creates pickleball content and assists with pickleball tournaments. In 2023, she wrote a pickleball devotional book titled Pickleball Is [Not] Life.
