Welcome to Bainbridge Island, the ‘Mecca’ of pickleball

On a chilly December day on Bainbridge Island, Wash., the pickleball courts were full.

Temperatures hovered in the high thirties, but the courts were packed with a mix of local players: pickleball devotees in dry-fit athletic gear playing alongside college students home on break wearing basketball shorts and flannel pajama pants. The music was mixed too, a soundtrack of Roy Orbison, David Bowie, Shania Twain and more to accompany the dink, dink, dink of simultaneous games on six different courts.

As a native of the Seattle area, I hadn’t played pickleball since middle school gym, where we played it along with other racquet sports. But luckily, I had someone to guide me: Clay Roberts, a modern-day founder of pickleball on Bainbridge Island.

Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. And these courts on Bainbridge Island aren’t just courts: They’re the Founders Courts, built to honor the island as the birthplace of pickleball.

“I didn’t really get it when we started trying to build courts, I just thought we were building courts,” Roberts said. “Turns out we’re building community. That’s really what this is about.”

Now, as pickleball’s growth skyrockets across the country, so has tourism to its birthplace. For diehard pickleball fans, traveling to Bainbridge Island isn’t just a vacation — it’s a pilgrimage.

“Born to dink” — on an infant onesie at Island Life Artisan Gifts, downtown Winslow, Bainbridge Island

If Bainbridge Island is the site of a pilgrimage, Roberts is pickleball’s willing steward. He is an eager ambassador for the sport, making a point of introducing himself to people he doesn’t recognize and guiding people to the community equipment.

Roberts, who has lived on Bainbridge for 33 years, is a big reason why the Founders Courts exist. He and fellow “modern founder” Bill Walker coordinated the efforts to fundraise and build the courts, which were completed in 2020 — right as the game’s growth began to make headlines.

Pickleball thrives on Bainbridge, a town with a population of around 25,000 people. There’s a large percentage of retirees, with more than 27% of the population age 65 or older. It’s also an affluent area, with a median household income of $151,290. According to Roberts, the pickleball community — organized by semi-official non-profit Bainbridge Island Pickleball (BIP) — has grown from hundreds of active players to thousands since the courts were first built, although only a percentage play the game consistently.

Although Roberts and Walker have spent the past several years as the de facto leaders of Bainbridge Island Pickleball, Roberts had refused to give himself a proper title over the years. He joked that people in the press would make up titles for him, like “the pickleball impresario.”

But now the group is set to transition to an official 501(c) nonprofit organization, with Roberts taking on the title of co-chair of Bainbridge Island Pickleball, along with Bainbridge resident Melissa Bang-Knudsen.

Under Roberts’ stewardship, playing on the Founders Courts is easy: There’s a sign-up sheet for court space, and equipment available to borrow in a shed in the back. Outside the shed, there’s a wooden bear holding a pickleball paddle and ball, carved by a member of the community.

“We have multi-talented pickleball folks,” Roberts explained. “We’ve got a guy who’s a chainsaw artist, (and) he said, ‘Well, we need to have a mascot!’”

The walls of the shed are covered in mementos of the sport’s history: a banner recognizing pickleball’s invention in 1965, clippings from magazines and news stories about pickleball, and photos of the last living founder of the sport, Barney McCallum. McCallum died in 2019, soon after the groundbreaking ceremony for the courts.

There’s also a photo from May 2022 of Washington Governor Jay Inslee signing the decree to make pickleball the official Washington state sport, something Roberts had an active role in. (Inslee, a Bainbridge resident, is an old basketball buddy and current biking buddy of Roberts. “He would accuse me of illegal lobbying,” Roberts joked.)

There are also two large maps covered with pins placed by people who came to visit Bainbridge. The pins stretch across not only the United States, but across several continents, including countries like Argentina, Iran, Iceland, New Zealand, South Korea, the Philippines and more.

Sean Megy, a board member on Bainbridge Island Pickleball’s Steering Committee, told me prior to my visit that he’s met “hundreds and hundreds” of people who came to Bainbridge to play in the birthplace of the game.

For Megy, one standout was a group of young players from Thailand, who came for the Founders Tournament — one of Bainbridge Island Pickleball’s most significant events. The fifth annual edition of the tournament took place in mid-August.

The participants, limited only by the number of courts, numbered around 360 — with many from well outside the area. Megy told me that the Thailand crew, which came to a previous edition of the tournament, had some players stay for months after the tournament had ended.

“We ended up writing a note to their government inviting them, to kind of grease the visa wheels,” Megy said. “They loved it. They were out there every day. They were super, like great players, but also just super kind and sweet. It was great to have them.”

“It’s been a bucket list for some folks,” Roberts said. “We have people come from all over the United States to say they played in the Founders Cup tournament.”

“Bainbridge Island Pickleball: Born Here — Played Everywhere” — on a hat at Island Life Artisan Gifts, downtown Winslow, Bainbridge Island

For pickleball pilgrims, the real sight to see on Bainbridge Island is the original court, located in the front yard of a local house.

Roberts first learned about the game from his friends, Scott and Carol Stover. Scott Stover is also a basketball buddy of Roberts, and just so happens to have the original pickleball court, the one where the game was first played in 1965, in his front yard.

Roberts and Stover showed me the court, which was paved with a low net and white lines, in the shade of a few tall evergreen trees. (The trees drop lots of needles, which Stover — who was recovering from hip surgery — was kind enough to blow off with a leaf blower before I arrived.)

As Stover tells it, it started with a group of bored kids in a summer home. Per the lore, pickleball has three founders: Joel Pritchard, a U.S. congressman and eventual Lieutenant Governor of Washington; Bill Bell, who worked for the CIA in various countries in Asia; and Barney McCallum, Carol Stover’s second cousin and the one who made it all happen.

But first, there were the bored kids. Pritchard and Bell, who were neighbors, had to find something to entertain them.

“The two fellows came home from playing golf and the wives said, ‘Get these kids out of here. We’re tired of them being here,’” Stover said.

Stover said that, according to the story, they didn’t bring the kids to play with them right away. Instead, they went up to the backyard badminton court behind one of Pritchard’s cabins (now considered the original pickleball court).

From there, the two founders started to brainstorm a makeshift game.

“They found some ping-pong paddles and a big, softball-sized wiffleball. And they came out and started hitting the ball with the net, with the badminton net being high, so they lowered the net,” Stover said. “The kids are hearing this click-clack and they go, ‘What are you doing?’”

The sport, though, mostly depended on McCallum, who Stover said was “mastermind” behind the game, and the primary reason pickleball exists. McCallum joined Bell and Pritchard the next weekend and helped make the game into what it is today.

“He started making rules. He started getting paddles made,” Stover said. “He was the driving force behind pickleball.”

There’s more to the story, of course. But the gist of it started with a paved badminton court and continued with McCallum’s business savvy.

“Play like it’s 1965!” — on a sticker commemorating the Bainbridge Island Founders Tournament, sold at the Bainbridge Island Historical Society

From the Stover’s house, you can see several other pickleball courts in their neighbors’ backyards. The new courts are shiny and new — far better quality than the original court in the Stovers’ yard, which is simple paved concrete, with roots from nearby trees cracking the surface.

Roberts admitted that “it’s not a good court to play on,” but that that’s part of what makes it so special.

Although the Stovers have had “offers” for people to renovate the court, Roberts said that keeping it in its original state is important to preserving the history.

“They actually got an award from the Bainbridge Historical Museum for not improving the court,” Roberts said. “The value in this is they kept it original.”

Getting a chance to return to the original court is emotional for some who have found great meaning in playing pickleball, including a couple who even had their vows renewed on the court, according to Roberts.

“We’ve literally had people who get down on their knees and kiss the court. Because it’s changed their life, seriously,” Roberts said. “People found new friends, they’ve lost weight, they have a whole new social network.”

Stover shows me memorabilia: commemorative paddles, pictures of the founders and their families, a set of children’s books about an otter who learns how to play pickleball.

Most prized is the original Pickle-Ball box. Being the driving force behind pickleball, McCallum went on to design paddles — building them out of plywood and getting the kids to test them out. From there, he created the Pickle-Ball brand, with paddles and balls sold in boxes like a croquet set. The company still exists, selling higher-end graphite paddles as well as the original wooden paddles that first populated the game.

The box is extra special to Stover, because he and Carol Stover are both on the cover. McCallum gathered all the cousins for the photo shoot, including Scott, who was dating Carol by that point.

“We’re down there in the lake, and it’s a wonderful July day,” Scott Stover says, pointing out photos of him and the group playing the game with sunny skies.

Seeing these pieces of pickleball history and the original court is a treat that Stover occasionally lets other people get a glimpse of. Roberts has brought people to the Stovers’ during the Founders Tournament, and outside of that, Stover estimated that he’s had somewhere around 80 people come by his court in the past few years.

“I don’t want this to be like we’re inviting more people,” Stover said tentatively, then joked, “My daughters finally bought us the ‘no trespassing’ sign.”

Roberts said the Stovers have been “incredibly gracious and generous over the years” to allow people to come see the court, and they understand why people are so eager to visit.

Because it means something to them, in the context of a sport that has become a big part of their life in a short amount of time.

“I think it fills a void that a lot of people are feeling right now,” Roberts said. “It’s changed people’s lives for the better.”

“Pickleball Pro League: ‘We’re a big dill’” — on a canvas tote bag at Eagle Harbor Book Co., downtown Winslow, Bainbridge Island

In recent years, pickleball has seen unprecedented growth, which Roberts calls “the perfect storm.” As of 2023, 36.5 million people play pickleball in the U.S., compared to 5 million in 2021. More than 8.5 million play pickleball eight times or more, indicating a consistent love of the sport.

Roberts rattled off these same statistics. “That’s bigger than golf and bigger than tennis by a longshot. And it’s still growing at kind of exponential rates,” Roberts said.

Eyes have turned to Bainbridge Island as the sport grows. I’m not the first journalist to visit the island, but I’m one of few that have played pickleball before.

After arriving at the courts and touring through the shed, it didn’t take long for Roberts to hand me a paddle.

We played with a young Bainbridge couple, Sarah and Ryan, who were at the courts with their dog, Duncan. There are plenty of dogs at the courts, with Roberts joking that you can get your “pickleball fix” and your “dog fix” in the same place.

After coaching me through the basics (I had forgotten nearly all of the rules since playing in gym class, or may have never really known them in the first place), Roberts handed out pieces of sage pickleball advice throughout the game.

There’s “butt down, paddle up” for the proper form. “The middle solves the riddle,” for the trick to the most effective way to score — down the middle, where it’s hard for your opponent to get to it. Before every serve, you have to say the score and which server you are out loud; in Roberts’s words, “If you throw out two random numbers, followed by a 1 or 2, you have a chance” of getting it right.

Most of all, Roberts says that you never need to apologize when it comes to pickleball. He told the story of a woman who played with a group of older women who had just started playing and kept apologizing when they made mistakes.

“She said, ‘So we made a rule that you couldn’t say ‘sorry.’ So I said, ‘So what do you say?’ She said, ‘Sometimes you say “Aw, shit,”’ Roberts recalled.

Our opponents and I laughed.

“You can only say sorry if you did it on purpose. You don’t say sorry if you made a mistake,” Roberts said.

I was never very good in middle school gym, but my game is even rustier now. My backhand leaves a lot to be desired, while my serve could also use some work.

Roberts and I go on a 4-0 run to start the game, but despite the early lead, we falter as the game continues — or, in other words, my substandard backhand comes back to bite us. (But I’m not apologizing, of course.)

We ended up losing 11-7, with Sarah and Ryan hitting the 11-point benchmark first to end the game. The four of us then hit paddles as a sign of sportsmanship.

“Nice game, partner,” Roberts said.

“Dink First, Drink Later” — on a coaster at Island Life Artisan Gifts, downtown Winslow, Bainbridge Island

Part of the key to pickleball’s popularity is its simplicity — minimal equipment, few rules, works well with big groups if there’s enough court space.

In the words of Sean Megy, the BIP board member, the game is “easy to learn, hard to master, but you can start doing it quickly.”

It’s also not hard on the body, which is why it’s been associated with retirees. But that is changing as the sport grows.

“You had a game that was basically born and bred in retirement spots,” Megy said, mentioning Arizona, Florida and Palm Springs as hotspots. “But I think now that it’s kind of mainstreamed, and you’ve got this diving average age, which is what I see.”

Megy added that the game has become incredibly popular with former tennis players — who used to scoff at it. “Most people just used to laugh at it, like, ‘I’m never gonna play that gray-haired game, I’m a real tennis player,’” he said. “And now all the guys I play with are ex-tennis players that will never play tennis again, because they play pickleball.”

With the rise in pickleball comes a rise in exclusive, expensive pickleball clubs across the country. But Roberts and Bainbridge Island are not big on the country club-ification of the sport.

Roberts said that BIP tries its best to create the most welcoming environment possible. “Although I have to say there are lots of friendly places around the country to play and most of them are very fun, we want to be the friendliest,” he said.

Other places get “snooty” about pickleball rankings, but that isn’t Roberts’ style. One time, when asked about his rating, he said 7.4. “And they said, ‘It only goes to five.’ And my comment is, ‘Well, I knew one of the founders (McCallum) and he rated me a seven-four, and next year I’m gonna be a 7.5 and the year after I’mma be a 7.6,’” Roberts quipped.

Even so, Roberts said that he likes playing at other courts when he gets the chance. “When I travel these days, I take my paddle on the road. That’s always interesting, just to stop and play at the local courts,” Roberts said.

Being from Bainbridge, he said, gives you a bit of extra credibility in other places.

“If you have a Bainbridge Island shirt on, you’re treated as royalty. Until they watch you play, and they realize you’re no better than anyone else on the court,” he joked.

“Day dinker” — on a sticker at Millstream, downtown Winslow, Bainbridge Island

With Bainbridge Island’s unique history comes a strong sense of community around the sport, even for those who don’t play.

Megy admitted that it’s easier to fundraise for things like the Founders Courts on Bainbridge Island. But pickleball, Megy said, doesn’t have to be limited to wealthy communities. “I think there’s all kinds of benefits. And I think the more communities embrace sports … it lifts all boats in my view,” he said.

Some of those boats include local shops, which have taken the opportunity to bring in pickleball-themed merchandise for tourists.

Derek Villanueva, owner and operator of Millstream in downtown Winslow — where he sells pickleball paddles and ornaments and t-shirts — said that the real point of change was when Governor Inslee made pickleball the state sport. From there, he and other gift shop owners started to bring in more pickleball-specific merchandise after realizing that there would be demand.

Villanueva said that the merchandise has been very successful, adding that if out-of-towners are confused by the selection, they immediately understand once they learn that Bainbridge is the birthplace of the sport.

“They either hate it or they love it,” Villanueva said.

When I asked him about it, Roberts didn’t seem to mind, saying that it’s in line with the market for those products. “People get off the ferry and they want to know ‘where do I get a Bainbridge Island pickleball hat?’ I think some of the local merchants have responded to that,” he said.

As for the gift shops, Megy said that it’s part of the “push and pull” between capitalism and keeping the game true, something that he says happens with most sports phenomena.

“I think everyone’s trying to kind of figure out a way to monetize this, which is, you know, it’s the way of the world. I get it,” Megy said. “But (it’s) slightly disheartening at the same time.”

Still, the pickleball-specific tourism has been met with strong support from the city and the community — largely because, per Roberts, it’s a win-win situation.

“In my mind, it’s a great economic driver that doesn’t change your community,” Roberts said, specifically when it comes to the Founders Tournament. “To have a couple of tournaments a year and people come from around the country, it’s not a big change in your community and you can go back to what was normal in three days. And the businesses benefit and the community benefits.”

Roberts staunchly believes that Bainbridge should be directly honored as the origin of the sport by making a Pickleball Hall of Fame. (One already exists, but isn’t located on the Island.)

“The Baseball Hall of Fame is in Cooperstown, New York, where the game was invented. Right? The Basketball Hall of Fame is in Springfield, Massachusetts, where the game was invented,” Roberts said. “My sense is that the Pickleball Hall of Fame needs to be on Bainbridge Island.”

Part of that comes from the year-round national and international interest.

“On any given week on Bainbridge Island, there are people who are there from two or three different states,” Roberts said. “They show up on Bainbridge Island, because it’s Mecca, and because they want to say, ‘I played at the home of the game.’”