Gov. Inslee Signs Bill Making Pickleball the Official State Sport

Pickleball is now the official sport in Washingtonn after Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill passed by the legislature into law.

“All are created equal,” said Inslee. “That they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. Amongst those rights being the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of pickleball.”

Governor Inslee conducted the signing Monday on Bainbridge Island, where the growing sport began 57 years ago.

It was invented in 1965 by former Washington Congressman Joel McFee Pritchard and his friends Barney McCallum and Bill Bell.

The game is played on a court and combines elements of badminton, tennis, and table tennis.

It’s now not unusual to see tennis courts being restriped to accommodate growing demand for pickleball across the U.S.

“We are here to make the state sport of the state of Washington pickleball at long last,” Inslee said Monday. “What a great day.”