Pickleball Points: State senators propose making pickleball Washington's official sport

In his 15 years as a legislator, Washington state Sen. John Lovick has authored many serious bills, including a measure to strictly enforce seat belt usage and an effort to lower the threshold for what constitutes driving drunk. But no piece of legislation, he says, has inspired the kind of enthusiastic response as his Senate Bill 5615: a proposal to designate pickleball as the official sport of the Evergreen State.

“This is one of those [bills] that, I thought I would just drop it, and people would just kind of chuckle, laugh about it, but … I've not sponsored anything that has generated so much attention. It's so much fun,” Lovick said Tuesday.

Lovick said his phone has been blowing up with calls and texts — some as late as 2 a.m. — from Washingtonians excited about the bill, which was heard on first reading by the state Senate Committee on State Government & Elections on Wednesday morning.

If passed by both houses and signed into law, the measure would officially find that pickleball — invented by three prominent state residents on Bainbridge Island in 1965 — is a game that “can be played by anyone, one-on-one, or as a team, and has expanded far beyond Washington to become a nationally and internationally beloved game; over four million people play pickleball in the United States and there are currently 67 member countries in the International Federation of Pickleball.”

“Soon pickleball will even be televised by Fox Sports,” the short text of the bill reads. “The legislature intends to honor and recognize the Washingtonians who created, popularized, and continue to enjoy this sport by designating pickleball the official sport of the state of Washington.”

If Senate Bill 5615 becomes law, it would enshrine pickleball alongside the Walla Walla sweet onion (official state vegetable, designated 2007), Olympia oyster (official state oyster, designated 2014), the Pacific chorus frog (official state amphibian, designated 2007) and Columbian mammoth (official state fossil, designated in 1998 after a multi-year effort by elementary school students).

Pickleball would not supplant any previously designated state sport if the bill becomes law.

”I don't think any of us realized that we didn't have a state sport,” Lovick noted with some surprise, given that “we have a state everything else.”

Lovick, a Democrat and former state trooper who represents the 44th District in Snohomish County, said so far, he is unaware of any opposition to the bill, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Sam Hunt, a Democrat from Olympia, and has also attracted support from Sen. Bob Hasegawa (D), Sen. Jim Honeyford (R), Sen. Liz Lovelett (D), Sen. Jamie Pedersen (D), Sen. Emily Randall (D), Sen. Christine Rolfes (D), and Sen. Lisa Wellman (D).  But some will probably materialize, he predicted.

“Maybe people are gonna say, why not let this (something else) be the state sport,” said Lovick. “But this is the vehicle right now.”

If it designates pickleball as its official sport, Washington would join a number of other states with officially consecrated recreational activities, including Alaska (dog mushing), Maryland (jousting), Colorado (pack burro racing), Minnesota (ice hockey) North Carolina (stock car racing), and California and Hawaii (surfing). Texas, Wyoming and South Dakota have christened rodeo as their state sport.

In terms of practical impact, Lovick — who himself has only played pickleball four or five times — said he hopes it brings awareness to “a good sport that we can all play.”

“You know, you don't have to be a young, energetic person,” to play pickleball, said the senator, who said he recently met an 80-year-old woman who plays. “You can be any age. I think it'll engage people to get outside. You know, we're all stuck inside the house right now, for the most part.”

Lovick said he also hopes the measure will attract more pickleball events and tournaments to Washington state.

“I'm hoping it'll just bring us together and get us out, having people playing at all levels, all ages.”

More than a dozen people testified Wednesday morning before the Senate committee, urging senators to pass the bill. Among them were retired Secretary of State Ralph Monroe, who noted he had testified before the committee many times but never thought he'd be doing it for pickleball.

Monroe said he endorsed the bill because pickleball was the "only worldwide sport invented in Washington state."

The bill is scheduled to be heard again in executive session by the same committee on Friday morning. 

Coach Mary's tip of the week

How do I hit slice in pickleball?

Last week we talked about topspin, and I promised you slice this week.

Be sure to watch the attached links to Jordan Briones and Sara Ansbury!  Really good demos and explanations.

When I played tennis, I never could figure out topspin, but I did get a little bit of slice.  Slice creates backspin on the ball, and makes it die and spin down as it reaches your opponent.  This creates errors and weak returns at both the baseline and the kitchen.  When you have a strong slice, your opponent must get really low to return it, and shorten their backswing.

·         Keep a V with your forearm and your paddle.  45 degrees.  On a clock, think 11:00 o’clock or 1:00 o’clock.  Your paddle is tilted back.

·         Your follow-through is strong through the shoulders, but does not involve much backswing.  Everything is in front of you. 

·         The mistake that is often made when trying to learn to slice is too much motion, or too big a swing, or over emphasis on cutting the ball.  It is very compact, tight, and efficient.  Your weight should be on your front foot, and there should be a significant follow-through.

·         I love my slice backhand dink!  As a lefty, it is an effective weapon.  My slice backhand groundstroke is also one of my best shots, because I use my core, my gluts and a strong follow-through to effective perform the skill.

·         The slice serve or forehand return can be a great weapon also, but needs quite a bit of practice to perfect.  Keep everything in pickleball smaller and more compact, and more in front than in tennis.  If you played baseball or softball, think about hitting to the opposite field to hit a slice or cut serve.

·         Drill, drill, drill.  Learning new techniques and skills takes repetition, and teaching your body muscle memory.  Stick with it!