BAINBRIDGE
FOUNDATION
BECOME A PART OF HISTORY AT FOUNDERS
PARK ON BAINBRIDGE ISLAND
cott and Carol Stover’s
front yard on Bainbridge
Island is quite literally
ground zero for
pickleball. It was on a slab of asphalt
on the Stovers’ property, formerly
used as a badminton court, that
Barney McCallum, Joel Pritchard
and Bill Bell developed the game of
pickleball back in 1965.
Bordered by trees and a small guest
house, and showing signs of age, the
game’s First Court is something of a
shrine to pickleball enthusiasts.
Last August at Bainbridge’s
inaugural Founders Tournament,
scores of players attending the
event stood in awe, knelt, kissed the
ground, and took pictures, while a
few actually played a game or two on
the sacred ground.
Indeed, the sport has become
widely popular once again on the
island, so much so that six new
courts are in the works.
The Bainbridge Island
Metropolitan Parks District along
with the local pickleball community
have partnered to raise funds for the
building of the new courts, which
should be completed this summer.
Lots of communities around the
country are building new courts, but
none of those locations are where
the game has its roots. So, Bainbridge
backers are undertaking the building
of a historic park at the entrance to
the new pickleball courts.
“Baseball has Cooperstown, New
York; basketball has Springfield,
Mass.; and now pickleball will have
Founders Park on Bainbridge Island,”
says Clay Roberts, co-leader of
the effort.
The vision for Founders Park is an
interpretive “plaza” adjacent to the
new courts and a gathering place for
players and visitors. The park will
include a grand arched entrance
and kiosks with interpretive displays
chronicling the history of the
game and stories about each of the
founders.
Visitors will enter the park on
walkways festooned with engraved
pavers featuring the names of
pickleball clubs, ambassadors and
individuals from around North
America and beyond, and guests will
even be able to play with some of the
original paddles, contributed from
families of the founders.
On a cold, wet, and soggy day
this past October, more than 100
people—including Washington
S
By Kevin Dwyer
Governor Jay Inslee and pickleball
co-founder Barney McCallum—
braved the elements to celebrate
and break ground for the park.
(Sadly, McCallum passed away a
month later.)
“The history of pickleball is
bigger than Bainbridge Island,” says
Roberts. “The game has grown and
is flourishing because of the efforts
of USAPA, clubs, ambassadors, and
countless generous and welcoming
individuals. It’s really important to
preserve this rich history, and USAPA
has become our partner in spreading
the word.”
The Bainbridge team is inviting
clubs and individuals to embed
themselves in that history by
buying engraved pavers, priced at
$150 or $450. The pavers will fund
the development of the park and
be used for walkways, surrounds
and common areas between
the courts.
For more information on
the Founders Park campaign
or to buy a paver visit
www.biparksfoundation.org. •
October groundbreaking with pickleball leaders, park commissioners and staff, and Gov. Inslee. In the
center is Barney McCallum’s daughter Betsy Kenney.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 |
MAGAZINE
55