Pickleball was started in Washington on Bainbridge Island in 1965 by Joel Pritchard, Barney McCallum and Bill Bell. The name came from Pritchard's wife, Joan. She named it after the pickle boat in a crew race where the crew is chosen from the leftovers of other boats in the same manner that pickleball was pieced together with elements from other racket sports. The Pritchard's originally played on a badminton court with ping-pong paddles and a whiffle ball. Pickleball as named the official state sport of Washington in 2022.