Pickleball in the Olympics?

Marcus Luke, likely North Carolina's best player, visited Cummings Cove for a series of lessons this week. Last night at dinner he mentioned that there were some rumblings in the pickleball community about the possibility of pickleball in the 2024 Olympic games if Los Angeles is awarded the host city status. It seems some folks are thinking even sooner, though, as the 2020 Tokyo games are discussed as a possibility in a Pickleball Central article called Does Pickleball Have a Shot at Olympic Gold?.

Does Pickleball Have a Shot at Olympic Gold?

With the 2016 Olympics in Rio now firmly in the rear-view mirror, we thought we’d take a look ahead at what it might take to get pickleball into the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. As we said in this article about it back in 2014, getting a sport into the Olympics is a long and winding road. But four things make us hopeful that pickleball has a better shot (heh heh) than most sports at getting a coveted spot under the Olympic rings.  

How Close to the Kitchen Line?

I've posted many times about the strategic goal of getting to the kitchen line. I've also posted about what it means to be at the line, i.e., within 6 inches. Mark Renneson has a video called Get to the Line that highlights the reasons why this is important.

Mark exemplifies the correct positioning in the first photo. Note his position is within inches of the kitchen line even after shifting to his left.

Is it OK to Hit Another Player

The topic of intentionally hitting a ball at an opponent can be controversial. It seems to be acceptable at high levels of tournament play but opinions are all over the place at the recreational level. Pickleball Central has an interesting article on the subject called Pickleball: A Contact Sport?.

Pickleball: A Contact Sport?

By: Glen Peterson

You’re not likely to get knocked down by a pickleball, but it doesn’t feel good to get hit! (Image credit: Chad Ryan)