WHEATLAND – A phenomenon is sweeping the globe. Actually, it is paddling the globe. With a name like Pickleball, one would expect a tasty pickled cucumber and some sort of a round sphere, that would be incorrect.

According to USA Pickleball, “Pickleball has a very interesting name, especially since no pickles are used. Accounts of how the name originated differ.

1. According to Joel Pritchard’s wife (Joan), she started calling the game pickleball because “the combination of different sports reminded me of the pickle boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats.”

2. According to Barney McCallum, the game was officially named after the Pritchards’ dog Pickles, who would chase the ball and run off with it. According to McCallum, “The Pritchards had a dog named Pickles, and you’re having fun at a party, right? So anyways, what the hell, let’s just call it pickleball.”

Others claim both accounts may actually be true. In the early years, no official name was assigned to the game. However, a year or two after the game was invented, the Pritchards purchased a cocker spaniel and named it Pickles. As the game progressed, an official name was needed and “pickleball” was it.

Also, according to USA Pickleball, it is the 55-year-old game is the fastest growing sport in the country with the number of participants up 100% in the past two years to 3.5 million players.

It has come to Platte County and it is growing.

According to the Platte County Parks and recreation director, Steve Pollock the sport of pickleball started in Wheatland about a year ago.

“It’s become very popular,” Pollock said. “Especially with older active adults. Paul Gallegos actually got us started. He came to me and it just sort of evolved from there.”

The Parks and Rec department does not have actual leagues, but according to Pollock, it’s just drop in and come and play. They have all the equipment so it makes it easy to just show up. Right now, the pickleball play is taking place from 12-2 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a novice group is also meeting on Wednesdays.

“We started a beginner’s class on Wednesdays from noon until 2 p.m.,” Pollock said. “That’s just for people to avoid the intimidation of playing with people that have played for a while. There’s no cost to come and play. We played outside in the summer down at the bandshell, but indoors we are here at the old junior high gym.”

Plans are being made, according to Pollock to build two new pickleball courts at Lewis Park utilizing some of the horseshoe pit space. They are applying for a grant and working with the town of Wheatland.

According to Jamie Schindler, who is a council member in Wheatland said, it will cost $30K just for the concrete alone to get this project done.

“We’re going to take seven of the horseshoe pits right next to the restrooms to create the two pickleball courts,” Schindler said. “We are applying for an AARP grant and that may pay up to $20k. The rest will come from the city. Community gas donates back about $10K per year to the city for community projects so that would be where some of the other money would come from. We could also do some private fundraising. The project would start as soon as we find out whether we got the grant or not because the whole project has got to be done by November of that same year.”

The pickleball courts this winter have been full and there is much interest in playing and staying active during the cold Wyoming winter.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Wheatland resident and Pickleball player Maureen Manning. “Anybody can play it, and even the beginners, the progress they make is phenomenal. Most of us just want to do it for entertainment and not be competitive. But there are some very good players who play on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

If you want to participate but would like a head start in understanding the game, you can go to pickleball-inc. where you can find a basic overview on how to play pickleball. The link to that information is found at https://www.pickleball.com/rules-how-to-play-pickleball-s/106.htm.

For more information about pickleball in Platte County, you can call the Platte County Parks and Recreation Department at: 307-322-9254.