On December 7 in pickleball history, one notable milestone is that it falls within the month when the very first known pickleball tournament was organized in the spring of 1976. That tournament took place at the South Center Athletic Club in Tukwila, Washington. David Lester won the Men's Singles championship while Steve Paranto placed second. The participants were mainly college tennis players who were new to pickleball, using large wooden paddles and a softball-sized whiffle ball since the sport was still in its infancy. This tournament marked a key moment as the sport began transitioning from casual backyard play to organized competition, a shift that laid the foundation for pickleball’s growth into a nationally and internationally recognized sport.

This first known tournament, held just about 11 years after pickleball’s 1965 invention by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum on Bainbridge Island in Washington, showed that pickleball was ready to step beyond family fun and become a serious sport. It was a proof of concept for competitive pickleball, drawing attention from more players and eventually leading to the creation of governing bodies, official rulebooks in the early 1980s, and formal tournaments nationwide.

The sport’s humble beginnings involved improvising with ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball on a badminton court with the net initially set at badminton height. By 1967, the first permanent pickleball court was built in Bob O'Brian’s backyard, a friend and neighbor of Joel Pritchard. This gave the players a real dedicated space, which helped the sport gain traction locally.

By 1990, pickleball had spread to all 50 U.S. states, showing the remarkable growth from that first small tournament in 1976. Today, pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States and worldwide, with thousands of places to play the game and a professional circuit attracting fans and athletes alike.

So, while December 7 itself may not mark a single headline event, it falls within the era and spirit of pickleball’s critical early competitive growth, notably close to the anniversary season of the sport’s first tournament — a pivotal moment when pickleball began carving out its unique identity beyond its birth on Bainbridge Island. Remembering those early competitive days is a fun way to appreciate how much pickleball has evolved since that season of newness, wooden paddles, and friendly rivalry.

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