Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) will expand pickleball as a varsity sport to all 25 high schools for the fall 2024 season after becoming the first district in the country to offer it as a varsity sport last year, according to school officials.
“We believe in the benefits of interscholastic athletics,” Jeff Sullivan, director of athletics at MCPS, told MoCo360 in a Monday interview. “They’re proven in research and just in story of how much benefit participating in athletics have on students’ academic performance, their graduation rates and just overall social-emotional health and well-being.”
Sullivan added the athletics department in MCPS continuously monitors which sports are popular among students and then works to add them to its program.
In fall 2023, pickleball was piloted at 11 schools as part of a corollary sports program that provided increased access and participation opportunities for students with disabilities, according to a press release from the school district. Through a partnership with the D.C. Pickleball Team and Rockville-based JOOLA, the largest pickleball equipment company in the world, the sport will now be offered at all schools.
Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis.
According to USA Pickleball, the sport was invented in 1965 by politician Joel Pritchard and businessman Bill Bell when they began hitting a perforated plastic ball with table tennis paddles on a badminton court while bored one afternoon.
In 2023, pickleball was the fastest-growing sport in America for the third consecutive year, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. Montgomery County has also seen a spike in participation over the last several years.
In the press release, Sullivan said interest in pickleball across all age levels continues to increase.
“Pickleball is an inclusive sport that fits perfectly with our corollary sports program, which provides additional opportunities for students with and without disabilities,” Sullivan said in the press release.
Sullivan said the initiative aligns with the school districts values of “equity, access and spirited competition” and will provide a foundation of success for pickleball across the county.
In October, during the pilot season of pickleball, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School beat Silver Spring’s Springbrook High School in the district’s first pickleball game.