Is there a bigger indicator of cultural significance than becoming a Jeopardy! clue?
During a show in February, Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings asked contestants, “Naples, Florida has been called the ‘Capital of the World’ for this paddle sport rising in popularity.”
Despite no one ringing in to guess the answer, anyone from Southwest Florida could’ve provided the correct three-word sentence to Jennings.
“What is pickleball?”
In Florida, high schools have a multitude of sports to offer, ranging from baseball to soccer, and football to lacrosse. And more have been added over the last few years like weightlifting, flag football, and beach volleyball. Pickleball is currently missing from that list, despite a continued upward trajectory in popularity.
It prompts the question: will we see pickleball become an FHSAA-sanctioned sport soon?
“I don’t see a viable argument against it,” FHSAA Board Member and Community School of Naples CFO Paul Selvidio said. “I think if the demand is there and the popularity is where it should be to sustain a sport statewide, I don’t think it’s necessary that it has to be popular across the entire state, as long as it’s popular around enough of the state. You see that with various sports, some locales don’t have flag football for instance, and others do. Pickleball, especially here with its popularity, anything to grow athletic competition, outdoor activity, physical activity, makes a lot of sense to support it.”