Pickleball will be a varsity sport at all Montgomery County high schools this fall

All high schoolers in Montgomery County, Maryland, will be able to try out for the varsity pickleball team starting in the fall.

Pickleball, which is miniature tennis involving a paddle hitting a ball over a net, was launched as a corollary sport at Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Montgomery Blair, James Hubert Blake, Clarksburg, John F. Kennedy, Richard Montgomery, Quince Orchard, Sherwood, Springbrook, Watkins Mill and Wheaton high schools last fall.

This year, the sport will expand to all 25 of the high schools in the Montgomery County Public Schools system, with the help of the D.C. Major League Pickleball franchise and JOOLA, a pickleball equipment company that will move from Rockville to North Bethesda by year's end.

“Interest in pickleball continues to explode at all age levels across the world, and we look forward to partnering with the D.C. Pickleball Team and JOOLA to bring this excitement to our student-athletes,” MCPS Athletic Director Jeff Sullivan said in a release.

Corollary sports are meant to expand participation opportunities for students, particularly those with disabilities.

The sport has already aroused local interest. About 10,000 to 12,000 spectators showed up across four days to a Major League Pickleball showcase held at the Washington Tennis & Educational Foundation's center in the District of Columbia last month.

Among the highlights was a match between the D.C. Pickleball Team and the Carolina Pickleball Club, including Carolina player Ben Johns, a Gaithersburg, Maryland, native considered by many the world’s best.