If you’ve ever dreamed of giving your ‘KITQUEN’ (Kitchen Queen for anyone who didn’t get that) vanity plate some context, it might be time to head to the Pacific Northwest. Washington is on track be the first state to create a pickleball license plate. The sport soon may be celebrated on cars across the state pending whether or not the government approves the measure.

Pickleball has grown in recent years both as a recreational sport, but also as a professional one with big name investors dumping money into the game.

Senator John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, introduced a bill in January to create a vanity plate that recognizes pickleball as Washington’s official state sport. It officially earned that title under a 2022 law (also authored by Senator Lovick).

In a recent interview Lovick gave his support for the idea.

“It’s a great idea. It’s such a red-hot sport. Everybody is playing pickleball.”

– Senator John Lovick

In addition to Senator Lovick, there’s a team of folk pushing for the vanity plate to become law. Behind the effort is Kate Van Gent of Mill Creek, a director of the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association, who also led the charge for last years effort. “We are people on a mission,” she said.

“The display of pickleball on license plates throughout Washington will be a great way to help grow the sport and attract the attention needed to build more pickleball facilities,” Van Gent said. Washington currently offers 44 special license plates the recognize everything from the military and sports teams to colleges, farmers and orcas.

If passed it wouldn’t be the first time in recent years the state approved a new plate. Last year, lawmakers approved a “Patches Pal” plate featuring TV clowns J.P. Patches and Gertrude. The two starred on “The J.P. Patches Show” that aired for nearly a quarter century.

The power of a Pickleball License Plate

The Senate Bill (number 5333) would authorize a plate recognizing the state sport. But winning approval would do more than just give picklers a way to show their pride. Proceeds from sales would go into a trust account managed by the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association and could be used to build and maintain courts. And if you’ve tried to play pickleball in Seattle lately, god knows they could use them.

Small parts of the proceeds could go to cities and counties to use for repairing existing public courts, according to Van Gent. “There’s also a larger goal of constructing a regional facility in Puget Sound with a couple dozen courts where major tournaments can be held,” she said.

To get an official plate, Van Gent has a couple hoops to jump through.

To get a special plate, there first must be a sponsoring organization, signatures to show that at least 3,500 plates will be purchased, a mock-up for the plate, a marketing plan on how to spend sale proceeds, and a $6,300 start-up fee to the Department of Licensing. Luckily, Van Gent’s association members did it all in a handful of months.

Van Gent recounted first learning of the idea from another director, Amy Greger, when they met for coffee at a cafe in Manson near Lake Chelan, where a pickleball tournament was taking place. That was April 30. The idea received the board’s backing in May and they started working on it full bore in August. The association launched a signature drive Sept. 10, during Pickleball Night at a Seattle Mariners game. By December, they had garnered 3,855 signatures, she said.

The Seattle Metro Pickleball Association is determined to make it happen and is confident that the bill will be passed. A license plate has the ability to further promote and grow the sport of pickleball in the state of Washington. After all, it’s the state where it all started!