Pickleball growth ‘exponential’ after 30 courts opened last year
The pop of paddle striking a swisscheese sphere echoes amid the screech of scuffed runners. It is the symphony announcing the golden age of pickleball, played masterfully by its mostly goldenaged adepts.
“The growth and interest in pickleball has been exponential in the last few years,” said Helen Thomson, 67, “and proud of it,” at the Terwillegar Rec Centre earlier this week. The music of the rally punctuated her words, benches filled with players eager to jump into one of the six available dropin courts.
Thomson is the president of the 250-member Edmonton Pickleball Club, which has seen considerable growth over the last year with increased participation and new spaces for play.
According to 63-year-old Doug Fogg, former member of the board of directors and current vicepresident of Pickleball Alberta, membership more than doubled in 2017.
The club also drove the construction of new pickleball courts at the Royal Gardens Community League, 4030 117 St., completed early October. A government grant through the Alberta Lottery Fund provided $70,000 toward the redevelopment of neglected outdoor tennis courts, matched by the community league itself and conducted in partnership with the city.
Thirty new courts opened across the greater Edmonton area in 2017, said Fogg.
Pickleball is also growing provincially, said Bev Walker, president of Pickleball Alberta, which currently has 2,200 members across 18 clubs. The game has particular appeal to seniors who, according to data cited by a recent city report, will comprise up to 25 per cent of the province’s population by 2031.
“I think it’s because it’s a sport that can be less strenuous than ... some of those other racket sports,” said Walker.
Pickleball equipment is light, while the court is the same size as a badminton court.
“But another appeal is because it’s a big paddle, it doesn’t take long to pick up a basic level of skill to go out and hit the ball and have some fun and be active,” she said.
Although many play recreationally, there are still competitive players and tournaments in the province are getting larger, said Walker.
Pickleball Alberta was formed in June 2016 to support Pickleball Canada’s aim to be recognized as a national sports organization by 2020.
Doug Thomson, Helen Thomson’s 67-year-old husband and vice-president of operations for Pickleball Canada, partially attributes this growth to interest from younger players.
“We’re getting a lot of younger people instead of us active older adults,” he said.