There is no question that pickleball is smashing it in terms of its popularity in North America these days.
The racquet sport was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, according to Pickleball Canada, an association that promotes the game and helps establish rules, policies and standards for the sport.
Pickleball was likely brought to Canada by snowbirds in the 1970s.
It is currently the fastest-growing sport in Canada, with over one million playing, according to the national organization.
(The second Saturday of August has been designated as National Pickleball Day in Canada.)
Roger Baxter, president of Pickleball Squamish, started playing in his former home base of Calgary.
When he and his wife moved to Squamish permanently during COVID-19, pickleball became a link into the community.
"It's a much more social game than a lot of others," he said. "You tend to mix partners frequently. And we're playing closer together, closer across the net than most of the games that most people play."
He added that conversations and friendships develop quite naturally.
"We're now part of a hiking group in town, and there's a number of people that we ski with and snowshoe with."
Squamish Pickleball has garnered 100 active local members.
Baxter said that, unlike some other racquet sports, folks from children to elder seniors can have enough skill to play the game and enjoy it quickly.
"The serve is an underhand serve as opposed to overhand, and the paddle and the ball are a bit more forgiving than some tennis rackets," he explained.
Baxter said anyone interested in coming out to see what pickleball is about is welcome. You don't have to be a member of the club to give it a whirl.
"We are very, very welcoming to newcomers who just want to get started and see if it's for them."
Tournament play
Pickleball Squamish hosted its first open tournament this season on Saturday, June 10th, at the Eaglewind pickleball courts.
Four divisions of competition were held for players from novice to advanced.
According to a release from the club, top honours — and specially designed championship coffee mugs — went to Alejandro Rovillard and Dan Soli playing in Double-Black; Heather and Roger Baxter playing in Black; Maria Peterson and Gerald Tibbo playing in Blue; and Graeme Majury in Green.
What about the courts?
Pickleball Squamish was founded in 2019 with portable nets members set up outdoors.
It was able to offer an indoor play venue when it rented the curling rink while the Howe Sound Curling Club was shut down during covid.
That is when the sport really increased in popularity locally, Baxter said.
"At that time, we had the largest enrolment actually because there were so very few things that you could do," he recalled.
The renovation and conversion of the Eaglewind courts to a permanent pickleball facility allowed the sport more room to grow, but noise complaints from nearby neighbours resulted in the restricted access to the courts, which is currently in place.
There is a District of Squamish plan to move the courts from Eaglewind to near Brennan Park.
A spokesperson for the District told The Squamish Chief that the contractor request for proposals process has closed, and staff are now in the process of reviewing submitted proposals.
The budget for the project is $370,000.
"The proposals received will determine whether we can build four courts or six with that budget. We are working towards a timeline of this summer [or] fall for the build. However, that is pending based on the proposals we have received," said the District's Rachel Boguski.
For more information on Pickleball Squamish, go to the club's website.
