By Brennan Phillips
Special to the Western News
Penticton Pickleball Club plans to open their outdoor courts starting May 1.
“We’re looking forwards to having a really big year,” said Janice Clary, membership chair of the Penticton Pickleball Club. “It starts with our spring meeting, which is also the start of our membership drive.”
The club will be holding its spring meeting on April 19, and registration for the club will open at that time. The club will outline their plans for the next year at the meeting, such as programs and their work with the city to expand the number of courts available to the club. The popularity of pickleball has already outgrown the new courts built and opened in 2016.
“We started with over 200 (members) in our first year,” said Clary. “It’s so popular. Summerland’s started a club now, and Oliver and Osoyoos have clubs too. Kelowna hosts the Canadian Nationals, and we hope to hold a big tournament of our own one day.”
The membership numbers don’t tell the whole story. While the club offers a membership and usage of the courts from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m., it also hosts an open drop-in period from 8 to 10 a.m.
“Anyone could come in and pay a fee for the day, so it’s not just members who play,” said Clary.
The popularity of the sport extends far beyond the Okanagan, and it attracts a number of visitors to Penticton.
“During the summer we get a lot of tourists. A lot of them go on the internet and look up where we’re playing pickleball, where the courts are, and the numbers are growing every year.”
Clary, when asked why it is so popular, added “it’s easy to enter into the game, and pickleball people are very friendly, very social. People all over North America enjoy the camaraderie of it all.”
If you haven’t ever played pickleball, don’t worry. The club offers multiple ways to aid newcomers to the sport.
“We help beginners. We have a person who helps them get started, we offer them free lessons, that’s before they get the membership. We can provide the paddles, and we also provide the balls,” said Clary. “There’s also mentoring programs too.”
The club is still raising funds and searching for sponsors to expand their facilities and add more courts. The spring meeting will be held at the Senior’s Drop-In Centre on South Main, and will begin at 7 p.m. More information on pickleball is available at www.pentictonpickleball.blogspot.ca.