Pickleball
Canada
The latest news, tournaments
and upcoming clinics
Para-Pickleball on the Boom
3 Last October in Magog, four hybrid teams (one
wheelchair player and one standing player) in the
men’s doubles and a mixed doubles team participated
in a tournament sanctioned by the FPQ. In addition, a
wheelchair player (Jean-François Sylvestre, former
player on the Canadian Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis
Team) faced a standing player in the 3.5 and earned a
silver medal.
3 Also in October, the FPQ offered Saint-Basile-Legrand
a day of training and introduction to wheelchair
pickleball. Eleven players participated in the day,
including Philippe Bédard (former player on the
Canadian Paralympic Team in wheelchair) and our very
first player.
3 Last December in Drummondville, another first —
a team of two wheelchair players (J-F Sylvestre and
P. Bédard) faced a team of two standing players in the
Open 3.5 division.
A
fter two years of conclusive tests, promotions and
demonstrations to make para-pickleball known,
the sport is now well-established in Québec.
More than 15 active players are part of the
Québec Para-Pickleball Club and regularly
practice in different regions of the province in various formats.
Although some players practice with individuals in
wheelchairs, others play with standing players, which is a
great success in terms of inclusion and accessibility to the
sport.
Last year was rich in activities for the Québec Para-
Pickleball Club, including:
3 The introduction of nine players for “Adaptavie,” in
the Québec City region, in collaboration with the Québec
Pickleball Federation (FPQ).
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Here are some important activities planned for 2019:
3 Our two former Paralympians in wheelchair tennis plan
to participate in the Naples US Open in April in several
divisions in the hybrid format, and May 4 in a
wheelchair division.
3 A Québec Para-Pickleball Club delegation will
compete at the Canadian Pickleball Championships in
Kingston, Ontario. It will be a Canadian premiere.
Québec Para-
Pickleball Club will
participate in two major
parasport events in
Québec—the Winter
Challenge in Québec City
and the AlterGo Sports
Challenge in Montréal.
These two participations
will ensure a certain
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