PickleballCANADA
WHO LOVES PICKLEBALL ? CANADA !
Once upon a time there were summer sports and winter sports , especially with Canada ’ s climate . For me , summer was filled with tennis tournaments and rounds of golf , while winter play included evening badminton and volleyball games with weekend curling bonspiels . Just as cold fall days warned us that outdoor play was done for the year , warm spring days signaled the start of a new summer season of ball games , soccer , tennis , etc .
This began to change in the ‘ 70s and ‘ 80s when tennis bubbles and golf domes started springing up across Canada . Suddenly , winter sports had competition . In the great white north , pickleball was a largely unheard-of sport . Those who knew of it considered it a cute game for older people who live in senior communities in Arizona and Florida .
While pickleball began to grow in popularity south of the border , in Canada very little pickleball would be played for another 20
By Wayne Kerr
years . During this time , racquet sports such as tennis , badminton and squash had a steady growth throughout the nation ; racquetball exploded in popularity and then just as quickly faltered . I know of a racquetball facility in western Canada that was gutted and turned into a paintball center .
As a new millennium dawned , snowbirds brought this oddly named sport back to Canada . The growth of pickleball has snowballed ( pardon the pun ) ever since . Once hooked on pickleball , Canadians weren ’ t just playing the beloved sport during the short summer season . Indoor pickleball was immediately embraced . Soon , temporary and permanent lines were being installed on gymnasium and public hall floors