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Mandy Alexander, the Rec Director for Killarney and Turtle Mountain, is beyond thrilled to offer some terrific programs that invite all ages to be a part of.
Perhaps the most popular classes of late, Pickleball has gained a lot of attention and Alexander says it really is great for the community. "While it's targeted to an older demographic currently, it is catching on with the young ones, too. I know we run it five-times a week, we have the younger people out there playing as well. The game is slower than tennis, which allows for a larger number of people to play and keep playing longer than they would tennis."
Alexander says they have a great setup and an opportunity to get involved. "We have quite a large Pickleball group. It's not official, it's drop in, so anyone can join. We have four courts that run in the hall September through April. We run five times a week for two hours day. In the summer, we move to the arena and we have six courts going there. People can drop in, it's only $2.50 for a drop in if you buy a pack of 20 tickets. We have people to play with, you can bring your own equipment but if you don't have anything, we can provide equipment."
Putting on the program only happens because the community has been so great at responding to it and that passion means a lot to Alexander. "It's so fun, I love seeing people be active and stay active, especially as they get older. It's great to have a place for people to come out, meet new people in the community, they are a welcoming and fun group. We have a Pickleball clinic coming up in May that Pickleball Manitoba is putting on, so if you're not very experienced in the game, there are ways to still learn."
Another program Alexander is very proud of is the Ninja Camps the area is set to host and she details what that is and how it came about. "We do run a gymnastics programs and we noticed we didn't have the boys joining as much as the girls, so we wanted to gear something more toward them. Parkour and Ninja Warrior, they see these things on tv and they want to do it. We've developed a program and it's had a huge response, it's always full. We ran it as a day camp last year for a week and this year, we're running it as a class, coming up next week. In the summer, we'll do it for a week again."
If you've heard of parkour but don't quite know what it is, Alexander shares some details. "Parkour is just moving your body in different ways efficiently through obstacles. Running, jumping, climbing, rolling, it really gets the energy out, especially for those boys that have energy to burn."
It's not just physical, it's also a way to sharpen mental skills, according to Alexander. "They see the course mapped out in front of them and the way we ran the camp last year, they ran the same course every day. We made some changes but they would learn what moves to use in different sections, so that from day one when we took their times, compared to when we took their times on the last day, they could see their improvement."
Learning more about pickleball and Ninja Camp is easy, says Alexanders. "Check our website, Killarney Turtle Mountain Shamrock Centre - Home, they can call us at the Shamrock Centre, or they are always welcome to pop in, we'll always talk to anyone about the programs we're running."