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The popularity of pickleball continues to grow and for Keith Bially is thrilled with the growth of the sport as well as the results of a recent tournament.
"I think for the last couple of years, there's been an interest in the high school about having some kind of pickleball tournament or jamboree," explains Bially. "We wanted to have other schools involved and there was interest. May 15th was the first tournament put on by MHSAA and Pickleball Manitoba. I believe there was 12 schools and 98 athletes that participated, not bad size for an inaugural event."
Pickleball has traditionally been known best for older players, but Bially says that is changing quickly. "It's getting bigger and bigger, day by day, summer by summer, even winter by winter. It's for all age groups now. We've seen it in the 50 to 60 year old's, but now we're really seeing it in the high schools. It's the perfect sport for some of them. There's some carry over from badminton, so there is some familiarity in how events are ran. It seems more successful, it gives them something to do, something to be active and some belonging, it's nice."
Garden Valley Collegiate had a very good tournament, according to Bially. "In our school at GVC, we had five boys doubles teams compete, three of them won their pools, one finished second, while the other finished fourth. We sent one girls doubles team and they won their pool. In the medal round, GVC finished with bronze and gold, then the girls doubles team also captured gold."
On top of the success, watching the kids come together as teammates and friends is what made the event truly special. "It's always cool to see that. They're always gathered around the brackets or the pools keeping an eye on how each other is doing. The competitiveness they show but also the sportsmanship with the line calls, the tapping of paddles after rallies, going to the net after a game, there's never been any real frustration from the players. It's great to see such a well run event by MHSAA and Pickleball Manitoba."
Bially says that with there being 12 schools and GVC able to do so well, it's a boost of pride as well as a boost to the program. "It's the first event so you don't really know what to expect, but I've done some badminton in the past, so you have an idea of some of the stronger schools are historically, but this is a fresh start for everybody. Pretty impressed with the showing Garden Valley Collegiate had. Got to give credit to our phys ed program, they do a good job of introducing a new sport to our students and giving them a lot of opportunity to play, not just in our club and team, but over lunch hours and in gym class."
For Bially, he believes that pickleball is a sport for everyone and he'll always find a place for someone interested. "We absolutely want more involved. Having this tournament will only increase the interest in pickleball. We just started off as a club at the start of the year up in one of the rec spaces, not even in a gym. We just worked on skill development, things like that. When we moved into the gym, we could talk more strategy and the competitive side of the game. With a few more tournaments as we continue down the road, more students will be interested and it can give the kids another hobby in high school."
With the success of the first tournament, it's easy for Bially to think about hosting one at home. "Absolutely. We were able to go to this tournament and we were able to see some contacts, understand what schools would be interested and absolutely Garden Valley Collegiate would welcome in some schools for a tournament down the road."
More details on the pickleball club can be found here: Play Pickleball at Garden Valley Collegiate: Court Information | Pickleheads