Pickleball may be a young sport, but thanks to its approachability for all age groups, it has gained popularity in the Pembina Valley over the last decade.
“It's growing. I think it's here to stay,” says Vern Reimer of the Winkler Pickleball Association. “Currently we've got about 250 [members], maybe approaching more like 300 come this this winter season.”
Reimer, who began playing the paddle sport about four years ago, says the Winkler association is seeing players of all ages become interested in pickleball.
“I think it's starting to grow in schools now, so even younger folks are participating,” he says.
For anyone who is not aware of what pickleball is, think tennis — only smaller.
“You can play four pickleball games on one tennis court, so that gives you an idea of the size reduction,” says Reimer. “[There’s] less running, lots of action, and [it’s] great for all ages.”
While local pickleball players have some access to high quality outdoor courts (including the resurfaced courts at Lions Park in Winkler, for which Reimer says he is grateful), there are currently no options for winter playing in the area. To address this, the local pickleball association has teamed with the City of Winkler.
“We're currently . . . working with the city on building a facility. We've been using the Royal Hall, which as everybody knows is now under renovation for the new Centennial Arena project,” says Reimer. “We're looking at an indoor facility. The city was gracious. Council announced several months ago that they would be putting in 1.5 million for pickleball and basketball conditional upon two basketball courts [and] eight pickleball courts.”
Reimer says that the pickleball community is “ecstatic” for the partnership with the city. However, even with the funding, there is still work for the association ahead.
“[We’ve] got several possibilities for where the building can be located, so we're looking into that right now,” says Reimer. “We've got a building committee, which I'm on, and . . . the idea is to . . . match the 1.5 million. We're going to be looking at probably at least 3 million dollars, probably [more], but right now we're in cost feasibility and [deciding where] to locate that building. To house two basketball courts and eight pickleball courts, it looks like we're going to need at least 20,000 square feet.”
Reimer says that the Winkler Pickleball Association and the local minor basketball league will work together to match the funding. This weekend, the association and the league will put on a fundraising event to begin to make headway.
“We've got Walter Giesbrecht, who's been heading up minor basketball and so on, excited about this possibility [of a new facility] as well,” he says. “This weekend, we're going to be looking at a fundraising tournament, sort of an end of summer tournament, so we're excited. We've got lots of outside community people attending, so it looks like it's going to be a great weekend.”
The fundraising pickleball tournament will take place this Saturday and Sunday (August 24th and 25th) at Lions Park in Winkler. Saturday will be the women's and men’s doubles, and then Sunday will be mixed doubles and the top level 4.0 players. Reimer says that there will be categories based on skill level. The tournament action will run from 9 a.m. to about 3:30 p.m. each day.
“We've got many people coming from out of town,” he says. “[There will be] about 40 locals and maybe up to about 80 people from outside the community, including from Northern Ontario, so [we’re] excited about that,” says Reimer.
Reimer invites the community to come out. Anyone who is interested in pickleball and would like to learn more is warmly welcomed to the event this weekend. To keep track of the association’s fundraising initiatives in the near future, follow its Facebook page (Winkler Pickleball Association).
~With files from Connie Bailey~