The sport of pickleball is thriving in Estevan, and with both the Estevan Pickleball Club and Fresh Air Fitness working on new court developments, it’s clear that the region is fully embracing one of Canada’s fastest-growing games.
Taylor Herman, President of the Estevan Pickleball Club, says the 2025 season is progressing well despite the summer slowdown.
“Everything's been going good for us. It's a little slow right now, just with everyone on holidays. But prior to school being done, everything's been busy and looks to be a busy fall coming up,” Herman said.
The club has been experiencing a steady rise in interest. “We've seen an increase. It seems year after year we've been growing and trying to accommodate that,” he added.
Herman confirmed that infrastructure expansion is underway: “We're working with the Outdoor Parks Committee, we're going to get some more courts here. We're working on them.”
In the meantime, regular drop-in games continue at the existing location. “Monday and Thursday mornings are from 9:00 to 11:00, and Tuesday, Thursday evenings are from 6:30 to 9:30 at the tennis courts behind the hockey rink,” Herman explained.
Beginners are always welcome. “They can be newbies. We have set up a couple of ‘Learn to Plays’ for people that have never played before, but everyone's open to teaching new people and helping everyone out, so everyone's pretty welcoming no matter what your age or skill level is.”
The weather has had some impact. “It's hard to play outside when it's raining, well, nobody wants to play outside. And then the smoke's played a little bit of a factor. Kind of less participants or just kind of cancel a night in general, just if it's too smoky.”
Looking ahead, the club’s vision is simple. “Just continue growing and getting more people out and playing the sport, and just grow from there.”
For those looking to join, the club can be contacted via Facebook at Estevan Pickleball or by email at estevanpickleball@sasktel.net.
“I've been the president for about 3 years now,” Herman said. “Yeah, it's nice seeing the club grow and getting a whole bunch of new members and new faces out.”
Meanwhile, at Fresh Air Fitness, Peggy Rohatyn and her team are building a brand-new pickleball court of their own, thanks to some generous local support.
“We did have a very nice donation from Tundra Oil and Kingston Midstream. Together, they donated $25,000,” Rohatyn said. “As a park, we had already discussed the fact that they wanted to put a pickleball court down there. So they were, of course, more than willing to help with this.”
Progress has been steady. “We've got our cement down already, and we're waiting for the paint to come in. It's been ordered. It just takes a little bit to come in. We've got our net and there'll be paddles down at the park. We'll be painting, hopefully, within two weeks.”
Rohatyn also confirmed fencing will be installed soon. “We've talked to the local fencing company that will be putting up the fence around it, and then we'll need to get the windscreen and once we get the paint. With it taking a couple of days to cure, we should be all set, so it moves quite quickly, actually.”
While there were some early weather setbacks, she said it hasn’t slowed them down much. “They were probably delayed about a week and a half with the pouring of the cement. But once they got that down, we had to wait at least a month before we could do anything on it anyway. Besides that, it hasn't been an issue really for us.”
Fresh Air Fitness has also seen upgrades beyond the court. “We've got the disc golf coming in, and have moved all our weight machines over to the Shred Shed, which is right beside the pickleball court; they're sheltered a little bit if you're lifting weights. We've always got something that we're working on. It seems like this year has been very busy with the two different bigger projects that we've had. So yeah, it's been very busy with it. But it's all good.”
Community Corner: Fundraising With Fresh Air Fitness
In addition to new court developments, Fresh Air Fitness is also hosting its annual fundraising garage sale to support its growing list of community projects.
“Well, all year, we have had very generous people donate stuff to us, and it kind of gets to build up a lot. Once a year, we have it. Anything you buy is $1.00, we clean out all of the little stuff and give people some bargains,” said Rohatyn.
The sale will take place Friday, July 25th, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 1282 King Street. “There are clothes, dishes, and there's kitchen stuff. There are things for kids.”
Funds raised go directly back into supporting Fresh Air Fitness. “For Fresh Air Fitness, which is a free outdoor gym for the whole community. Right now, our two main projects are Disc Golf, which is almost ready to go, and the pickleball court, which again is waiting on paint. But it should be up and going late this summer, also everything should be done. And of course, general maintenance, there are always ropes and boards to replace here and there, and there's always something that we need to be doing."
Donations are welcome year-round and can be arranged by messaging Fresh Air Fitness on Facebook or texting Peggy at (306) 415-0040.
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