By Madeline Baker, Times Chronicle
Osoyoos council will not be funding a September tournament that is currently in its planning stages, as they have turned down Desert Pickleball’s request to waive just over $2,000 in court fees.
Desert Pickleball Club already has exclusive use of three of the four outdoor pickleball courts from 7:00 to 12:00 daily. All courts are open to the public after 12:00 pm and would need to be rented by the club for exclusive use.
In order to keep the “fun” tournament affordable for their 140 members and gain experience in running such events, they asked council to waive the court rental fees so that they could use the fall event as a trial run.
The town’s report noted that they have a good working relationship with the Desert Pickleball Club and value the opportunity to continue that positive rapport while supporting the growth of local sports initiatives.
Town staff also felt that the Desert Pickleball Club “has the potential to host larger tournaments, promoting Osoyoos and bringing tourists to the community during the shoulder and off seaons,” which could be considered an investment in future tourism opportunities.
While counsellor Brian Harvey did acknowledge that council have seen an increasing number of requests and presentations from local pickleball clubs at recent meetings, which goes some way to proving the sport’s growing popularity, he could not see the value in subsidizing a casual tournament.
“The notion of subsidizing it is kind of like taking money out of my right pocket and putting it in my left pocket,” said Harvey. “There will be no revenue. [It] doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I would be in favour of having them go ahead and seeding the opportunity for future tournaments . . . but as soon as they have an invitational, the fees are on.”
With little discussion aside from Harvey’s comments, council voted not to waive the $2,050 in court rental fees that Desert Pickleball Club will accrue over the course of their three-day tournament in early September.
Desert Pickleball is one of three clubs in Osoyoos dedicated to the sport: there’s also Paddlemasters Pickleball Club for high-level players and Osoyoos Pickleball Club for players of mixed skill and experience levels.
