Caroll Taylor, the Osoyoos representative with Pickleball Canada, and her fellow player Fred Hamilton, are hoping the Town will support their efforts to try and have an outdoor pickleball facility built up near the tennis courts north of Osoyoos Secondary School. The sport has skyrocketed in popularity in Osoyoos over the past five years and across North America over the past 20 years. A local committee is hoping to apply for government grants to have the outdoor courts built in town. (Keith Lacey photo)
A sport whose popularity has skyrocketed in Osoyoos – and all of North America – hopes to grow even more as the local chapter with Pickleball Canada is hoping to build an outdoor pickleball facility in Osoyoos.
Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in North America and has become particularly popular across the Okanagan Valley with hundreds of players participating from Osoyoos to Kelowna and beyond, said Caroll Taylor, the local representative with Pickleball Canada.
There are now more than 120 Osoyoos residents who play the game on a regular basis at the Sonora Community Centre and another 50 to 60 snowbirds who play for varying lengths of time depending on how long they stay in town over the winter months, said Taylor.
A large group of local players have voiced their support to build an outdoor pickleball facility near the tennis courts adjacent to Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS), said Taylor.
“There’s an old run-down basketball court near the tennis courts that is no longer used and we feel that would be the perfect location for an outdoor pickleball facility,” said Taylor, who has been playing pickleball for just over 10 years since moving to Osoyoos from Vancouver.
For those who have never heard of or tried pickleball, it’s basically a combination of tennis and badminton.
Using a rectangular wooden racquet to propel a wiffleball slightly larger than a tennis ball, the ball can only bounce once and must return over the net into the opposing scoring area.
Players have the option of volleying the ball in the air without a single bounce or allowing it to bounce once before hitting it back over the net into the opposing scoring area.
Almost all of the pickleball being played in Osoyoos is doubles because there are only three courts available inside the Sonora Centre, although many advanced players do show up to play singles. Because the sport has become so popular in town and continues to grow and the fact Osoyoos has some of the best weather in the country, many members are supportive of the plan to build an outdoor facility, said Taylor.
“We’ve already talked to the town and talked to Gerald Davis (the town’s director of community services) and we hope to make a presentation to council in the middle of January,” said Taylor.
The plan is to apply for funding through recreation grants provided by the provincial and federal government, she said.
A beautiful four-court outdoor pickleball facility recently opened in Penticton and was paid for almost entirely through grants provided by senior levels of government and local players are hoping they will be able to see the same kind of facility built in Osoyoos, said Taylor.
“The idea of being able to play the game so many of us love in the beautiful Osoyoos sunshine is very appealing to a lot of our local players,” she said. “There will be many who find it too hot and will continue playing inside the Sonora Centre, but we get such great weather here, we think having a nice outdoor facility would be a big success.”
Pickleball has become so popular over the past decade for a number of reasons, said Taylor.
“It’s a very social sport where you meet a lot of great people, but it also improves your eye-hand co-ordination,” she said. “It’s not as hard on the joints as tennis or badminton, it’s a great workout where you get in a very good sweat and you can play people your own level and have a lot of fun. Ask anyone who plays and they will tell you how addictive it is.”
There are pickleball tournaments being held across the province on a regular basis, which allows players of all levels to test their skills and travel at the same time, she said.
Pickleball is so popular in Osoyoos right now that staff at the Sonora Community Centre have set aside court time from Monday to Saturday, said Taylor.
“There’s even a bunch who go up to the Desert Park gymnasium on Sundays,” she said.
If the town would support donating the land near the tennis courts to build the outdoor facility, Taylor said the local committee is confident they will be able to secure the funds to build an outdoor facility in the coming months.
“Pickleball is a first-class sport that helps our aging population to remain healthy and provides excellent exercise and a stimulating social venue for our members,” she said.
If the facility is built, Taylor is confident membership would swell even more and the club would remain self-sufficient by charging a minimal annual membership fee.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
