Report From The President of the Quesnel Pickleball Club President and Pickleball BC Director Sharon MacDonald: Last month, Quesnel Pickleball Club held its annual Fun Christmas Potluck and tournament. Liz Sales, our fabulous tournament director provided a point driven fun round robin starting with points awarded to the team who set up the portable nets the quickest. Lots of laughter with a very close finish between the 6 teams. The evening started at our local junior high school with an appetizer potluck and the Club members did not disappoint. It was difficult to even think of playing after indulging in so many culinary delights. Kathy Good, who has taken on the task of being a supplier for Pickleball Superstore, set up a table to display various paddles, accessories and clothing items. We are so fortunate to have a local supplier. Besides food, fun and camaraderie we held a 50/50 draw with proceeds going to a local school charity called Backpacks for Kids. Indoor play continues over the winter season in various schools, halls and the Senior Center. With the temperature dropping it is good to be able to participate in our favorite sport until we can hit the outdoor courts in the Spring. Quesnel PC Members Enjoy Giving Back To Their Community!! Ottawa, ON – January 11, 2024 – "Pickleball Canada is pleased to announce that the Vernon Pickleball Association (VPA) has been selected to host the 2024 Pickleball Canada Western Regional Championship, which will run July 25 – July 28, 2024 in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia.
The VPA operated Pickleball BC's Provincial Championship in 2023, which involved 620 players from all over the province. The success of this tournament contributed to the VPA being recognized as Canada’s Best Pickleball Club by Pickleball Today in 2023. “Pickleball Canada is thrilled to have the Western Regionals in Vernon at the beautiful Vernon pickleball facility. We look forward to a wonderful event and some great pickleball!”, said Pickleball Canada President Val Vollmin. The tournament will be played on 12 indoor and 12 outdoor courts. Franklin will serve as the official ball for the 2024 Pickleball Canada Western Regional Championship, under their partnership as the official ball and paddle for Pickleball Canada." Congratulations to VPA and we're looking forward to yet another splendid tournament hosted by VPA! Pickleball BC (PBC) Attends The 31st Annual Wellness Show February 3rd and 4th 2024 at the Vancouver Convention Center for the second year with a full pickleball court: With 30+ PBC and local member club volunteers, PBC is setting up a full pickleball court, and will have paddles and balls for attendees 'you try it' opportunities. Walter Knecht PBC's President said "this year's annual Wellness show will attract a forecasted 20,000 visitors enjoying the sounds, sights and tastes of as many as 100 booths/vendors. If you are coming to the wellness show please stop our 'booth', say hi, and watch and play a little pickleball, even if you have not picked up a paddle yet - I promise you will be addicted immediately to this sport as we are!" For more than 25 years the Wellness Show has been bringing new approaches to nutrition, fitness, physical and emotional well-being to help Vancouverites achieve their most holistic, healthiest selves. "We connect like-minded businesses and thought-leaders in wellness. We educate the public on health options as a year-round online resource and as host of Western Canada’s biggest and most established health and lifestyles showcase. 250+ exhibitors, 100+ speakers, cooking and fitness demonstrations, 2 days plus 20K attendees all under one roof." Perfect venue and message for PBC attendance we believe - come and visit us! Last Year's Attendees and Players
The North Shore Winter Club and Hollyburn Country Club have set the pace for the upcoming Paddles for PADS spring charity tournament on April 20th 2024. The two Vancouver North Shore clubs are the first ones to register for the province-wide tournament presented by Pickleball BC (PBC). Paddles Up BC Clubs! PBC is encouraging clubs across the province to join us and with deadlines looming here is what your community needs to know to be part of this event as follows: Tournament Format
Deadline for Club Registration:
Player Registration: Starts January 15th 2024 through your registered Club (as above) PADS Tournament Support For Clubs
Our Goal With over 100 established clubs in 110 BC communities the goal of this 2024 charity tournament is to attract as many member clubs as possible to host a tournament and join with us to the benefit of PADS and pickleball in BC. About PADS Pacific Assistance Dogs (PADS) breeds, raises and trains fully certified assistance dogs. Our service (mobility & PTSD) and hearing dogs provide life-changing independence to those with disabilities. Our accredited facility dogs work with community professionals such as teachers, RCMP and psychologists to help support healthy communities. PADS is a fully accredited member of Assistance Dogs International. About Pickleball BC (PBC) Founded in March 2017, PBC is dedicated to the growth, development, promotion and enjoyment of pickleball in BC and elsewhere. We encourage people of all ages and skill levels to experience pickleball and discover the enjoyment of friendship and participation in an active lifestyle. In conjunction with the Pickleball Canada affiliation, PBC is now the B.C. Provincial governing body for pickleball. We are beyond pleased to support PADS by way of this tournament, which at a forecasted 3,000+ players across BC, will be the largest tournament in Canada to date Together we can make a larger community impact by combining PADS,
Pickleball BC, our BC Clubs and our great game! [pictured above: Walter Knecht (left) with the Burnaby Pickleball Club and PADS' Assistance Dogs and Management] For the third year in a row, the Vernon Pickleball Association (VPA) held its annual food drive in support of the Vernon Salvation Army Food Bank during the month of December: Members brought non-perishable food items and toiletries to the Okanagan Wealth Advisors (OWA) Pickleball complex when they came to play, placing the food under the twinkling lights of the 15’ high pickleball Christmas tree. The food was weighed prior to being delivered, and an impressive 1194 pounds were counted. Combined with the previous two years, that’s more than 3,000 lbs of food helping the Vernon community through the Salvation Army Food Bank/ House of Hope. VPA member, Marco Longley, has spear-headed the initiative for the last three years, and is also the creator and builder of the pickleball Christmas tree consisting of over 800 broken pickleballs. The spirit of giving at Christmas time, and throughout the year, is what makes the Vernon Pickleball Association a very special Pickleball community with a strong sense of belonging, sportsmanship and friendship. For more information about the Vernon Pickleball Association, please go to www.vernonpickleball.com Pictures courtesy of Anne Longley: Left (top on mobile) a picture of us at the Vernon Salvation Army Food Bank after dropping off the food. L to R VPA members: Bob Tutush, Anne Longley, Marco Longley and Bruce Imrie Center (middle on mobile) at the courts weighing the food with Winston Seto and Marco Longley Right (bottom on mobile) Marco with the talley!! New year, new rule changes. The 2024 USA Pickleball rule book is now available, and it brings a few notable changes to the sport's dynamic - from The Dink Newsletter: "Correcting Server, Receiver and Player Position Errors (4.B.9) In last year's rule changes, players were told to ask "Am I good?" to clarify their position or server status to avoid incorrect server/returner error faults. Now, faults for incorrect servers, receivers, or wrongful player positions are eliminated. If a rally in progress is stopped to correctly identify a player/position error, the rally shall be replayed. If a player/position error is identified after the rally has played out, the rally shall stand. The ref is now responsible to correct any player errors before calling the score. Catch or Carry Ball on the Paddle (7.L) This change essentially removes the responsibility from a ref to determine if a player intended to carry the ball on a paddle. If a carry occurs, it's an automatic fault. Wait, what's the difference between a carry and a double-hit, you ask? Good question:
Paddle Specifications (2.E.2/2.E.5.a/2.E.5.c) Responding to the many paddle controversies over the last year, USAP has added language that condemns “any objects or features that allow a player to impart excessive spin on the ball." Of course, there’s no immediate guideline as to what counts as “excessive spin.” But there are guidelines regarding prohibited surface & mechanical features that do often impact spin. Those prohibited features include:
We cover some more important rule changes you won’t want to miss in our full article." Pickleball Canada has yet to adopt the new USAP rules, but since they most often certainly do, let's see! Hollyburn Country Club ("HCC") West Vancouver (www.hollyburn.org) Holiday Charity Event Highlights Giving Back and a Pro Exhibition with BC-Based Pros: HCC Bash N' Dasher Holiday Event Saturday December 9th 2023: This holiday event, hosted by HCC's Pickleball Committee, featured a Pro Exhibition, round robin play with the Pros and a reception. All surplus funds will be donated to North Shore Family Services' holiday food drive. This charity program helps families on Vancouver's North Shore who are in need over the holiday season. Dave Snell HCC Chair of the Pickleball Committee and PBC Board Member said "in summary, I believe we all had lots of fun, lots of great pickleball including the thrill of playing with the Pros, good holiday spirit and camaraderie, and HCC's pickleball enthusiasts raised donations for a very worthwhile charity in our community - North Shore Family Services." Guest Pro's for the Pro Exhibition matches included HCC Pro Tim McVinnie (Top Canadian Mens Senior Player 50+) , Steve Deakin (Top Canadian Open Player and PPA Tour Pro), Robin D'Abreo and Jeffery Ho (Silver Medalist with his brother at the recent US Nationals in Dallas - see story here). The Pros then spent the rest of their afternoon mixing in with HCC members in a round robin, showing them how this game we love is really played!! A bit about Steve: Steve is PPA tour Pro (just signed a new 3 year contract), a proud, card-carrying member of Team HEAD and works diligently to obtain podium status at every event he enters as they were early to find him and add him to their extensive line up of Pro players. At one of the US Open Pickleball Championships in Naples, Florida, Steve performed with his usual burst of athleticism and headed back to Vancouver with 3 Medals – Gold in Men’s Doubles 35+ with Erik Lange, Gold in Mixed Doubles 45+ with Susan Baze, and then the Coveted Bronze on the big stage Men’s Doubles Pro Event with Randal Zbinden of Utah. Steve is also a pickleball Ambassador with Pickleball Canada. More importantly, all surplus funds from this Event are to the benefit of North Shore Family Services as mentioned above. Additional donations were raised by Family Services attending and selling pickleball-themed Xmas items made by HCC volunteers, and by onsite pledges. This Event is just one example of a Club in BC that is hosting holiday events and "paying it forward" to the benefit of their local charities. We would love to hear about your Club initiatives over this holiday season by sending your info and pics to info@PickleballBC.ca and we will post those stories here. Happy holidays to all our enthusiastic BC pickleball members, Clubs and their families on behalf of your Board of Directors! From the Left (top on mobile): Tim McVinnie, Robin D'Abreo, Dave Snell, Jeffery Ho and Steve Deakin Center: "Charley Brown" Pickleball-Themed Xmas Tree Right (bottom on mobile): Pros on HCC New Pickleball Courts (repurposed curling rink) Paddles for PADS/PickleballBC (PBC) Province-Wide Tournament Reminder: Reminder that April 20th 2024 is the date we are asking all our Clubs and Associations in BC to join us in a PickleballBC/PADS province-wide pickleball event - save the date now! Registration is planned to begin January 3rd 2024 so watch for updates. We expect that with our 17,000+ members and growing, that we will have over 3,000 players playing our favourite sport that day, making it the largest event in Canada to date. Burnaby Pickleball Club and Hollyburn Country Club have already committed, so please do so soon by replying to Walter Knecht President PBC's email announcement and request for expressions of interest! Pacific Assistance Dogs (PADS) breeds, raises and trains fully certified assistance dogs. Our service (mobility & PTSD) and hearing dogs provide life-changing independence to those with disabilities. Our accredited facility dogs work with community professionals such as teachers, RCMP and psychologists to help support healthy communities. PADS is a fully accredited member of Assistance Dogs International. PICKLEBALLBC (PBC), founded in March 2017, is dedicated to the growth, development, promotion and enjoyment of pickleball in BC and elsewhere. We encourage people of all ages and skill levels to experience pickleball and discover the enjoyment of friendship and participation in an active lifestyle. In conjunction with the Pickleball Canada affiliation, PBC is now the B.C. Provincial governing body for pickleball. We are beyond pleased to support PADS by way of this tournament, which at a forecasted 3,000+ players across BC, will be the largest tournament in Canada to date Pictured here is Cadence who has recently been retired from PADS. Looks like an early holiday present - a PADDLES FOR PADS branded paddle!
Pickleball BC's Board Director of Facilities Announces "SOMETHING NEW for our sport in noise reduction": "USA Pickleball just announced that they have approved a line of 4 paddles in their new "Quiet Category" from OWL Sport that are significantly quieter than other paddles. OWL Sport claims a 50% reduction in usual paddle sound output. They expect to be shipping as early as December in time for the holidays. These paddles won’t be approved for sanctioned tournaments, like others in this category that should be announced in the coming months from other manufacturers. But they should provide some relief to neighbours of pickleball courts where the noise has been an issue. Pickleball BC will try to acquire a sample so that we can use it on outdoor courts to assess the relative improvement in noise reduction along with playability - please refer to our acoustic research report previously conducted with an outside consultant and BC Recreation and Parks Association here. Well done OWL Sport and USAP!!" Here’s a link to the USA Pickleball article: USA Pickleball Announces its First Certified Quiet Product – The OWL by OWL Sport – USA Pickleball OWL Sport encourages you to watch a special program on NBC's Today with Hoda and Jenna on Tuesday, November 21st at 10:00 Pacific where the new OWL Sport paddle(s) will be featured and John McEnroe is scheduled to attend. Left (top on mobile): OWL Sport says that the OWL is the first paddle on the market that delivers a 50% reduction in total noise profile. Right (bottom on mobile): According to the Association of Pickleball Players (APP), 48.3M Americans over the age of 18 have played pickleball in the last 12 months (Aug '22 to Aug '23) - see PBC story here Tuesday Oct 31 Burnaby Squint Opening: PickleballBC (PBC) attended the Burnaby Squint Lake pickleball court "grand opening" on Halloween day. Walter Knecht, President of PBC attended as he plays in Burnaby sometimes, he is a member of the club, and he knows a few people there (understatement!!). About 100 people joined in the opening festivities! Squint has 4 dedicated pickleball courts now. This brings the total, dedicated and shared in Burnaby, to 99 (ninety nine)! Amazing. Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley says that the city is "becoming the pickleball capital of Metro Vancouver in a story in BurnabyNow Lauren Vanderdeen's story here. “There are now 99 courts to play across our community — never been a better time to pick up a paddle and give it a try!” Karen Watson, president of the Burnaby Pickleball Association, expressed her gratitude to the City of Burnaby and said the association is “thrilled” with the new courts. She told the NOW the courts have already proven to be “extremely popular” and noted the shared tennis/pickleball courts now have a new surface as well. You can see from the below picture, even though Walter was NOT an invited guest, he did make himself known to Councillor Dhaliwal prior to the ceremony. The Councillor insisted Walter help cut the ribbon as below. From the left: Councillor James Wang, Walter, Marion Taylor, Burnaby and Area Pickleball Association, Mayor Mike Hurley, Councillor Sav Dhaliwal and Councillor Richard Lee Mayor Mike Hurley celebrated the opening of the new dedicated pickleball courts at Squint Lake with members of the Burnaby pickleball community |@MayorofBurnaby/X all community.@MayorofBurnaby/X |
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