Welcome 2025 with Pickleball Resolutions and Grant Opportunities

​Image courtesy of Engage Pickleball

​January 15, 2025, Vancouver, BC—On behalf of all of us at Pickleball BC, we wish you a Happy New Year 2025. We have some New Year's pickleball resolution ideas to share, and wanted to re-introduce our Community and Youth Grant Programs with some “feel good" outcomes from award recipients!​

Pickleball New Year’s Resolutions
As New Year’s resolutions come and go, why not align your resolutions with the sport we have come to know and love … Pickleball!

Here are some ideas:

• As it has been well documented, pickleball can improve one’s health. So you can chose a health number you want to improve, and determine how pickleball can help achieve that. You can also perhaps align with a proper diet and exercise. For proper and safe results, consult your physician.
• It has also been stated that pickleball is out performing golf as the preferred business networking activity. So you can try and see how this can increase your LinkedIn business contacts. Or just have fun away from the business side and socialize on the court to make new friends.
• Also, you can try and improve an area of your game as a resolution. For example, you may want to minimize your serve faults, increase your drilling/practice hours per week (pros will claim that doing drills will improve one’s skills and not necessarily by just playing games), be more effective in your third shot drops—there are numerous ways to improve one’s game. Visit our clinics page if you require some formal pickleball lessons.
  
  

Pickleball BC Grant Programs
Last but not least, through Pickleball BC, if you require grant funding we offer two programs: Community and Youth Grants. If you feel you are qualified and have a PBCA Affiliated or Associated Club to sponsor you, funding opportunities are available for up to $500.

​Youth grants have been very popular so this year our Board of Directors increased the available fund; but get your applications in as soon as possible as overall funding is limited. For more information on qualifiers, rules and regulations, grant uses and more please see our PBCA website pages at Grants FAQ.

Feel-Good Grant Stories
Some heart-warming examples of clubs who have received our grant fundings and their successes …

This first one is Princeton Pickleball Association.

Princeton Pickleball Association members with the paddles purchased with grant funds.

It has been two months since Princeton Pickleball Association ("PPA") has provided our PPA members with the opportunity to use quality, intermediate paddles thanks to the $500 matching grant #157 from Pickleball BC.

Since providing the paddles, the responses from our membership have been filled with gratitude! From several members relying on the use of a good paddle when they come to play (due to their limited finances), to others trying an upgraded paddle before investing in one themselves.

As I shared in our application, many people in Princeton struggle financially. Our club has always had donated used paddles for those learning the game, but as our players’ skills advance, they quickly out grow these worn paddles. Now it is wonderful to be able to offer intermediate quality paddles for all!

I’d like to share some testimonials from our members:
“I could never afford a paddle like this! Thank you PPA for purchasing these for our club.” (Playing 3 years.)

“I notice immediately the difference from the new paddle provided tonight and the paddle I bought from Winners. It’s so wonderful that these are available for us. Thank you.” (Playing 3 years.)

“I’m a student right now. With my university costs I can’t afford a paddle like this. Thank you for having these here”. (Playing 2 years.)

“I wasn’t going to stay to play, I forgot my paddle. Wow! It is so awesome to have a great club paddle to use and not the old worn ones. Thank you!”. (Playing 4 years.)

“I love having new, high quality paddles to offer players to use. The appreciation and response from members when I share the value of the paddle is always 'Wow!' For folks with low or single incomes it is a pleasure to offer a paddle to use that they tell me they could never afford. I’m proud that PPA is respectful and has the quality paddles available to everyone and that we can offer the best to our membership. These paddles level the game for everyone!”. (PPA Director)

With our sincere thanks,
Liz Simpson
Vice President, Princeton Pickleball Association​

And the second one is South Cowichan Pickleball Club …

South Cowichan Pickleball Club's "Christmas (2024) Greet & Meet" Interesting Games!

Thank you for the $500 grant that allowed us to purchase 200 Franklin X40 Pickleballs for our South Cowichan Pickleball Club.

When deciding where to purchase the pickleballs I referred to your website and saw that Franklin was a sponsor and reached out to you for contact information and was very quickly put in touch with Christina Davis of Sideline Sports. Christina was a pleasure to deal with and provided wholesale pricing, which enabled us to purchase more balls then originally planned based on Amazon pricing. Christina was also very helpful and provided information on further products and assistance in the future.

Our club will put the balls to good use at tournaments and the many organized events through out the coming season. The savings we incurred by not having to purchase pickleballs will allow us to purchase some much-needed equipment to clean the courts and make it a safe place.
  
We also used a few of the pickleballs at our last year's (2024) Christmas Greet & Meet we coined “the third shot drop”. For a touch of pickleball humour see photo above.

Becky Warrington, Chair
South Cowichan Pickleball Club
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Apply For Your Grant Funding Today
If you have a need and feel that your club qualifies, please apply here, or if you have any questions contact Sharon MacDonald, PBCA Board Director and Grant Administrator, [email protected]