The Ponoka Pickleball Club is squaring off against Bashaw via a tournament at the Ponoka courts on Sept. 16.
“It’s going to be at the tennis courts over by the pool. We get started (with the round-robin) at 9:30 a.m. and will probably go through the morning,” said Shirley Turner, one of the Club’s members.
“It’s the first one we have hosted here, so we are pretty excited about it. We have about 30 participants in it — it’s going to be fun!”
She said there will be time to socialize, too.
“Pickleball is very social — so we are going to have a bit of food after; sit around and talk.
“You don’t have to be a perfect athlete to do it. And there are different levels of expertise in our club,” she explained, adding that there are several members in the Ponoka Pickleball Club who have won medals at various tournaments around Alberta.
“You can be as competitive as you want to be,” she said.
“We have a fantastic club. It’s very, very social, and I just love the aspect of being able to get out in the fresh air. We do play indoors in the winter.”
As to the upcoming tournament, Turner encourages members of the community to come out and cheer the teams on.
“We would love to have as many people out as we can,” she said, adding that they are always on the lookout for new members. “The more, the merrier — come on down, and check it out if you are wondering what the sport is all about.
“They can watch it and see if they might like it.”
According to Pickleball Canada, Aug. 12 was National Pickleball Day.
“The number of Canadians with a Pickleball Canada membership rose by 60 per cent between the end of 2021 (28,000) and the end of 2022 (46,000), due in part to the strong affiliation model between local pickleball clubs, their provincial/territorial association, and the national organization.”
Turner said another advantage of the sport is that it can be played virtually everywhere, and associated costs are low.
For more information, call Shirley Turner at 905-802-0751 or find the Ponoka Pickleball Club on Facebook.