The country has spoken, and named the Vernon Pickleball Association (VPA) as the best club in Canada.
The local club came out on top of a month-long contest that say players vote for their favourite, Pickleball Today announced Thursday, Oct. 19.
“You folks have created a club that could be a template for all of us to follow. Your achievements, enthusiasm, tournament hosting, fundraising and local community relations are quite amazing,” said Patrick Batty, Pickleball Today.
With just one vote allowed per person, the contest drummed up considerable nods for Vernon.
Second place goes to St.-Isidore Pickleball Club in Saint-Isidore, NB.
Pickleball Hamilton of Hamilton, ON., picked up third place.
The contest also included a thorough nomination phase in early summer, where more than 140 different clubs were nominated, from coast to coast to coast.
In that phase East Coast Rock of St. John’s NL came out on top.
“We had an article submission and publishing phase where the nominees submitted articles about their clubs,” said Batty. “All articles will remain on our site.”
Started 10 years ago, the VPA has grown from a few dozen enthusiastic early pickleball adopters to a club of 1,000 players of all skill levels and ages.
“The Okanagan Wealth Advisor’s Pickleball Complex, affectionately called the Pickleball Palace, is the envy of many players and clubs across Canada,” the VPA’s submission reads.
The VPA hosted the very first BC Provincial Pickleball Championships this year with over 600 players participating, and also had the CNPL three-day tryouts in June.
“In my mind, we all are: ourselves, our families, and our communities, as well as our country are the winners of having such great clubs nationwide in Canada,” said Batty.
“We are participating in a sport that can be played amongst a number of generations (my own club has participants from 18 to 81, and we’re all having fun).”
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