Pickleball BC’s Kitchen Sink Newsletter December 2025 Edition
  
Pictured above: December Bash ‘N Dasher Holiday Event at Hollyburn Country Club, a PBC Associated Club. Left is their pickleball decorated tree, center is the “Deakin Around The Christmas Tree” team and right (top to bottom on mobile), a member in charge of the cow bell used for timed matches! Appropriate image approvals obtained.
The Kitchen Sink December Edition, Pickleball BC (“PBC”) President’s Introduction
Holiday Wishes
On behalf of Pickleball BC and our Board of Directors, I wanted to extend warm holiday wishes to our more than 100 Affiliated and Associated Clubs and 21,000+ members across the province.
This season is marked by many meaningful celebrations and traditions. Whatever holidays you observe, or however you choose to spend this time, we hope it brings moments of connection, joy, reflection, and renewal. Our pickleball community is made up of members of all ages and all skill levels, from those new to the sport to seasoned competitors. What unites us is a shared commitment to respect, inclusivity, sportsmanship, and enjoyment of play. These values are at the heart of pickleball and guide us both on and off the court.
We are especially grateful to our members, the volunteers, club leaders, officials, and organizers who generously give their time and energy to support welcoming play, safe programs, and vibrant pickleball communities across British Columbia. Your dedication makes our sport accessible and enjoyable for everyone. Also as the BC Provincial governing body, PBC gratefully acknowledges national support provided by Pickleball Canada and their team.
Thank you for being part of Pickleball BC. As we look ahead to the new year, we remain committed to growing the game in a way that reflects these shared values. Wishing you and your loved ones a safe, peaceful, and uplifting holiday season—and the many great rallies anticipated in 2026!
In this Edition
PBC is pleased to announce the addition of a new Board member; AYPBC youth project Phase 2 announced with 4 new Regions across BC; from qathet Pickleball Association, Powell River, we have a story of a youth player—11 year old Fraser Blacklaws who’s been medaling at the men’s 3.0 and 4.0 brackets; a “From Our Clubs” story from South Okanagan Youth Pickleball Association; a Kitchen Corners section from our Board member Doug McKay introducing some of our new facilities in BC; our PBC YouTube channel and more uploads; and, other updates regarding News, Policy reports and Kitchen Corners updates.
Enjoy all the new news and updates in our December Kitchen Sink Newsletter and see you on the courts over the holidays and in 2026, and as personally experienced last week with a “stopped” direct hit to my right eye protective glasses, don’t forget your eyewear protection!
David Snell
President Pickleball BC
President@PickleballBC.ca
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News From Our Clubs
South Okanagan Secondary School in Oliver, where the club is known as the SOSS Hornets Pickleball Club led by staff members Sabra McIntyre and Nieves Windley.
BC Interior’s Youth Pickleball Is Underway Through The Formation of The South Okanagan Youth Pickleball Association
The timing could not have been better with Pickleball BC Association’s (PBCA) Activating Youth Pickleball in BC’s (AYPBC) Phase 2 initiative kickoff than with the formation of PBCA’s 102nd club—The South Okanagan Youth Pickleball Association (SOYPA).
<Click link to read more.>
• South Okanagan Youth Pickleball Association
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PBC President’s Report
New PBC Board Director
Thanks to those who have replied to our request for expressions of interest to join our Board.
I am pleased to announce that Holger Schwichtenberg has been nominated to our Board of Directors. As a dairy farmer in the East Fraser Valley, Holger is currently a Member of the BC Agricultural Land Commission and the Western Canadian Producer Representative, Environmental Technical Committee. He also has been active as past Member and Chair of the Kent Agricultural Advisory Committee. In addition he of course is an avid pickleball player. Please join me in welcoming Holger who can be reached at Holger@PickleballBC.ca.
We also have another Board candidate who is joining us in January 2026 to help with all of our current and new 2026 initiatives.
AYPBC Phase 2 BC Regions Announced
Pictured above early this year: Big smiles all around when the equipment was delivered to Rogers Elementary in Victoria, B.C. PE Teacher Karlie MvEvay with three Grade 5 students are keen to be in the Pickleball Club starting post March break.
It is my pleasure to announce that our PBC Youth Committee and AYPBC Phase 1 leaders have approved that the following new 4 Regions, plus our 3 existing ones, will be included in our 2025/2026 Phase 2 initiatives going forward (sponsoring PBCA Affiliate Club in brackets):
- Region 1 – Vancouver (Vancouver Pickleball Club)
- Region 2 – North Shore (North Shore Pickleball Club)
- Region 3 – Vancouver Island (Victoria Regional Pickleball Club)
- Region 4 – Sunshine Coast (Sunshine Coast Pickleball Club)
- Region 5 – North BC (Quesnel PC)
- Region 6 – South Okanagan (South Okanagan Youth Pickleball Association)
- Region 7 – Thompson/Okanagan North (Vernon PC)
Thanks again to our Phase 1 Regional participants and congratulations to our Phase 2 Regions (full story here) funded by viaSport BC, PBC, Pickleball Canada, equipment manufacturers such as Franklin Sports and several Affiliate Clubs. Please contact our Youth Committee Co-Chairs if you have any questions at YouthCommittee@PickleballBC.ca.
Competitive Youth Player From qathet Pickleball Association, Powell River
Fraser Blacklaws (center) with his idol MLP Las Vegas Night Owls coach and PPA Tour competitor Steve Deakin (left), and Provincial Team BC Gold Medalist and Team Canada World Cup Member Caelan Sampson.
From qathet Pickleball Association, Powell River, we have a story of a youth player—11 year old Fraser Blacklaws who’s been medaling at the men’s 3.0 and 4.0 brackets. Also, Fraser is a huge fan of BC’s most winning professional MLP Las Vegas Night Owls coach and PPA Tour competitor Steve Deakin, who’s collaborating with The Nest to host the 2026 BC Pickleball Championships.
Fraser Blacklaws, qathet Pickleball Association, Powell River
An email to PBC: “Hello Pickleball BC. Thank you so much for all you do with Pickleball BC. We are appreciative of all the hard work and the team behind Pickleball BC.
My name is Brydon, and my son Fraser (age 11) is pretty passionate about pickleball. He played his first men’s (3.0) tourney at age 9 and has medaled in his last two men’s 4.0 tourney’s as well. We are having lots of fun and don’t take it too seriously, but he’s easily better than me now (fortunately for me, he hasn’t found another doubles partner) and is always asking if there’s another tournament we can go to. We have 3 small kids and I certainly never expected to be a ‘pickleball dad’, but a big part of our journey over the last 3 years has just been trying to advocate to allow Fraser (and other youth) to be able to play at drop ins and tournaments.
With the exception of Surrey, I believe every tournament (and most drop ins) we wrote to initially said he was too young. Our own Powell River city rec center still won’t let him play in the gym, until age 16 … resulting in lots of solo time in the “practice garage”.
Fraser’s pickleball passion and commitment in the family’s “practice garage”.
This past year, as we’ve been able to drive around and meet folks at various community drop ins – resulting in him being allowed to register in tournaments in Nanaimo, Campbell River, Sechelt, and Victoria – which has been a big step forward. Seeing the Steve Deakin/Nest/Provincials pickleball announcement video was so exciting for Fraser. He really admires Steve, and watches his videos. He really wants to be able to play there, and was a bit heartbroken to see it’s age 13+. Fraser will be 12 years old at the time of the BC Provincials (2026), and my request is if Pickleball BC would please either (1) allow him to enter the men’s doubles (with me, I’m 41), or (2) consider reducing the registration age to 12+ for all?
I totally get how many requests you must get for various accommodations, but I’m hoping this request is for the greater good of youth pickleball in BC as well. Youth involvement in tournaments seems much more encouraged in the US, and other countries. Looking at other similar sports provincial tournaments, like badminton for example, they allow 12 year olds in their provincials. I think if we want to attract top youth athletes, the earlier they get a chance to feel the fun of competing, the more into it they will get.
Thank you very much for considering letting Fraser, and other 12 year olds potentially, participate in Provincials 2026. Our family is very passionate about youth pickleball and we hope to see you and the rest of the provincial crew in July in Tsawwassen.”
Thanks so much.
Brydon Blacklaws
Pickleball Dad – qathet Pickleball Association, Powell River
As an update to this request, Steve Deakin states: “After consultation with PBC, we are looking forward to adding more Junior events to the 2026 Provincial Championships at The Nest. It is refreshing to work with an organization like Pickleball BC that understands the importance of taking care of our sport’s future. Our Provincials Tournament Committee is dedicated to providing a platform for the future generation of the sport to excel.”
Kitchen Corners Reports. Updates on new Facilities in BC, Memberships, and Refereeing as noted above.
Finally, please send your Club stories and pics for consideration in our monthly “From our Clubs” segment, or if you can share some of your Club holiday event pics for possible inclusion on our PBC website or Instagram, we would really appreciate it – for consideration please send them to Marcom@PickleballBC.ca.
This Newsletter contains plenty of new news which I hope you can enjoy. All comments and contributions are very welcome!
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David Snell, President
PICKLEBALL BC ASSOCIATION
President@PickleballBC.ca
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News From Our Clubs:
BC Interior’s Youth Pickleball Is Underway Through The Formation of The South Okanagan Youth Pickleball Association
Pictured above Mark Tamblyn, President South Okanagan Youth Pickleball Association (”SOYPA”)
Mark stated: “The greatest challenge we are encountering for SOYPA is not the instruction itself, but securing adequate court access. Youth interest in pickleball is growing rapidly. Local educators are seeing a major growth in demand and enthusiasm from the students. Adult players need to embrace this growing interest and we need to find greater access to court times for our youth. Opening school gyms to youth pickleball, creating designated youth times on outdoor courts, separate from established club times, and increasing programs through recreation departments would all help to create more opportunities for youth to participate and benefit from this sport.”
The timing could not have been better with Pickleball BC Association’s (PBCA) Activating Youth Pickleball in BC’s (AYPBC) Phase 2 initiative kickoff than with the formation of PBCA’s 102nd club—The South Okanagan Youth Pickleball Association (SOYPA). As outlined above, other Affiliated Clubs in BC have joined the Phase 2 initiative in new BC Regions such as South Okanagan, Sunshine Coast, North Shore and North BC. Three previous existing regions from Phase 1 have also committed to Phase 2.
South Okanagan Youth Pickleball Association (“SOYPA”)
SOYPA has been established to support and expand youth involvement in pickleball throughout our region.
SOYPA greatly appreciates the support by PBCA’s AYPBC’s Phase 2 initiative, whose guidance and financial assistance encouraged us to move forward with building a sustainable youth program. Their early support has played an important role in getting this project off the ground.
SOYPA’s Goals
- Support schools in offering quality pickleball programming.
- Provide equipment, qualified instruction, and coaching.
- Build participation from elementary through secondary levels.
- Create both competitive and recreational opportunities for youth.
In early 2026, SOYPA will begin providing equipment assistance and certified instruction to school educators wanting to include pickleball in their classes. We hope to run a teacher professional development session in February, followed by elementary programs in February and March with outdoor secondary programs scheduled for next Spring.
“The South Okanagan Youth Pickleball Association recognizes and fully supports the youth pickleball club program at South Okanagan Secondary School and the opportunities it provides for students on a weekly basis. We look forward to assisting and expanding Youth Pickleball Programs in other schools in the South Okanagan as interest from staff and students continues to grow.” David Kittner, SOYPA Vice President pictured above.
South Okanagan Secondary School has already started a student noon-hour pickleball club. We will encourage more schools to follow this club model. To finish the school year, SOYPA plans to host a regional youth tournament, or what AYPBC calls a “Slamboree” in June, welcoming recreational and competitive players from our local schools and possibly invite the North and Central Okanagan regions if they have interest.
South Okanagan Secondary School in Oliver, where the club is known as the SOSS Hornets Pickleball Club led by staff members Sabra McIntyre and Nieves Windley.
As we continue formalizing our structure—including incorporation, budgeting, and building community partnerships—SOYPA remains focused on developing a long-term programs for youth pickleball in the South Okanagan. We will be requesting volunteers to assist in the New Year.
For further information please contact Mark Tamblyn at mtamblyn@pacificcoast.net.
Mark Tamblyn
SOYPA President
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Kitchen Corners: Facilities
New Pickleball Indoor Facility Builds Meet Community Demands
As some BC pickleball clubs are maxed out to their capacity and have long waiting lists, nor offer indoor courts during the cold, rainy seasons; and community centres are a challenge to register in—numerous for-profit facilities are being built to meet the demands of the pickleball community.
 
 
New BC For-profit facilities examples (left to right, or top to bottom on mobile): Inclusive Place of Pickleball (IPOP), The Nest in collaboration with Steve Deakin, Victoria Pickleball Centre, and Fairgrounds Capilano Mall.
Here are some examples:
- IPOP (Inclusive Place of Pickleball) opened its doors May of this year, where they utilize the former Safeway facility at The City of Lougheed, Burnaby, BC. IPOP also assisted Pickleball Canada in their recent Facilities Guide released recently and posted here, and is offering BC referee program introductions as described here.
- The Nest, in collaboration with iconic MLP player and Las Vegas Night Owls Coach Steve Deakin, will open its 98,000 square feet, state-of-the-art sports facility in Spring 2026 adjacent to Tsawwassen Mills Shopping Centre, Tsawwassen, BC. This will be the location for the 2026 Provincial Championships as per our news coverage posted here.
- Fairgrounds Capilano just opened its 15 courts at the former Sears store inside Capilano Mall, North Vancouver. Watch the CTV coverage here.
- Victoria Pickleball Centre opened its 6-tournament sized courts with 24/7 access in Victoria, BC.
As an example of a very successful facility earlier built in Vernon, Pickleball Pioneers is a great story on Youtube about how the sport was introduced and burgeoned throughout Vernon, BC, which the group also provided a masterclass on how to build an indoor facility. Season 1 with 6 episodes can be watched through the link above.
As you can see there are numerous private, for-profit courts coming to our province to meet the high demands of our ever growing sport.
If you have any questions, please email me per address below.
Doug McKay
Facilities
Doug@PickleballBC.ca
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Kitchen Corners: By The Numbers
December 2025 Membership Report
As of December 8, 2025, there are 21,836 active members. Just over 400 more than last month. There were 1,923 memberships processed in November 2025. This is up from last month by 328. 1,583 renewals and 340 new memberships were processed.
This month’s numbers show a dominance by renewal memberships. This was expected since members are registering for the winter season (indoor) for many clubs.
The next spike will probably occur in December when many clubs start registration for the 2026 summer season.
See you on the court.
Blair Morton
PBC Registrar
Registrar@PickleballBC.ca
Thinking of Joining—Follow The Link!
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Kitchen Corners: Head Referee Corners
Line Calling
I thought it would be good to touch on line calling responsibilities. In almost every pickleball game I have played in, or officiated, line calling is always a point of contention, or at least, confusion.
A line call is defined as “A loud word(s) spoken by a player or line judge and/or a hand signal to indicate to the referee and/or players that a live ball has not landed in the required court space”. Players are responsible for making all line calls on their end of the court (except in the rare occasion that line judges are present in officiated play). An ‘out’ call shall be made when the ball contacts the playing surface completely outside of the court.
Pickleball has a code of ethics for Line Calling and states: “The player, when assigned line-calling duties, must strive for accuracy and operate under the principle that all questionable calls must be resolved in favor of the opponent”.
In non-officiated play, I often encounter the situation where the players decide to have a replay when none of the players can make a line call. This is not the correct way to make a line call. If you or your partner cannot make a line call, the ball is “IN”. If one partner calls the ball “in” and the other partner calls it “out”, the call is “IN” … no replay! If neither player can make the line call, they may ask their opposition if they could make the call. Once you ask your opposition to make the call, you and your partner can no longer make the call. The opposition’s line call will stand. If the opposition did not clearly see the ball land, the call is “IN” … no replay.
When players are moving around the court and the ball is moving rapidly, it is often very difficult to make the correct line call when the ball lands. If all pickleball players correctly execute their line calling responsibilities, and adhere to the pickleball code of line calling ethics, our great sport will be even more enjoyable for all participants.
If I can help you out in any way with regards to the rules, please contact me at headrefferee@pickleballbc.ca.
Enjoy Pickleball …
Rick Folk
Head Referee
HeadReferee@PickleballBC.ca
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Sponsorships
We urge you to support and thank all our sponsors at every opportunity—they are listed throughout our website and in this newsletter. Sponsorships can help to defray the cost of hosting our website, sending this newsletter and also of supporting the running and promoting of tournaments and clinics.
Opportunities exist for businesses and individuals, starting at $50.00 to sponsor and support pickleball in British Columbia—details on our Sponsor Program page or contact Marcom@PickleballBC.ca.
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Website or Newsletter
As always we are delighted to receive suggestions and/or contributions of content for the website and future newsletters. Send to Marcom@PickleballBC.ca.
David Snell
President, Pickleball BC (Association)
President@PickleballBC.ca
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