To Our Members and Clubs: Pickleball BC Newsletter, July 2025

Activating Youth Pickleball in BC (“AYPBC”) Phase 2 – Request For Expressions of Interest:

As reported last month, our goal in AYPBC Phase 1 was to provide up to 3,000 “introductions to pickleball” to Elementary school youth in our three Regions of Vancouver Island, Vancouver and Thompson/Okanagan – we achieved an INCREDIBLE 11,000 INTRODUCTIONS between September 2024 and June 30^th 2025!

In addition we provided our 20+ Elementary schools with equipment for the students (Franklin Sports nets, paddles, balls and bags) and trained 33 teacher coaches 23 of whom obtained NCCP Level 1 certification. Pickleball Introductions were made through intramural activities, PD days, and part of the program included hosting “Slamborees” which were designed to involve multiple schools, various coaches at the school and district level to provide sustainability and the adoption of pickleball as part of the regular school curriculum.

As a result of these successes PBC has applied for an additional 2025 Grant from viaSport for a proposed Phase 2 starting this coming school year in September. Our 3 Regions are committed to Phase 2 as they expand their reach to more schools and are investing in the project alongside PBC and hopefully viaSport.

So to ask: we are looking for Expressions of interest from 4 additional BC Regions for Phase 2 (making a total of 7 Regions) supported by our Affiliated or Associated Clubs in those Regions.

Each Region will have a responsible Club and a Regional Coordinator to oversee the Regional team – typically someone or a Committee who have been coaching youth, perhaps a Club Youth Committee, a (retired) teacher with PE experience and someone with a high level of enthusiasm for getting youth involved in sports at an early age (5 – 13 years old). With EVES experience prior and AYPBC Phase 1 completed, we have a Teachers Guide (August planned completion date), curriculum particularly for Elementary students and Coaching Unit Guides, FAQ’s, PBC website pages dedicated to supporting documentation and a lot of guidance and enthusiasm to share.

Please send your expressions of interest to President@PickleballBC.ca outlining your level of interest in participating in Phase 2, potential Regional team members and their background and other information that you feel may be of interest given the description above and the Reports below. The Reports below from Victoria Regional and Vancouver Pickleball Associations will tell you what they have done in Phase 1 and what could be done by our new 4 Regions in Phase 2.

2025 Provincials (2026 Host Club(s) Expressions of Interest) and Nationals Reminders
A final reminder of the PBC Pickleball Depot 2025 Provincials in Vernon July 24^th – 27^th. The 2025 Myoflex National Championship in Winnipeg will take place August 19^th – 24^th where our newly formed BC Provincial Team will be competing against 4 – 5 other provincial teams as below.

Also following the Provincials we will be reaching out to our Club Admins requesting expressions of interest to host our PBC 2026 Provincial Championships. Please send all expressions of interest to TournamentCommittee@PickleballBC.ca with some background info on your facilities and Sanctioned Tournament experience (expect 600+ players next year again). If your Club executive has recently changed in 2025 we would also appreciate an update to Marcom@PickleballBC.ca for this mailing.

PBC Strategic Planning Process and Club Feedback
The other reason we would like to update our Affiliated and Associated Club Executives’ listing is that we want to reach out to get feedback on what our Clubs recommend should be our major strategic priorities in 2026 and beyond – how we can continue to best serve our members, Clubs and stakeholders. We have begun a 2026+ strategic planning process with our Strategic Planning Committee and we will be reaching out for input, including but not limited to a BC Club President’s Zoom in early September – stay tuned! Any comments or input in the meantime please contact President@PickleballBC.ca .

BC Provincial Team Competition at Nationals
Thank you to our 41 4.0+ CTPR players who have committed to play with the BC Provincial Team of 16 with 4 – 8 alternates should they be chosen. A decision regarding the final Team players will be made on or before a week after the Provincials by the Tournament Committee, headed up by our Chair Rick Folk. Any questions or comments please contact TournamentCommittee@PickleballBC.ca

Kitchen Corners Reports
Updates on Memberships, Refereeing and Grants 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 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 along with time with family and friends on this upcoming July weekend. All comments and contributions are very welcome!

After the successful implementation of PBCA’s AYPBC’s Phase 1 initiative—which introduced pickleball to K – 7 students in three BC pilot regions—delegates seek grant application for Phase 2 from viaSport British Columbia.

I am writing as the Vancouver Island Regional Project Leader for the Activating Youth Pickleball in BC project sponsored by the Victoria Regional Pickleball Association (“VRPA”). In the summer of 2024 I was the president of VRPA and moving towards retiring from that position. I was seeking a project that would combine my organizational skills and my passion for my sport. When David Snell, the President of Pickleball BC, called and described the Activating Youth Pickleball in BC program I jumped to be included. 

In the summer of 2024 I was the president of VRPA and moving towards retiring from that position. I was seeking a project that would combine my organizational skills and my passion for my sport. When David Snell, the President of Pickleball BC, called and described the Activating Youth Pickleball in BC program I jumped to be included. 

I saw first-hand the need for a directed well-planned approach that would put paddles in the hands of youth and build capacity in elementary schools. Just like children learn by building layers of skills and knowledge, I felt we needed to do just that to build our sport with youth. I also recognized that the funding for this program was vital, that it would make a difference, that it would take an ad hoc approach to a well-planned future based program. I was correct and this has led to a solid base for pickleball in Elementary Schools in Greater Victoria and area.

I knew it would be easy to enter the private schools but it was the Victoria Region inner city schools that I felt it was important to include. Through former teachers, principals and former Educational Assistants we secured six Elementary schools. Three of those schools in School District 61 served new immigrant communities, urban indigenous and youth from the Armed Forces who are re-posted on a yearly basis. These were schools with challenges but happy to have both introductory pickleball lessons led by a NCCP Level 1 coach assisted by enthusiastic community volunteers and to follow up with noon hour pickleball “clubs”.

What I learnt was how important it was to build capacity in the schools by having a ‘school leader’ who would ensure the program continued, that we had funding for a Certified Coach and that we could provide a basket of basic equipment to these schools as not one of these under resourced schools had paddles, balls or even 1 net. In fact, only 1 out of the 6 schools had functioning badminton nets.

In five out of the six schools we instructed basic pickleball to K-5, the sixth school we concentrated on Grades 3-5. We provided basic instruction to over 2,000 students from January to May 2025 this past school season. We assisted in setting up 4 noon hour pickleball clubs which operated once per week for 2.5 months. We organized a 50 player, grade 4 and 5 Slamboree at the Esquimalt Archie Browning Sports Centre. We secured and trained 35 community volunteers and 2 NCCP Level 1 coaches who became specialists in youth pickleball and are this summer providing lessons to youth.

We provided equipment to six schools all who want the program to continue in FY 2025-2026 and we have already been approached by 6 other Elementary Schools asking to be included next year. The majority of this is done by volunteers, the organization, the basic instruction in the gym and the noon hour pickleball club program. We are proud of what we have done, our school leaders want more, the volunteers and coaches want more and this is why I am supporting whole heartedly the application before you from PBCA.

One final observation on this program as something happened that I did not expect but was a delight to witness—at the Slamboree over 65% of the players were girls. This told me that our sport is accessible to a gender group that are not necessarily involved in organized sports at the Grade 4/5 level. The girls involved were intensely focused on their game and exhibited team strength at the Slamboree. This alone made me very proud to have been part of this fine program.

Sharon Hoy, AYPBC Project Coordinator (left) with Connie McCann, past President at Victoria Regional Pickleball Association and Regional Project Leader Vancouver Island.

Respectfully submitted,
Connie McCann, Project Leader
Activating Youth Pickleball in BC/Victoria Regional Pickleball Association

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Andre Plourde, Vancouver Pickleball Association

On behalf of the Vancouver Pickleball Association (“VPA”), I want to express our enthusiastic support of the continuation and expansion of the Activating Youth Pickleball in British Columbia (“AYPBC”) project. The VPA has been a stronger supporter of this initiative and its earlier pilot, East Vancouver Elementary Schools (EVES), that aimed to bring pickleball to elementary schools in that area of the city. Reaching out to ethnically diverse and financially challenged school communities was at the heart of EVES and we were thrilled to see it as a keystone component of the AYPBC project. VPA has provided financial support to both EVES and AYPBC and will do so again as Phase 2 of AYPBC proceeds.

The dedication of teachers to bringing pickleball to their K – 6 students is an integral part of the success of these initiatives. It has been particularly rewarding to witness the success of AYPBC-supported “Play and Learn” sessions at which teachers and project supporters from the community get together to play pickleball, to share experiences, and to discuss challenges that they have encountered. These get- togethers have been instrumental in identifying project leaders for individual schools and in expanding the number of participating schools, while retaining a focus on serving ethnically diverse and financially challenged communities. The “Slamboree” held on 12 June 2025 at David Thompson Secondary School brought together 83 young pickleball enthusiasts from nine elementary schools (up from the original three), all located on the east side of Vancouver. Approximately 60% of players were girls and it was simply wonderful to watch boys and girls on the same court having a wonderful time playing pickleball! This expansion would simply not have been possible without the financial resources provided by AYPBC through the viaSport BC grant.

A key element to ensure continued success identified by participating teachers was the need for instructional certification to ensure that the approach used and the techniques taught to their students were at the forefront of the pedagogy of the sport. Funds made available by the viaSport grant were used to address this request: a session of the official pickleball NCCP Level 1 training targeted to 24 teachers participating in the AYPBC project was delivered in Vancouver in February 2025.

It was wonderful to witness the cooperation that among overall project leaders and the leaders at the three Regions (Vancouver, Thompson/Okanagan, Vancouver Island) that developed as the AYPBC project unfolded. A key outcome of this cooperation is a series of materials—from detailed lessons plans, to templates for support structures within schools, to reflections on successes and challenges experienced at the three sites – that will be made available to all interested parties via a dedicated website. These materials will be central to the efforts to be undertaken in Phase 2 of AYPBC as the project further expands at the existing three Regions and reaches out to four more Regions in the province.

The funding obtained through the viaSport BC grant was quite transformational. It allowed project leaders, especially the many teachers in elementary schools in participating schools, to take the kernel of ideas piloted in EVES and enrich it to activate youth in pickleball across the three sites. Based on this experience, we have every right to expect that viaSport support for Phase 2 of AYPBC would enable a further expansion of this remarkable success story.


VPA AYPBC Slamboree held at David Thompson Secondary School, Vancouver, June 13, 2025. A short video can be found here. Left photo: David Snell, PBC President; Justin Liao, Level 2 Coach; Andre Plourde, VPA Member At Large; Sharon Hoy, AYPBC Project Coordinator; Greg Feehan, former President VPA; and Kirsten Ernst, Volunteer. Right photo: briefing with the 90 kids from 9 schools, and several teacher and player coaches.

As of July 13, 2025, there are 19,407 active members in BC, up slightly from last month. There were 716 memberships processed in May 2025. This is down by 341 from last month. 218 renewals and 498 new memberships were processed. The rate of growth has slowed, compared to last month. With summer in full swing, membership activity has slowed dramatically.

I present some interesting facts of the province’s membership:

• 6* more people registered during my analysis giving the larger quantity.

Total number of members under age 18 = 352
Total number of members over age 80 = 824

I hope you enjoyed my membership analysis.

See you on the courts.

Blair Morton
PBC Registrar
Registrar@PickleballBC.ca

Thinking of joining—follow the link!

• Contact with the ball when serving must be made below the waist (belly button).
• The paddle must be moving in an upward motion when contact is made.
• No part of the paddle is to be above the wrist when contact is made.
• The above 3 components do not apply if the drop serve is used.
• No spin can be imparted on the ball when released by the server’s hand in either the volley serve or the drop serve.
• The release of the ball must be visible to the referee and the receiver when serving, using either service method.
• When using the drop serve, the ball must not be propelled … either up or down.

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 $25.00 to sponsor and support pickleball in British Columbia—details on our Sponsor Program page or contact Marcom@PickleballBC.ca.
 

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