|
PBC President’s Report
Brodie and Riley Seger, and Brodie on the hill in Milano
BC Seger Brothers Compete at 2026 Milano Olympics
Brodie and Riley Seger are Canadian brothers from North Vancouver BC who are competing in alpine skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy. They are racing in honour of their father, Mark Seger, who was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in 2012.
The North Vancouver brothers are racing with the motto “Power of Positive Thinking”, aiming to raise awareness for the disease while competing for Canada. Brodie spoke at our PBC Associated Club Hollyburn in West Vancouver, BC at a 2024 ALS Charity Event where they raised $7,500 for that worthwhile charity, which Brody is invited to in 2026. We wish them well!!
Reminder of the Upcoming PBC Provincial Championships and Canadian Nationals Registration
Pickleball BC (“PBC”) and The Nest SDP as announced previously, are absolutely thrilled to be welcoming the BC Provincial Pickleball Championships to The Nest Sports in Tsawwassen this year July 22nd – 26th 2026 — and even more excited that, for so many players across BC’s Lower Mainland and beyond, the Championships will finally be close to home. Brief video on The Nest’s progress.
Registration will open April 15th 2026 at 10am PDT on Pickleball.com with pre-registration for 2025 Provincials’ Gold medal winners (info coming soon). For all those wishing to volunteer please email stacydeakin@gmail.com.
The Canadian National Championships
Regarding our Canadian National Championships to be held at the Pickleplex locations in Toronto Ontario, Pre-registration will open on Thursday, April 9, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. ET and is reserved exclusively for gold medal winners from the 2025 National Championship. Eligible participants will receive a registration link via email, along with a unique code to complete their entry.
General registration will open on Thursday, April 23 at 9:00 a.m. ET on pickleball.com.
Registration information will be circulated to the general public including all PBC/PCO members on February 23rd 2026. For additional information surrounding registration, please head to this link on the PCO website: National Championship FAQ. A full breakdown of the event schedule will be shared at a later date.
One key highlight is the Provincial Team Competition (“PTC”), which will take place on Thursday, August 27 at Pickleplex Downsview. Our BC Provincial Team will be defending their Gold medals and Trophy in the Provincial Team Competition event last year in Winnipeg. Video is here. In addition to becoming a PCO flagship event, the PTC will also serve as an important pathway in supporting the growth of Pickleball Canada’s National Development Program.
Sport BC Presidents and Athletes of the Year Awards – Presidents’ Award Recipient David Snell
Sport BC’s Presidents’ Awards celebrate the outstanding volunteers that make sport possible across British Columbia.
Behind every practice, competition, and community sport experience is a volunteer who shows up, often quietly, always consistently. Their leadership, generosity, and commitment shape safe, welcoming, and meaningful sport environments in every corner of the province. Each year, the Presidents’ Awards honour volunteers from Sport BC member organizations whose contributions go beyond expectation and whose impact is felt far beyond the field of play.
Presidents’ Award Announcement: “Sport BC is proud to celebrate the 2026 Presidents’ Award recipients and extends heartfelt thanks for the time, care, and passion they continue to give to sport and to their communities across British Columbia. Thirty-Nine (39) BC recipients will be recognized in a special ceremony prior to Sport BC’s 58th Athlete of the Year Awards on Thursday, March 5, 2026 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.” I am pleased to announce that Sport BC has recognized me as a Presidents Award recipient. Of course this Award is not just mine as the recipients are truly our PBC Board of Directors, our hard working Committees, 21,000+ BC members, 106 clubs and all our volunteers who join together as a community to ensure pickleball prospers and continues to grow in BC! A sincere thank you to Sport BC and those who nominated me for this prestigious award.
New Island PBC Affiliate Clubs
We would also like to announce and welcome our 105th and 106th Affiliate Clubs who have joined our PBC affiliate teams to grow and manage pickleball in BC. Please welcome Bowen Island Pickleball Society and Gabriola Pickleball Clubs! More info later in our “News From Our Clubs” section coming next month.
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, Instagram or YouTube, we would really appreciate it – for consideration please send them to Marcom@PickleballBC.ca. Also pics and stories are welcome for our Virtual Trophy Wall where we recently highlighted The Dink’s award to Steve Deakin as Senior Men’s Player of the Year.
This Newsletter contains plenty of new news which I hope you can enjoy along with family and friends. All comments and contributions are very welcome!
|
|
David Snell, President
PICKLEBALL BC ASSOCIATION
President@PickleballBC.ca
|
|
News From Our Clubs:
“Play for Hope” Pickleball Charity For Cancer
Three grade 12 girls who ran the tournament (2nd from the left to the right): Samantha Dela Cruz, Aniya Bains, and Hashana Senthuran. Leftmost, Linda Wong, sponsor teacher from Cambie Secondary. The grand total raised is on the cheque.
Watch the “Play for Hope” videos here part 1 and here part 2 to see the community come together. Also read the Richmond News coverage here.
“Play for Hope” began in 2023 when two Grade 12 students approached me for advice on a passion project for their English class. After some brainstorming, the idea of a pickleball fundraiser tournament emerged—and I was immediately excited. It brought together three of my greatest passions: mentoring teenagers, raising money for the Canadian Cancer Society, and my newest passion, pickleball.
One of my main goals for the tournament was to bring the community together, and it truly did. Many Cambie students formed meaningful connections with the players and looked forward to seeing them again the following year. I wanted the pickleball community to see just how capable and dedicated teenagers can be, and I wanted the students to see how active, skilled, and inspiring this generation of pickleball players is.
Over the past four years, I have been incredibly fortunate to work with amazing and committed student leaders who dedicated their senior year to making this event a success. Together, we raised an incredible $33,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society.
My passion for this cause comes from the strength of my three sisters, whom I lost to cancer. I do this not only in their memory, but also for their children, who are now old enough to volunteer and be part of this event as well.
The volunteers from the Play for Hope tournament held on Saturday, January 10th 2026 at Cambie Secondary School in Richmond, BC.
I will continue to run this tournament as long as I am fortunate enough to work alongside strong student leaders. The pickleball community has been an exceptionally kind and generous group—both on and off the courts—and I am deeply grateful for their ongoing support.
Linda Wong
Executive, Richmond BC Pickleball Association
|
|
Kitchen Corners: Grants
PBCA Grants Program
Students learning the pickleball fundamentals then gaining the confidence to advance their game.
Performance Report Rutherford Elementary School
We greatly appreciated the grant we received from Pickleball BC this past fall. This funding has allowed us to diversify our physical education curriculum and has benefited students of all ages within our school.
With the funds received, Rutherford Elementary purchased 24 pickleball paddles. Having a full class set allows teachers to place a paddle in the hands of every student. Teachers have focused on developing basic ball-and-paddle contact skills, strengthening students’ hand-eye coordination. Students began by practicing hitting a ball against the gym wall and then progressed to passing the ball back and forth with a partner. As these skills developed, students moved on to rallying the ball over the net. Once students gained confidence, we introduced the rules and gameplay of pickleball.
Students have been having a great deal of fun learning pickleball, and we look forward to moving outside to local courts in the spring.
Staff members having a go at pickleball.
As part of a staff wellness initiative, the paddles have also been used for weekly staff pickleball sessions, which have been very enjoyable. Several staff members have been inspired to continue playing outside of school as well.
Thank you to Pickleball BC for supporting youth athletic development. With their help we are getting more young people active and engaged in new sporting activities.
Lorraine Carlson
Rutherford Elementary School
###
Apply For Your Grant Funding Today
If you have a need and feel that your club qualifies for either our expanded Youth or Community Grants, please apply here, or if you have any questions contact …
Sharon MacDonald
Vice President & Grant Administrator
Grants@PickleballBC.ca
|
|
Kitchen Corners: By The Numbers
February 2026 Membership Report
As of February 9, 2026, there are 14,295 active members. This is up approximately 2,000 from last month as members sign up for the 2026 season.
There were 2,945 memberships processed in January 2026. This is down from last month by 3,686. 2,374 renewals and 571 new memberships were processed. January membership renewals were down from December but still a healthy amount renewed their membership for the 2026 summer season.
See you on the court.
Blair Morton
PBC Registrar
Registrar@PickleballBC.ca
Thinking of Joining—Follow The Link!
|
|
Kitchen Corners: Head Referee Corners
The Pickleball Serve
As the outdoor season nears throughout BC, one of the most frequently abused rules has to do with the serve. Players are learning how to serve the ball with more speed or apply more spin to the ball when they hit the serve. Let’s remind ourselves of the components of the “legal” serve in pickleball:
- 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.
The reason there are guidelines for pickleball serves is to keep an underhand motion when striking the ball, so that the ball is put into play and back and forth rallies ensue.
If you notice someone serving the ball illegally, are you helping them by not bringing their error to their attention? If a referee is involved, the illegal serve will be called and a fault applied … or at least a warning will be given. In a non-officiated match, I believe you would be doing the offender a favor by bringing the illegal serve to their attention. By simply saying, “do you realize your serve is illegal?”, they can make the adjustment with no penalty, and make the game more enjoyable for all players involved in the match.
Pickleball is a very enjoyable game, and when we all follow the rules and guidelines, all players benefit.
Enjoy Pickleball.
Rick Folk
Head Referee
HeadReferee@PickleballBC.ca
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
Leave A Comment