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Image: Pickleball Kingdom

If there’s one game that is making big moves, it’s one that you’ve likely been exposed to in one way or another over the past few years. Popularized throughout the 2010s, we now find ourselves in the middle of what many are labeling the “pickleball gold rush”. With the first national tournament in 2009 drawing over 400 players from Canada and the United States, the pickleball bug has since bitten participants of all ages.

As such, the search for space has become a growing challenge for facility managers and communities alike. Although many have repurposed tennis courts and converted other under-utilized outdoor spaces into pickleball courts, it has hardly kept  up with demand. As part of the rush, we’ve watched as individuals and even commercial real estate players get into the game in an effort to secure more space for additional courts.

One of our most recent projects brought us to the Durham region of Ontario, located about 80km east of Toronto. Nestled in the municipality of Clarington, we were involved in some much-needed upgrades at a local recreation complex.

After experiencing significant growth over the past five years, the game of pickleball is now everywhere these days. While played outdoors the majority of the time, in Canada, the season is drastically reduced as the fall and winter months roll in. To extend the playing season, many facilities are beginning to expand facilities and programming to offer indoor pickleball courts and associated programming.

Image: @pickleballreviews | Instagram

When it comes to sports and athletic programming, don’t count out the quiet, yet growing game of pickleball. Designed and invented in the western United States, what was once a hobby to some is now a national pastime.

As more recreational centres, schools, clubs and senior living communities jump on the pickleball train, for those not yet initiated in the sport, there are a few things that need to be considered. Much like designing, planning and installing any new sport surface, arena or stadium, facility operators and planners must know the complete details of what it is they have been tasked to deliver. Especially if it is something as uncommon as the great sport of pickleball.

Image: USA Pickleball Association Facebook

It’s not quite tennis, not quite badminton and not quite ping pong; it’s pickleball and it’s one of the fastest growing activities on the planet. Designed for fun at all ages and skill levels, pickleball utilizes many of the elements found in related racket sports but instead uses a modified ball and paddle.

Created in the American Pacific northwest by a trio of dads, the game was invented to keep their children busy after they grew tired of traditional summer activities. Crafting the original equipment and creating a unique set of rules, the game is now sweeping across Canada and the United States as more Asian and European countries also begin to install custom courts.