All you need to know about pickleball

By Letter to the Editor on November 2, 2017.

As a member of the local pickleball club, I want to address recent comments in Ticked Off and Tickled Pink about the availability of space and different play formats for pickleball.

At this time of year, pickleball is primarily played indoors. There are three providers of indoor play, as well as a few private groups, that utilize school gyms, Hillcrest Church and the Family Leisure Centre. Limited space, large numbers of players and the formats used make it challenging to meet everyone’s desire to play.

Although many players participate at two or more facilities, they are all administered separately.

The Medicine Hat Pickleball Clubruns evening play in several school gyms. Emailinvitations are sent weekly to all members for the following week’s programming. All members have the opportunity to sign up for the evenings they wish to play. The number of player spots for each program is determined by the number of courts available and the play format offered that evening.

The Family Leisure Centre runs a Pickleball Drop-In program open to all users several times a week. Four courts are available for play and the FLC staff is helpful in setting up more nets if required and space is available.

Hillcrest Church offers indoor pickleball play several mornings a week.

Registrations were taken in September and were quickly filled. A waiting list was started, and some players have already been called up.

The Medicine Hat Pickleball Club, Family Leisure City and Hillcrest all have one thing in common: They want to provide programming for as many players as possible.

Pickleball is no longer just a senior’s activity. It is easy to learn, fun and challenging. The youngest member of the Medicine Hat Pickleball Club is eight and players continue to play well into their 70s and 80s.

We encourage all those interested and having questions or comments to contact our club and we will assist as best we can.

Marco Jansen

Medicine Hat

(The writer is a member of the Medicine Hat Pickleball Club. They can be contacted on Facebook or through their website mhsspc.wixsite.com/medhatpickleball.)

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