NEWS FILE PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Hatters Gord Hebig and Gordie Reid competed at the Pickleball Alberta provincial championships held locally July 8-10 2022.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Western Canada’s top pickleball talent will showcase their skills this week in Medicine Hat.
The Medicine Hat Pickleball Club and community are set to host the 2023 Pickleball Canada Western Regional Championship at the Big Marble Go Centre and the South Country Co-op Pickleball Courts. From Thursday to Sunday, more than 520 people from across B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are expected to compete for the title of the Western Region’s best pickleball athletes.
Tournament director Brenda Lea MacPhail says they are looking forward to a weekend that has been in the works for a while.
“It has come very, very quickly however we have such a great team in place and our courts are in perfect condition,” MacPhail said.
There will be 47 Medicine Hat athletes competing across the four days of pickleball action.
MacPhail says having the local representation is an important part of the weekend as it shows the club’s growth.
“We’ve got some very talented players here, they’re very committed players and to get to watch them play in championship events is exactly what we want to do as a club,” MacPhail said. “We want to be able to bring in new members, we want to mentor them through skills and drills, and we want to continue to help them become champions. So when they get the opportunity to play in tournaments like this, it’s the finishing touch.”
The Hat Pickleball Club tested their hosting skills last year as hosts of the Alberta Championships last July.
The four days of play get started every day at 7:30 a.m., and are split between events and skill levels. Thursday’s competition features men’s singles and women’s doubles, both ranging in skill levels from 3.0 to 4.0. Friday and Saturday are the mixed doubles competitions, with Saturday being the marquee day, according to MacPhail, with the highest skilled doubles talent on full display.
“If people want to see outstanding pickleball, they should be here by 7:30-8 a.m. on Saturday, because that’s when we have our 4.0 and higher rated players,” MacPhail said. “Some of those players will actually be players on the Canadian pickleball team.”
The weekend wraps up with women’s singles and doubles, and men’s doubles on Sunday ranging in skill levels from 3.0 to 4.0, including 4.5 and open competition as well.
Anyone is welcome to attend and watch. There will be food trucks in the BMGC parking lot each day. With the divisions spread out across the days, there will be a champion crowned every day, which is just one of the reasons MacPhail says anyone interested in the sport should attend this weekend.
“There’s a real misunderstanding when it comes to pickleball that it’s only an old person sport and really it is not,” MacPhail said. “People of any age should come out, we have the largest junior membership in all of the country. We have a junior program for kids 6-18, we have an amazing program for them.
“So any families who want to get their kids involved in a different sport, it’s a great opportunity. Those kids will not be playing in this tournament but it’s a great opportunity for their kids to come out and watch these other people and say, ‘That looks pretty fun,’ and want to get involved in the junior program.”
Beyond the juniors, MacPhail says they’ve seen a large influx of players aged 18-49 and hope more athletes in that bracket come out and see what the sport can do for them.
“It really is an amazing workout and it continues to grow within that age bracket significantly,” MacPhail said. “It’s a great opportunity for people of that age to come out and see it and say, ‘Hey, I could play this too.'”
