WESTLOCK — Fun was the order of the day at a recent pickleball tournament hosted on April 13-14 at the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre, which drew approximately 160 players from across northern Alberta.
The two-day tournament has been going on for eight years now, according to organizer and Westlock Pickleball Society president Wes Latimer.
Only about a tenth or so of the participants hailed from Westlock, with the rest coming from communities like Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Red Deer, Slave Lake and Athabasca.
Many of those playing in this year’s tournament were returnees from previous years, said Latimer.
Among those returnees were Deneen and Darrell Bordula from Stony Plain, who said this was their third or fourth Westlock pickleball tournament.
“They put on a good tournament here,” said Darrell. “And the snacks are unbelievable.”
Deneen said they got into pickleball because she wanted to find some new friends that were approximately their age, so they began playing the sport in Spruce Grove.
The social aspect is commonly cited among pickleball players as to why they get into the sport. As put by Latimer himself, it replaces the work environment for many retired people.
“If you move to the town, it’s a good place to socialize,” he said.
One local pickleball player, Susan Peebles, said she got into the sport after going on vacation down south for a couple of weeks and playing pickleball during her trip.
“When we came back, we just couldn’t wait to play it up here,” Peebles said.
One reason for pickleball’s appeal is that, while it does require some physical mobility, it’s not too taxing on its participants, who can rely on supports like knee braces to meet the challenge.
“My husband says it’s the one sport that seniors can play and boast about their athletic injuries,” said Peebles.
Another local player, Cathy Lent, said the social aspect spills over into other areas, with groups getting together for dinners, tours, or in one case, a golf tournament.
The popularity of Westlock’s pickleball tournament is undoubtedly also aided by the availability and quality of the facilities at the Spirit Centre; Lent noted that they get many positive comments from out-of-towners about the field house.
“People come from everywhere and just compliment us on this facility,” she said.
“The Town of Westlock is very fortunate,” Latimer added.
Also, the volunteers put in a lot of effort to organize the tournament and, as Darrell Bordula suggested, put out a good spread of homemade treats for the participants over the two days.
The Westlock Pickleball Society itself has in the range of 80 to 90 members, depending on whether you count people who only play on occasion.
The group’s increasing numbers do lead to some growing pains, but the Westlock Pickleball Society is very inclusive, welcoming players of all ages and stripes, provided they have the physical ability needed to play the sport.
Plus, as noted before, the main thing about pickleball is having fun. “If you’re not having fun, there’s something wrong,” said Peebles.
