Six new pickleball courts are officially open at East Lake Park.
The grand opening on Oct. 20 drew a large crowd from the Airdrie Pickleball Club who had eagerly been waiting to try out the new space.
Kina Martin, president of Airdrie’s pickleball club, was happy to see two previous tennis courts transformed into six pickleball courts, but her ultimate goal remains to get indoor courts designated to pickleball in the community.
The sport’s popularity has skyrocketed over the past couple of years throughout North America, and Martin believes the city could become more competitive in the sport by adding an indoor pickleball space.
“In Airdrie, if we could get an indoor [space] with lots of courts, we could have nationals here, we could have the pros who play in big tournaments here for tournaments,” Martin said, adding it would benefit the city by attracting tourism and commerce.
Four outdoor courts dedicated to pickleball were constructed in 2018 on Main Street near Nose Creek Regional Park, and another four courts were recently added in the Cobblestone neighbourhood.
Martin said the club has also run its programs on courts painted on a skating rink with portable nets in the Monklands neighbourhood when other courts are busy.
“These courts are kind of like a baby project for us and the Airdrie pickleball club,” Martin said of the East Lake courts.
The club initially approached the City of Airdrie when they were working to resurface the tennis courts, asking them to designate some pickleball courts.
The club and its nearly 190 members watched with great anticipation as the courts were constructed this summer.
Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport derived from tennis, using lighter paddles, hollow balls, and played on a badminton-court-sized surface. While the sport was conceived in the 1960s, (according to USA Pickleball's website) its popularity has increased in the last 10 years, largely thanks to snowbirds who have brought the activity back to Canada with them from southern United States.
The Airdrie pickleball club started in 2016, said Martin, who joined the club after being introduced to the sport at Genesis Place. At the time, she said the sport was played by mostly an older crowd.
“So many of the older people here taught me how to play pickleball,” she said pointing to the players on the courts at the grand opening.
Since the inception of the club, it has grown exponentially and now the board is significantly lower in age.
“We’re all excited, we love competitive play,” she said, explaining that the club was previously more focused on recreational play. “Now with the club, we’re pushing to be a bit more competitive.”
The club has several local professional players who compete in national competitions, and Martin would love to see those competitions come to Airdrie.
Currently the club plays at Genesis Place in the winter, which isn’t ideal as it doesn’t have official pickleball courts.
Martin explained that playing on badminton courts means a shorter playing area, making it harder to practice for competitions.
To join the club, check out the Airdrie Pickleball Club website.
