What began decades ago as a children’s backyard game has turned into a serious sport across North America, including right here in Meadow Lake. On May 31, the InnovationPlex fieldhouse at the Meadow Lake Co-op Centre was the site of a women’s pickleball tournament. The event saw 32 women from across the northwest participate in three divisions. “The tournament was organized by a group of local women who enjoy pickleball,” explained Meadow Lake resident and local pickleball player Linda Harman. “There are about four or five of us who decided to strike up a committee. It’s headed by Thyra Berg, and, as it turns out, there are a number of women from throughout the area who are passionate about pickleball.”

Pickleball is a racket sport in which two or four players use a smooth-faced paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a net, until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. It can be played indoors or outdoors, and, as noted, was invented in 1965 as a children’s backyard game in Washington State. “Some of the competitors have roots in Greig Lake,” Harman continued. “They play out there, and now with our new facility more and more people are gravitating to the Co-op Centre, particularly in the wintertime.” The recent ladies tournament was highlighted by Christine Zuchotzki and Karen Knelsen winning the ‘A’ division, Karen Burant and Bev Jones winning the ‘B’ division and Jennifer Chu and Tasha Beauchesne claiming the top spot in the ‘C’ division. 

“Participants had to self identify in terms of what skill level they thought they were at,” Harman said. “The middle division had 16 players, while the top and bottom divisions each had eight players… What was really interesting is we had quite a few out-of-town people enter the tournament. We had people from Cold Lake, Lloydminster and the area around Lloydminster. You could tell these women played a lot of pickleball. It was really great to meet people who have played for a while. A number of them were seniors, but very good players. And, they were all so helpful and encouraging. It was just a great day.” 

Harman went on to speak about the recent rise in pickleball popularity. “I play some tennis and I really enjoy tennis, but it gets harder and harder to play as you get older,” she said. “Pickleball is the great equalizer.” Harman was first introduced to the sport when she was a university student in Regina. “I had an instructor who had taken his doctorate in Oregon,” she said. “He taught us this game called pickleball. We had plywood paddles and we played with a wiffle ball. We also used badminton nets that had been lowered to the point where they touched the floor. It was a good lead-up game to teaching kids racket sports.” Years went by before Harman would ever play pickleball again, however. “Slowly you started to hear it mentioned more and the odd court would pop up,” she said. “I think a lot of the popularity stems from the south and from retirement communities. They are really big on it… There’s been a resurgence. Pickleball courts are turning up in vacant retail spaces in malls. The popularity is just growing and growing.” This has led to a formal club being formed in Meadow Lake. “Jesse Ramshaw is one of the organizers,” Harman said. “I’m not part of it yet but will definitely be joining. It will make such a difference because this group will be able to apply for grants, Pickleball Saskatchewan can come out and put on officials’ clinics and learn-to-play clinics, you name it. You get so much more help from outside sources, which will only help the sport grow even further.” 

Meanwhile, Wednesday nights are pickleball nights at the Co-op Centre. “Anyone can come out and give it a try,” Harman said. This was echoed by Regan Beck, the City of Meadow Lake’s parks and recreation manager. “We assumed pickleball would be popular when we opened the new InnovationPlex fieldhouse, but the popularity has surpassed our highest expectations,” Beck said. “Every day and night you will find people taking advantage of the climate controlled building and playing pickleball. We are very happy to host them and look forward to working with them for years to come.” In closing, Harman said the recent ladies tournament was such a success, the host committee is planning another such event in the fall. “Pickleball is a sport all ages can take up and it doesn’t take very long from the moment you start to really feel satisfied you can rally back and forth, and have a really good game,” she said.