MPC - 15 YEARS & GROWING STRONG
By Dave Hall [October 2009 issue of The Pickleball Canada e-Newsletter]
Members of the Little Current Pickleball Club
Pickleball on the Island – Manitoulin Island
Pickleball was introduced to Little Current, Ontario (Manitoulin Island) in May 2009 by snowbirds Helen and Dave Hall who spent two months this past winter in The Villages, Florida where the sport is a huge hit with retirees. The Villages have over 100 courts dedicated solely to pickleball.
Little Current now has an active pickleball group which plays Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10:00 am in the Curling Rink. Since Little Current only has 1500 permanent residents we are fortunate to have 5 badminton courts in the curling facility and 2 outdoor tennis courts which have now added pickleball lines. Thanks go to Rec Director Greg Wright and his crew at the community complex who were very receptive to our new sport. Without their cooperation and help we would never have been able to get the ball rolling (or flying).
Our group started with two paddles purchased in Florida and 10 homemade wooden paddles. We recently added 15 new composite paddles. Currently we have about 15 active players with more joining soon. This fall we plan to provide evening playing time at the local school gymnasium. The goal is to promote the sport to adults and active seniors first and then expand to the youth level.
The first annual Manitoulin Island Sportsman's Show is planned for the weekend of May 1, 2010 at the community complex and we are hoping to have a court set up for attendees to see demos and have the opportunity to hit a few balls.
Editor’s Note
Dave sent me a further update that the club has painted both the outside courts (see photo on left). They are planning to repaint the faded lines on the badminton courts in the curling rink. This is just another example of what a small group can do when everyone pitches in and gets their “hands dirty”. With leadership such as Helen’s and Dave’s, Pickleball can be a success in all communities both large and small.
Members May 2009 as shown in the first picture:
l-r top row: Petter Elvestad, Marcel Majerus, Jim VanCamp, Margaret VanCamp, Carol Majerus
l-r bottom row: Dave Hall, Ann Elvestad, Stella Strong, Helen Hall