In early June of 2023, Pickleball Canada (PCO) reached a major milestone of having 50,000 members! We expect to reach 52,000 in the early days of summer.
This new milestone has been made possible in large part from the tireless efforts of present and past volunteers, such as Pickleball Canada presidents, board members, officials, and coaches and, more recently, a core group of staff who have all played key roles in developing the sport in Canada. The strong affiliation model with the provincial/territorial pickleball associations and affiliated local clubs also plays a significant role in the continued growth in membership with the national governing body.
Peter Milovanovic, President of Pickleball Canada said, “We recognize that this milestone, while significant for Pickleball Canada, is just one metric in the broader pickleball growth story from coast to coast. We constantly hear about new places to play, new players trying the sport, new tournaments being offered – and yes, lack of capacity of facilities to accommodate how many people want to play pickleball.”
In January 2023, Pickleball Canada commissioned the same national research company as in recent years to survey Canadian households on their participation in various sports, including pickleball, golf, hockey, soccer, and tennis. 11% of Canadian households now report at least one household member plays pickleball at least once per month. By extrapolating the data, this indicates that more than 1.37 million individual Canadians now play pickleball at least once per month, with more than half playing four or more times per month.
Through the power of numbers, individual Canadians and affiliated organizations, through Pickleball Canada, receive benefit from access to:
- A comprehensive package of insurance products;
- a National Coaching Certification Program;
- a national program for accreditation of officials;
- preferred pricing for software tools (for tournaments, pickleball programs, etc.); and
- Canadian Tournament Player Ratings.
We thank our members for your support of Pickleball Canada and our efforts to assist and promote the growth of Pickleball as a sport for all ages and to establish rules, policies, and standards for the good governance of the sport in Canada.
With the support of some exciting new partners to be announced later this year, Pickleball Canada will continue to focus on initiatives to further promote participation, competition and excellence in pickleball.
For more information:
info@pickleballcanada.org