Many of the pickleball players responding to an online survey on the sport are hoping that a 12-court indoor pickleball facility will be built in the region, says the president of the Victoria Regional Pickleball Association.
The survey is being conducted for Victoria, Esquimalt, Oak Bay and Saanich as part of efforts to establish a regional pickleball strategy.
Connie McCann said players are hoping for a facility similar to one built in 2021 in Vernon on leased municipal land that recently hosted a provincial championship.
Members are willing to fundraise and do whatever else it takes to get such a structure in place, said McCann. “When you build a covered facility, your noise goes down substantially.”
Noise — the distinct sound made by the ball contacting the paddle — is the biggest issue confronting the fast-growing sport, whose popularity has prompted all four municipalities to add courts and create drop-in or online booking systems in recent years.
Noise complaints led to pickleball being banned at Todd Park in James Bay in April 2022. Replacement courts were hastily created at Beacon Hill Park as a relatively nearby alternative.
McCann said the Beacon Hill Park courts, which are a good distance from area homes, have been “an unbelievable success.”
She added that her association, which has about 680 members, has also put $4,000 toward noise-abatement panels at the courts at Carnarvon Park. “It has made a difference at Carnarvon,” she said. “We will do those things.”
McCann said courts around the region are overused and can be hard to get onto as the sport’s popularity grows — membership in her organization jumped 350 per cent in less than two years.
The four municipalities are working together to develop a regional pickleball strategy, and seeking input on use of pickleball courts, booking systems and the impacts of the game through the survey, which is designed to take 10 to 15 minutes to complete and will help shape a pickleball strategy, expected this winter.
A consulting firm, Calgary-based O2 Planning and Design, has been asked to develop the pickleball strategy at a cost of about $60,000, and is starting with community engagement.
The survey began in late June and is scheduled to wrap up Sunday, attracting more than 400 responses so far, said Jeff Brehaut, Victoria’s manager of recreation services.
Brehaut said O2 Planning and Design will also be doing an analysis of court supply and demand, and offering recommendations on the development of facilities.
He said noise has been the top issue among people with concerns about the sport, which is played on a surface smaller than a tennis court using a plastic ball and wooden or composite paddles.
“It’s particularly the impact to residents that are directly adjacent to courts,” said Brehaut, adding the issue isn’t unique to the capital region. “We are also conferring with colleagues provincially and we’re hearing the same thing.”
He said researchers are studying acoustics and the location of pickleball courts, and equipment improvements that could ease noise problems. “A big component of this is really looking at appropriate locations for new facilities.”
That includes the dedicated complex of pickleball courts planned for Topaz Park, which will have a 100-metre buffer from neighbouring homes, Brehaut said.
The courts will be built next year, with about a dozen or so expected.
“If you talk to the pickleball community they say 12 is the magic number to host a certain level of tournaments,” Brehaut said.
The survey can found at regionalpickleballstrategy.com or via posters with QR codes at local courts.
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
