This article was written and supplied to the PAO by: Nizar Moosa – Supervisor of Sports Development at the Markham Pan Am Centre.
The popularity of recreation sports is on the rise and one sport which is making headlines among adults 55+ is Pickleball. According to an article posted in the Toronto Sun, Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in North America. Pickleball is played in over 3500 places across North America and over 150 places across Ontario (USAPA).
The City of Markham offers a wide range of inclusive, recreation and sport opportunities to all its residents. Beginning in 2011, Pickleball was introduced and since then the sport has been met with tremendous interest and participation. In 2015, the Markham Pan Am Centre opened its doors to a drop-in Pickleball program for adults 55+.TheCentre’s drop-in program continues to attract additional interest and popularity than originally anticipated from players outside of Markham. Players are now travelling from Oshawa, Scarborough, Port Perry, Bowmanville, Kitchener-Waterloo and Brampton to play Pickleball in a state of art facility.
This January, the sport development team at the Markham Pan Am Centre seeing the growth potential of the sport, introduced a Markham Pickleball League which is bringing top players from various communities across the greater Toronto area (GTA). We are delighted to see the interest from players outside of Markham who are traveling to play Pickleball at a competitive level.
The Markham Pickleball League invites adults 55+from any community to take part in the league as a “community team”. There are currently 10 community teams taking part in the league which is attracting over 40 players from across the GTA and beyond. The “community team” manages their own roster according to the player’s availability. Each day, play starts with warm-ups and fundamental movement skills led by a certified fitness instructor. The 12 week league uses a round robin format every Thursday from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm and each team plays at least 3 matches (best of 3 games) each day.
The sport development team at the Markham Pan Am Centre is committed to offering additional opportunities for drop-in programs, competitive Pickleball tournaments and leagues and is the host site for the Ontario Senior Games Association (OSGA) Pickleball Tournament in April 2016 and the Pickleball Association of Ontario (PAO) Championship in September 2016.
