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The Pickleball Association of Ontario Celebrates Growth in the Sport thanks to a 2018 Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant
Unionville – Over the past two years, members of the Pickleball Association of Ontario have expanded its player and coaching programs thanks to a $198,000 grant it received from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) in 2018. The focus of the two-year grant was to add a pickleball coaching program into the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP), impacting communities around Markham, Kitchener-Waterloo, Windsor and Durham Region.
“Over the past two years, Pickleball Association of Ontario has delivered higher quality of programming and infrastructure to support physical activity for groups from all ages,” said Billy Pang, MPP for Markham-Unionville. “Thank you for making the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s funding work well in Markham-Unionville, as well as other communities in the province.”
Pickleball is a popular paddle sport that incorporates elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis, and to help players continue to learn the sport and expand training, coaching programs were needed. Funds from the grant were used to help the Association develop a series of programs that would fit within the NCCP. One of the initiatives involved the development of the first ever Long-Term Player Development program world-wide for pickleball. It also created the Introduction to Competition Coaching program, the Community Initiation Coaching program, and finally, the Association provided Ontario-based pickleball coaches and coach developers with guidance through NCCP and Sport for Life consultants.
“The organization is very thankful for the generous grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation,” said Jim Parrott, President of the Pickleball Association of Ontario. “Without their support and $12,000 of pickleball organization funds, we would not be able to develop curricula, train coaches and encourage more people across Ontario to become physically active in a safe manner through our sport”.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations. OTF awarded $115 million to 644 projects last year to build healthy and vibrant communities in Ontario.
Media Contact:
Jim Parrott, President of Pickleball Association of Ontario 905-447-3163
president@pickleballontario.org