Upcoming Events
- May 19, 2012Okanagan Tournament
- May 20, 2012Okanagan Tournament - IFP rules (continued)
- July 7, 2012Abbotsford Tournament
- July 8, 2012Abbotsford Tournament
GENERAL Information
BC Pickleball
A Sport For All / Un Jeu Pour Tous
GPS – navigating the tournament landscape…
A GPS FOR TOURNEYS IN CANADA
? International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) ? ? United States of America Pickleball Association (USAPA) ? Pickleball Canada ? Only allow specifically designed paddles
PICKLEBALL — Look for ……….World Pickleball Federation (WPF) and/or BC Pickleball Association
When BC’ers and indeed Canucks look at the many Pickleball websites and blogs for tournaments across the land, they see three formats to let you evaluate whether they, in principle, meet the standards of www.bcpickleball.com. Whether you play in one or the other tournament should be determined by some objective criteria.
The criteria for selection are :
- BC Pickleball Association tournaments are open, meaning they welcome all players and all paddles to their tournaments….. indeed their members pledge to welcome all players with respect, inclusion of all, and acceptance of all and their paddles in our social, recreational, and publicly funded centers. These are not private clubs and attitudes must be different.Last year 13 of these open tourneys were held in BC in a non-sanctioned manner with three more held according to other guidelines and rules.
- The next have IFP (International Federation of Pickleball) rules, which is couched language for the USAPA. It has no board, no phone number or contact info except to show the USAPA rules and the deflection test on paddles -where a 6lb and a 12lb weight is fired at a vise with different paddles on it.
That the harder (closest to diamonds) graphite ones score better (vibrate less) as they are rigid – was known before the test was introduced following the launch of a softer, quieter paddle which of course vibrates more. If each paddle test were done with a 1 OZ ball – which is whatPickleballers use every day - all would pass the test and there would be no difference. Meaning, in fact, that all paddles are safe and should be allowed to be used in all play. It should be the player’s choice. To make matters more interesting, the owner of IFP is Mr. Booth, President of the USAPA who does these tests in his basement home.
So when IFP rules are indicated, they do not include the welcoming BC Pickleball rules. They mean the American rules, discriminating against several hundred of our Canadian players who use a Canadian innovated softer paddle. The statement in these tournaments is that: “no non-conforming paddles will be allowed.” In fact they will be confiscated. Also some tournaments have had swatstika No/no emblems with the name apike after it. Recently, the USAPA rules have added a new twist – that bright paddles are disallowed. Who will make that judgement on your paddle? – see ruling on the rigid Canadian paddle called “edgeless” with a legal 0.2 rating on the deflection test. Hence, it is clear the vested system of criteria and rules are bogus and are hoodwinking players as well as producing confusion and conflict for players and world manufacturers. - The third type of tournament is a PB Canada tourney which uses IFP rules and actually states that this is a USAPA generated tournament. All three organizations are joined in effort, intent, and rules – hence they are one. IFP = Pickleball Canada = USAPA.
PB Canada – the original association had the option to join the World Pickleball Federation (WPF) in Febuary, 2011 but declined and joined the larger association in the USA called the USAPA, even though their own website had proclaimed for all to see for two years, that PB Canada stood for “all players and paddles are welcome in all play and all tournaments in our great country.”
Further, prior to the introduction of a quieter (softer) paddle the USAPA rules read “ paddles may be made of any material as long as they meet LXW standards and are smooth without imparting extra spin.”
Having failed to prove spin, this organization then went on to claim speed, changing the nature of the game, too bright , wrong cores – cork and resin – causing boomerang effect, suggesting that all but the existing products are unsafe.
That has now been disproved in all major centers who have correctly allowed the use of all paddles. There have been no injuries. - The second international association, the World Pickleball Federation (WPF) have the same rules about paddles as the BC rules which are based on empiric evidence and engineering data.
So, as we move to 50 tournaments in BC and many more across Canada and Nationals as well as Provincial tournaments and Senior games as well as Summer and Canada Games – which will you choose?
I hope this GPS directional through the tourney pathways will help you to find your way.
2012 – Scheduled Tournaments :
- South Surrey - The second annual National (“ the Canada Cup”) BC rules scheduled for May 19-20 – cancelled.
- Okanagan May 19-20 – IFP rules
- Abbotsford ARC Center tourney July 7-8 – IFP rules
- Burnaby - The senior games – IFP rules Aug – 2012 (sign up is now….. The prior three Senior games were run on BC Pickleball Association rules
- The 6th annual South Surrey Rec Center Tournament (Sept. – TBA) BC Pickleball rules.
- Valentine’s social tourneys, multiple venues Tuesday Feb 14th BC Pickleball rules.
Yours in sport and health,
Chuck Lefaive
Posted in EDITORIAL
GPS Again — Marketing Pickleball Equipment in Canada – GREAT POTENTIAL
Since there are only five retail outlets that we know of in Canada, it may seem that we are jumping the gun with this article. Let me assure you, we are not !
The average retirement enclave in the South USA buys/sells between 20M and 200M dollars in paddles alone per annum. Balls, portable sets, clothing, jewelry, hats, gloves, jackets, etc. another 14M per year. There are hundreds of these centers in the US south. In addition sales proliferate to some 50 other countries who have started pickelball.
In Canada, we have about 250 locations, most in public Rec centers who in principle do not sell goods but leave these sales to associations or retail outlets. In some, they do not allow sales outright of any materials in their centers. This opens a great opportunity for retail merchants to fill in the void.
Why has this not occurred?
In many of our programs, as in the USA, many of the program “Heads” (Directors, Ambassadors, etc.) travel south to the warmer climates in the Winter. Paddles and balls they have brought back themselves are sold to members for profit or not, (profits they may deserve for their efforts ) – or not for profit, which inhibits any retailer from entering the pickleball world. This is the case in the USA where there is nary a chain or sports store that carries pickleball stuff.
Hence the legend of the sport “with no visibility” is maintained and the manufacturers – mostly in Seattle — maintain a vise-like hold on the market. Why would any retailer bother, as there would be no profit to make it worthwhile. An exception is a chain supplied by the largest manufacturer who doesn’t need the business anyway as the largest manufacturer has most of it already. He supplies a small chain with wood paddles only.
So what can be done to fill this gap?
A couple of suggestions, competetive marketing of these products should be based on something that seems to be working currently in Canada.
Local Stores or a Chain of Stores:
More businesses will start their own displays.....
Courtside Sports in Victoria (http://www.courtsidesports.com/store/department/45/Pickleball/) has been doing this for several years with success in many markets. They provide displays that are crisp, colourful and current. The prices are affordable but not low end. The return goods policy is in place and service for replacement is quick. Quality control is maintained. Internet facing is large.
In Calgary there is another store… see link….
Brent says, ”our pickleball wall is actually 64
square feet….we also have 64 square feet of floor space PLUS space on our book shelves and in our display cabinets. In addition to racquets and balls, we also sell pickleball footwear and
apparel. At this point, only a small sample of our inventory is out on the floor.
The rest will be going out over the next two weeks.”
My wish would be that many other retailers get into the market and many of our PB leaders continue to lead — but get out of the paddle and ball business. In our sport where rules are often the purvue of the local person, it is a conflict of interest to be promoting one person’s (one manufacturer’s) products over another. When we teach our 177 instructors they are taught to teach ALL paddles. Each player has the right to choose what is best for them within the limits of safety (proven).
Internet Service:
Another layer of PB supplies is internet stores. These proliferate in Canada and the USA, often spawned by their local programs. The longest standing of these is www.okpicleball.ca in Canada who now have a retail store of their own. In the end we hope that Canadians will check out the Canadian sites first as, with any “buy Canadian” program, the profit will stay in Canada, and likely, these retailers can (and do) help with tournaments to grow the sport with tips about new places to play emerging and retail news.
I hope this brief GPS on retailing in Canada has proven helpful. If you know of any other stores, please let us know. I see that Safeway now carries ping pong balls . In our area, pickleball is 20X bigger than table tennis. Go figure eh!
Yours in sport and health
Chuck Lefaive
Clefaive@shaw.ca
Posted in EDITORIAL
Coach MO on You-Tube
Coach, thank-you so much for this instruction.
How many of us can’t seem to figure out THE KITCHEN LINE…… thanks to you, this makes it so much easier.
Click on Coach MO ——> to go to his free You-Tube video about the Kitchen Line
Posted in Pickleball related information
Rossland
Hi all,
Here is some info for Pickleball in Rossland.
The Recreation Department has purchased PickleBall equipment and will be scheduling the sport into one of our available gymnasiums within the next few weeks. PickleBall is North America’s fastest growing sport and is particularly popular amongst Seniors! The sport is a combination of tennis and ping pong with a much smaller playing and travelling area. If you’re interested in playing PickleBall, please contact our office to be put on the interest list. Once we have a time, place and Coordinator organized, we’ll contact everyone who has expressed an interest.
Best Regards
Carrie
Posted in Pickleball related information
Bill Caine
Date: Feb 8th, 2012
Dear Member,
It is with sadness that I announce, this week we have lost one of our cherished members, Bill Caine.
He is survived by his wife Sheila, daughter Catherine and son Anthony. He collapsed in his car in his driveway after pickleball on Monday the 6th of February, 2012.
Bill was a PE instructor in the school system. He was a provincial level soccer referee. He brought mountain biking to the seniors games , and, was our first Tournament Director at South Surrey as well as on the non-senior advisory council for South Surrey. He was a devout religious, family man, attending church every morning of the week. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus who do many good works.
A church mass will be held in his honour at Good Shepherd Church on Tuesday Feb 14 , at 1:30 pm – Good Shepherd Church 2250 – 150th St. White Rock, BC, next to Star of the Sea School.
Yours in Sport and Health,
Chuck Lefaive
Founding director
www.bcpickleball.com
ph – 604-536-9602
Posted in APPRECIATION & Member News
Pickleball – Rossland, BC
Pickle ball and teen hip hop should take care of those mid-winter blues….
Rossland Telegraph
The Recreation Department has purchased PickleBall equipment and will be
scheduling the sport into one of our available gymnasiums within the next
few weeks. PickleBall is North America’s fastest growing sport and is
particularly popular amongst …
<http://rosslandtelegraph.com/
See all stories on this topic:
<http://news.google.ca/news/st
From Rossland Telegraph
Posted in Pickleball related information
Palm Springs area
PALM SPRINGS PICKELBALL – CALIFORNIA – By Bob Shery – Quebec member of Canada pickleball federation.
1. Cahuilla Hills park near Palm Desert.
Four pickleball courts and one dual purpose tennis/pickleball court.
Directions – from the intersection of Hwy @ 111 and Monterey, travel south on Monterey (which becomes Hwy 74) about 1/3 mi. To Pitahaya St. Turn right on Pitahaya (there is a sign for Cahuilla Hills and the Baptist church) and go to the end of the street (over the canal bridge) which brings you to a parking lot. Baptist church on the left, pickleball courts on the right. Chris Thomas, the ambassador for the USAPA is in this area, plays there. Seems to be a very tight knit group of regulars there who are better players and are not particularly inviting to newcomers, especially to beginner players. No effort is made by Chris or others to introduce and teach the game to beginners on the dual purpose court (which is a practice court). We were told by locals; that many of the average and beginner players prefer to go to the Catalina RV spa which invites players of all levels. I have heard the same reports from others of A level play who have gone here to enjoy their sport. I believe this to be a public facility where all should be welcome and received with respect.
2. Catalina spa and RV Resort,
Directions – Located in Desert Hot Springs, 18800 Corkhill Road. From Palm Springs, go North on Gene Autry and Palm Dr. to Dillon Road. Turn right on Dillon Rd and drive about 3mi to Corkill. Turn right on Corkill. Catalina is about a mile down the road. There are 8 pickleball courts. Visitors are welcome but there is a cost ($3.00 per play per day.) First trip is free and you can buy a book of 10 tickets for $50.00. We did not visit the site but it looks good on the website photos (www.skyvalleyresorts.com). Word of warning – we were told more than once that Desert Hot Springs is a high crime area especially at night but also in the daytime.
3. Sky Valley
Directions — Located on Dillon Rd about 5 mi. East of the Catalina Resort. It can also be accessed by taking the Thousand Palms road north to Dillon road and then east for about 4 mi. We visited the site. It is very nice, 4 pickleball courts, visitors are invited to play and beginners to learn. I don`t believe there is a cost for visitors. More competitive players play in the morning, others in the afternoon. The Pickleball co-ordinator is Doug Cassidy. (He is from Quebec and knows Marcel and Louise Lemieux (President ) well. Photos can be seen on (www.skyvalleyresorts.com). We did not meet Doug when we were there but my wife Carol spoke to him by phone later and he seemed a very nice person.
Note: both Catalina and Sky Valley are located smack on top of the San Andreas Faultline which we were told is 10 months pregnant regarding earthquake potential. Of course the same is true of all of California.
4. Desert Aire RV resort.
Located in Indio on 49th between Madison and Monroe Sts. A small resort but very nice. Two pickleball courts. One for more experienced players, one for others. Not for visitors.
This section of our website will be expanded as we hear of more places and get more evaluations from our players.
It will include offerings from other destination points as well such as Arizona, Texas and Florida as well as other Southern states. Should you wish your center listed, just e mail Kathy Thomas (ikathythomas@gmail.com), our Communications Director with the pertinent information, of interest to Canadians. This would include cruises. See www.racquetnetwork.com prior issue on `setting up pickleball instruction for your cruise ` – paddle ball is already there……..
Can you get a free cruise ….. with quals you can get a certificate and course from www.bcpickleball.com free.
Posted in Pickleball related information
History of Pickleball in Canada – by Chuck LeFaive
Date: January 24 , 2012
THE HISTORY OF PICKLEBALL IN CANADA
AS RELATED BY CHUCK LEFAIVE
Less than a dozen people started pickleball in Canada. They were spread out from Toronto to Vancouver and, as you might expect, with the pickleball explosion in the US, they were mainly snowbirds. When they returned to Canada, they started small programs whose attendance fluctuated with their arrival and departure.
Among these early pioneers were the following:
- SJ Lehmann — from Bowser, BC – Silver and Gold medalist at the 2011 US Nationals
- Carol Haworth – from Chilliwack, BC – Bronze medalist at the 2011 US Nationals
- Ed Brennan – from N Delta, BC — former USAPA ambassador who now runs a church program
- Tony Sequeira – from Toronto, Ont – who with his brother started a couple of programs over ten years ago
- Bill Franzman – from Kelowna, BC — who carried on the work of SJ Lehmann in the Okanagan as well as initiated www.okpickleball.ca, the first Canadian supply website
- Sharon Sinclair (Joey) – from Victoria, BC – who operated a small program in the summer
- Bev Butt and Gail Stakiw – from Regina, Sask — who carved out a piece of Regina
- Ken Biberdorf – from Manitoba – who pioneered Pickleball in Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Earl Hill — former resident of Canada, and a USAPA board member – who travelled between Regina, the Okanagan, and the West Coast from North Vancouver to Seattle encouraging the sport in each location on the way.
My involvement in this sport began in March, 2005 in Canyon Lake, Texas. The next three years were taken up with appointments first as Ambassador, Ambassador-at-large, and Regional Ambassador for the USAPA, replacing Bill Franzman as he wished to retire. Each appointment was for 1 year.
Then some players asked for the creation of an independent Canadian National Pickleball Association. This was initiated by myself on April 25th 2009 at the Spring Okanagan tournament. By this time, I had already recruited Wayne Roswell from Port Perry, Ontario, Marcel Lemieux from Mirabel, Quebec, Bill Furse from Collingwood, Ontario and Bev Butt from Regina, Saskatchewan as founding members to assist in starting this sport in Canada. This gave this new association Pickleball Canada a national flavor. The website was named www.pickleballCanada.org. I assumed the title Founding Director. At that time, as Bill Franzman wished to retire, I purchased www.okpickleball.ca and its stock from him to ensure that a Canadian internet supply chain would be maintained in Canada.
During the first year programs proliferated all across Canada and especially in BC. The website was financed from donations of teaching stipends earned by senior volunteers helping to teach students and recreation center staff and courses. Registration fees also helped.
Before the first anniversary of the birth of Pickleball Canada, a search for volunteer directors took place, to form a board which would appoint its own executive. It achieved that in May 2010 .
They were:
Bill Canning, Alta – President
Marcel Lemieux, Que. –Vice-President
Christine Perras, BC — Treasurer,
and Garth Merkley, Man – Secretary.
For its first year and seven months of operation, the Pickleball Canada Mission Statement under “rules“ stated all players and all paddles are welcome in all play and all tournaments in Canada.” This statement was based on empiric data that pointed to all paddles being safe, (in spite of the deflection test data). Prior to Feb 2009, all equipment used in Canada was purchased through US sources.
Brent Johner had offered to host the first Canadian National Tournament in Calgary in July, 2011 and his offer was accepted by the sitting board.
In Feb., 2011, at its first meeting in Surprise, Arizona, this board reversed the mission statement above by adopting the USAPA / IFP rules thereby denying Canadian and Calgarian players the use of the paddle they had purchased in good faith in Canada’s first National Tournament. This Tournament took place under the auspices of Alberta Pickleball of which the National Host was the President.
Subsequently, the Canadian Pickleball Federation, www.Canadapickelball.ca was formed and officially registered federally.
1) PB Alberta,
2) the BC Pickleball Assocation, www.bcpickleball.com,
3) PB Quebec, www.pickleballQuebec.ca,
4) and the World Pickleball Federation www.worldpickleballfederation.com are affiliated with this group.
These organizations have all accepted the badminton court as legal, support the innovation of third generation paddles, and recommend proper court shoes and protective eye wear.
Currently, to join BC Pickleball, www.bcpickleball.com there is no fee. BC Pickleball Association, like the Canadian Pickleball Federation, also enshrines the right of players to choose and use the paddle that suits them best. BC now has 107 programs of which ONLY ONE was started by Pickleball Canada.org members.
Multiple programs abound in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.
I hope this helps put some things in perspective as many have asked for clarity on this topic. Many new players would like a GPS to navigate the PICKLE LANDSCAPE.
The last thing that I would want is to have this sport divided along commercial lines designed to protect domestic markets. We welcome all graphite paddles manufactured in Seattle, do we not?
Yours in Sport and Health,
Chuck Lefaive, Founding Director
BC Pickleball Association
www.bcpickleball.com
ph – 604-536-9602
Posted in Pickleball related information
IF YOU FALL – playing Pickleball
FALLING IN PICKLEBALL
In any sporting event there is a risk of falls.
Falls can occur due to being jostled, being tripped, slipping on a slick surface, being off balance, inner ear problems, unguarded movements and a whole host of other reasons. Whatever the cause, falls can create devastating injuries and are not to be taken lightly, even if they seem minor.
In a sport like Pickleball, there are several potential injuries due to falls to be aware of. Because Pickleball is a stop/start activity where we bend and reach a lot for shots, the most obvious reason for falls would be because the player is off balance. It is very important to maintain your centre of gravity as you move around the court so that you stay upright and don’t topple over. Watch the top tennis players like Federer and Nadal to see how they move their feet. They try to stay balanced so they can change directions easily and stay upright for the whole game. Don’t forget that they are young and in top physical condition and train more in a week than a lot of us do in a year!
Another problem in racquet sports is when the player is backing up to hit an overhead shot. As they reach backward, the centre of gravity shifts behind their bodies and then disaster occurs! They will fall hard to the floor and often with a twisting motion as they desperately try to regain balance. This is a wonderful way to spend the rest of the season and part of the next one with torn ankle ligaments, or a torn meniscus or ligament in the knee. Having said that, it’s a great way to meet girls who will lavish attention on you as you hobble around looking helpless while milking the injury for all it’s worth!
Many Pickleball players perspire a lot when they play. Now that you are disgusted, this can create a real problem! The perspiration when combined with a polished wood floor creates the perfect slickness to make the player slip and slide. Worse yet, when the player goes down, it’s often right onto the pool of perspiration – YUCK!
It’s pretty easy in Pickleball, (due to the small size of the court and the fact you have a partner who is an animal and going for every shot), to occasionally get jostled. This may knock you down if you are a bit off balance at the time. It also may end a wonderful doubles team from winning the World Championships – let the other team get into this situation – not you!
In my experience, most of the players I’ve seen at Pickleball are not perfectly healthy 25 year olds, they just think they are! As we age, we have to admit that changes occur in our physiology which can be troublesome. One of the biggest topics in the past few years in physical medicine is the study of the balance mechanism of the body. The body uses inner ear information as well as muscle, tendon, ligament and disc information to coordinate movement. As we age, it has been shown that there is a gradual diminishment of these feedback and feedforward pathways which cause errors in how we choose muscles to keep us balanced. One simple test for this is to stand on one leg with your eyes open for 30 seconds. If you can’t do that easily, you have a higher probability of falling in normal activities, more so in a sport like Pickleball.
Falls can create lots of different types of injuries:
- head injury (including concussion, fractures, dental injury, visual problems etc.)
- spinal injury (including fractures of vertebrae and ribs, disc bulges, torn ligaments, joint injury, muscle strains etc.)
- shoulder injury (fractured clavicles, muscle, tendon, ligament capsular and bursal tears etc.)
- wrist and hand injury (fractured bones, ligament tears and sprains, etc.)
- hip injury (joint injury, muscle strain, bursitis etc.)
- knee injury (ligament tears, meniscal injuries, sprain/strain, fractured patellas, etc.)
- ankle injury (ligament tears, bone fractures, tendonitis, plantar fascitis, etc.)
OK – now I’m scaring myself!! The problem is, after 25 years as a chiropractor, I’ve seen all of these injuries affecting patients. Some of them can be healed easily but some create problems that last a long, long time.
So, the question is – “How can I avoid these injuries?”. The answer is easy – watch TV!! Seriously, your chances of these injuries is pretty small if you pay attention to some simple advice:
- clean the court to wipe up perspiration
- wear shoes with good grip
- make a deal with your partner that winning the point is not as important as avoiding a wrist or ankle fracture
- take some lessons with a pro to learn how to move economically on the court while maintaining balance
- don’t backpedal for overhead shots (my cousin is at home right now recovering from an ankle fracture from doing exactly this)
- do balance exercises to try to keep your brain in contact with your body so it chooses the correct muscles
- get a qualified health practitioner to check you out before you take Pickleball up, and at least yearly to make sure you are healthy to play
- stay fit
- learn to fall without injury, (do a roll, protect your head, don’t be a star and try to stop a fall so everyone cheers – fall but fall well)
- teach good habits to the others that you play with
If you do have a fall, don’t do what everyone else does – jump up like nothing happened and limp when you are out of sight! Outside my chiropractic office in downtown Vancouver I’ve seen probably a dozen people fall over the years and do just this – they jump up and pretend they are not hurt. This is because they are embarrassed that they fell. DON”T BE EMBARRASSED! Let others help you. Sit for a minute and do a survey of how you really are. If you need to go see a medical doctor or a chiropractor, get in there and get help early – it’s easier for us to fix something up earlier than later. AND, if we tell you to do something or not do something, please listen to us, we know what we are talking about! (The most common good advice following a sport injury is R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation)).
Finally, have a lot of fun! I know it sounds like the impossible dream after you think of all the problems that can occur from falling, but the risk of falling is low, and the rewards of playing are great. Pickleball is a heck of a lot of fun, you will meet wonderful people and get some great exercise while having a good time. Just be aware and decrease the risks.
Dr. David Mallory
Chiropractor and Pickleball player!
Posted in Pickleball related information
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