NSPC has contracted with St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School for use of their gym for pickleball. This is only possible because NSPC member Linda Morrison is a teacher at STA and must be present for each session.
Play is on 6 badminton courts. While the space between the courts is fair, the space behind the baseline is less than 3 feet.
Times: Saturdays 9 to 11-am and Sundays 3 – 5-pm
Level: Alternating Beginners/intermediates and Intermediates/Advanced play
Location: St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School Gym, Keith Road, NV, enter by the Gymnasium door
Register: Just like our round robins, registration links are on the Members’ Area of the NSPC website
Registration Opens: Thursdays 7-pm for the following Saturday and Sunday.
Cost: $3 plus fees/tax, Sorry, no refunds and no substitutions.
Please enter by the Keith Road Gym door entrance where names will be checked.
DO NOT CALL the school office please. Direct all inquiries to nspc.bc@gmail.com
This Code of Conduct was adopted by the Official Board of the NSPC in October 2023. It will be presented at the 2024 AGM for ratification by the membership. Comments and proposed amendments will be considered if received at nspc.bc@gmail.com prior to January 15, 2024.
NSPC Directors will investigate and may remove or suspend any person that fails to comply with the code of conduct.
We act within our core values of Fair Play, Integrity and Respect.
INTEGRITY
We follow the Official Rules of Pickleball as defined in the rules published by Pickleball Canada. In addition, we adhere to local club play rules and etiquette governing court time, court use and event bookings.
We obey Federal, Provincial, and Municipal laws, particularly when participating at a NSPC sanctioned event, hosted play, tournaments, lessons, etc.
FAIR PLAY
Pickleball on the North Shore has a reputation for being very inclusive and welcoming. We uphold that reputation by “playing fair”. This means being good hosts, good opponents and good spectators, and to welcome players of all skill levels and to give everyone a fair chance to play.
RESPECT
North Shore Pickleball welcomes players of all ages, sexual orientation, gender, ethnic and religious backgrounds. Everyone will be able to participate in an environment free from bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination as defined in the ViaSport BC Universal Code of Conduct.
North Vancouver sisters among Canada’s first pickleball pros
Both were top-10 draft picks in the Canadian National Pickleball League, and have signed with the U.S.-based PPA along with Eugenie Bouchard
Propelled by the sport’s recent surge in pop-pop-popularity, Canada launched its premier professional pickleball league earlier this year. Among the nation’s top players are a sibling pair from North Vancouver.
Angie and Alex Walker were the No. 1 and 8 picks, respectively, in the Canadian National Pickleball League’s first-ever draft. The sisters have also recently signed to the U.S.-based Professional Pickleball Association, where they will join Quebecois tennis sensation Eugenie Bouchard, who just signed last week.
In its first season, the CNPL picked up 32 paddle pros, ranging in age from 18 to 54. The players were drafted onto eight teams, with two women and two men per team.
All the players travel to events where each team plays all the others. In each match, two teams will play against each other in mixed and gender matches. If one team wins three out of four games, they take the match. In the case of a tie, the teams face off in a singles “stream breaker,” where each in the four-player lineup rotates every three points up to 15. At a 14-to-14 tie, it goes to sudden death.
“It’s super exciting for the fans to watch when it comes down to those stream breakers,” Alex says. Her team, the Rocky Mountain Rush, topped the CNPL regular season with a recent three-game winning streak at the Edmonton Expo Centre, Sept. 2-3. As a result, the Rush have qualified for the playoffs in Mississauga, Ont. on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
The 22-year-old Carson Graham alum says she loves the team events. “You’re out there with your team, they’re sitting right on the sidelines cheering you on while you’re playing,” Alex said. “Every single point matters because we play with rally scoring.”
Her least favourite part? Playing against her sister.
“We’re each other’s best friend and No. 1 supporter, so playing against each other has been a bit tough because we both want the other ones to do well,” Alex said. “When the goal is to try to beat them, it’s a bit weird.”
The pair grew up playing tennis together and would both go on to play with scholarships at U.S. schools – Alex at University of Montana and Angie at Idaho State University.
During the pandemic, their mom introduced them to pickleball. At first it was just for fun. But then Angie decided to take it more seriously, and went full-time this January, playing tournaments weekly and getting her name out there south of the border.
“Ever since then, she’s been pushing me to go on this journey along with her,” Alex said. “So far, it’s been awesome.”
On Monday, the sisters packed their paddles and drove from North Vancouver to Scottsdale, Ariz., where they will live while playing for the Professional Pickleball Association – this time, from the same side of the court.
While the two say they love playing in the Canadian league, they’re excited to play on the same team.
“Our relationship has always been so special to me,” Alex said. “We grew up playing tennis together. We play basketball together. We’re now going to live together in Scottsdale. It’s really special to have that bond with not only your sister but your pickleball doubles partner.”
The sisters have both signed three-year contracts with the PPA, committing to 20 tournaments a year for three years.
“If you told me several months ago that my life was going to change this much in this short amount of time, I would have laughed,” Alex said. “I’m thrilled to be able to do what I love, now full time. It’s my passion.”
Tennis will always have a special place in their hearts. It’s what they grew up on, and it’s how their parents met – both playing on the team at Texas Tech University. But pickleball is a faster game.
“Coming from tennis, you step out on the court, and you could be out there for four hours in one match,” Alex said. “But pickleball, the matches are a lot more compact, you focus intensely for that amount of time, the points are quicker, the time between points is quicker.”
Alex said she was also drawn in by the community aspect of the sport, how close-knit, social and friendly everybody is.
For these reasons and others, pickleball has become a pretty big dill. Over the past three years, participation in the sport has more than doubled in the U.S., making it the fastest-growing sport there, according to a 2023 report from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.
That enthusiasm had led to the creation of professional associations like the CNPL, PPA and Major League Pickleball, where West Vancouver’s Todd Fought plays for the Hard Eights. And big athletic brands are now sponsoring pickleball athletes – Angie Walker has a contract with Head.
But not everyone is a fan. Pickleball’s bite into court space, and its distinctive “pop” sound, have made the sport a salty subject for detractors in communities here on the North Shore, and across North America.
To the haters, Alex gives the same advice you would to someone whose face sours at an unwanted vegetable.
“Give it a try,” she said. “You might not hate it as much as you think. Maybe you’ll end up really liking it.”
In June 2023 the PBC released A Guide to Pickleball Court Planning and Operation.
Here’s my Summary of Recommendations
Significant investments are required to build new courts, and it is a travesty when they are constructed so that neighbours campaign to have the courts removed or users complain about poor and/or unsafe design for years afterwards.
The Factors in Good Court Design
1.Located with attention to noise and traffic impacts on neighbourhoods
The most important as courts that are a significant irritant to neighbourhoods have and will be removed and the investment lost. Setback distance recommendations in this report have been made after acoustical analysis. See p. 15.
2.Ample playing envelope
Players will step out of the 20’ by 44’ court and into the envelopes to retrieve balls that bounce on the line, without looking for bodies, balls or fences occupying the same shared space.
The USAPA guidelines stipulates a 5-foot minimum for the sidelines while new experience suggests 7’ or 8’ to a fence are preferred. Where no fence separates side-by-side courts the separation should be 10’. From the baseline to a fence should be a minimum of 8’.
The USAPA has envelope suggestions for adaptive/wheelchair pickleball.
3.North-South orientation
Pickleball is played at all times of the day and often through the winter months. This means a low sun for many hours a day will blind players facing east or west. This is in addition to when retrieving a lobbed ball. In all, east-west orientation is to be avoided.
4.Perimeter Court Fencing with Multiple Gates
Gates facilitate access to courts without disturbing other games.
5.Fencing Between Courts
Increases safety, preventing players from running into each other or stepping on a ball, as well as reducing ball interference significantly improving the game experience.
6.Washrooms and Potable water
7.Ample Parking
8.Multi-court hub
6 to 8 courts (i.e. the footprint of two tennis courts) is a suggested minimum for a multi-court location especially as players are often driving some distance.
9.Signage
Play one game to eleven and surrender the court when people are waiting. A paddle holder or whiteboard facilitates a culture of sharing of a scarce resource and reduces anxiety and competition between waiting players increasing court satisfaction.
While all of these design factors can be compromised, each compromise will, in some way, negatively affect the playability and/or safety for the lifetime of the courts.
How compromises to these standards are made should be done in consultation with local players/clubs.
