HISTORY BY YEAR
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2016 | President – Beverley Walker
Year in Review
Clubs: 1
Members: 142
Provincials Participants: 145
Accredited and Certified Referees: 0
NCCP Certified Coaches: NA
The first record of pickleball being played at a club in Alberta is 2008. Ed Nueman had returned from playing in Arizona and brought the game to the Edmonton Central Lions Club (see Around the Post issue December 2019). For the next seven years the game continually gained in popularity across the province with Red Deer starting a club in 2010, and Calgary in 2012.
In the fall of 2015 Pickleball Canada (PCO) approached Beverley Walker and a group of Alberta pickleball players to look at the possibility of establishing a Provincial and Territorial Sports Organization (PTSO) for the sport of pickleball. It was then part of PCO’s strategic planning and goal to become the National Sports Organization (NSO) for pickleball. One of the necessary requirements was for a PTSO to be formed in Alberta, along with other provinces and territories in Canada, and to affiliate with PCO.
That fall a dedicated team was put together to do a feasibility study including:
- Chair: Beverley Walker (President of Calgary Pickleball Club)
- Brenda Feser (Treasurer of Red Deer Pickleball Club)
- Dave Hesje (Camrose Pickleball Club)
- Ilsa Wong (Lethbridge Pickleball Club).
During the winter of 2015 this team consulted with all known pickleball clubs and groups in Alberta and found that there was support for the formation of a PTSO.
In April 2016, an application was made to the government of Alberta for Pickleball Alberta to become a non-profit society. This application was signed by individuals from five different communities in Alberta:
In June of 2016, Kevin Doucet organized a major tournament in Calgary with many of the players from across the province competing. A group scheduled a meeting that was to be held at the completion of the tournament to meet regarding the new society. There was a fortuitous rainstorm that allowed the first “AGM” to be held during the delay with a whopping 60 people showing up. To a packed house, a brave group of individuals stepped up and were elected, becoming the inaugural Board of Directors for Pickleball Alberta.
2016 Charter Board of Directors
- Beverley Walker President – Calgary (2016)
- Doug Fogg Vice President – Edmonton (2016)
- George Frohlich Secretary – Calgary (2016)
- Brenda Feser Membership Director – Red Deer (2016)
- Brian Popowitch Communication Director – High River (2016)
- Mike Cooper Director at Large – Edmonton (2016)
- Trevor Burndred Treasurer – High River (2016)
The new Board then met in Red Deer on July 28, 2016, to undertake some initial planning. Some of the early issues that were identified included:
- How Pickleball Alberta and Pickleball Canada would work together.
- How Pickleball Alberta would work with clubs and communities to develop the sport of pickleball in Alberta.
- Proposed provincial zone organization and governance.
- Membership year, membership fee, and membership application process.
The following clubs provided funding to Pickleball Alberta to help with initial start-up expenses: Calgary Pickleball Club, Edmonton Pickleball Club, and Parkland Pickleheads Club.
The first AGM for Pickleball Alberta was held on October 6, 2016, at the Pines Community Hall in Red Deer. Key orders of business included: mission, vision, values for Pickleball Alberta, Proposed zone voting structure, provincial membership fee of $5 per member, and discussion on how to phase in the new membership structure.
Red Deer was the first club to officially affiliate with Pickleball Alberta and Pickleball Canada, paying a Pickleball Alberta the membership fee of $5.00 for its 142 members in September 2016.
Parkland Pickleheads hosted the first Pickleball Alberta Provincial Championship in parallel with their September Smash tournament, with 145 entrants contributing $500 of the proceeds to Pickleball Alberta.
It is important to remember our past and celebrate our history. This is one of the objectives of the Legacy Project.
Pickleball Alberta has affiliated clubs across Alberta of every size, each sharing the same high values of integrity and sportsmanship.
The contributions to the growth of the game and service to their club members are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2016, the Red Deer Pickleball Club became the first Affiliated Club of Pickleball Alberta.
Pickleball Alberta has affiliated clubs across Alberta of every size, each sharing the same high values of integrity and sportsmanship.
The contributions to the growth of the game and service to their club members are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2016, the Red Deer Pickleball Club became the first Affiliated Club of Pickleball Alberta.
Hall of Fame started in 2024
Inaugural Provincial Championships – September 9-11, 2016
Host: Parkland Pickleheads
The 2016 Provincials were the inaugural Provincials hosted by Parkland Pickleheads. It was an open championship with players coming from across Alberta, Saskatchewan, BC, and the Northern US.
There were 145 registered players that played in Spruce Grove at Henry Singer Park with its 12 courts. The Tournament Director for the 2016 Provincials was Mike Cooper.
Of the Year Awards started in 2021
Power Rankings started in 2019
NCCP Coaches started in 2022
Meet the referees of each level who have helped grow the sport in Alberta and are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2017, the first two referees from the Red Deer Pickleball Club received their Certification (Level 3) through the United States Pickleball Association.
Level 1: 0 Level 2: 0 Level 3: 0 Total: 0
2017 | President – Beverley Walker
Year in Review
Clubs: 14
Members: 2,100
Provincials Participants: 259
Accredited and Certified Referees: 2
NCCP Certified Coaches: NA
2017 Board of Directors
- Beverley Walker President – Calgary (2016)
- Doug Fogg Vice President – Edmonton (2016)
- George Frohlich Secretary – Calgary (2016)
- Brenda Feser Membership Director – Red Deer (2016)
- Brian Popowitch Communication Director – High River (2016)
- Mike Cooper Director at Large – Edmonton (2016)
- Trevor Burndred Treasurer – High River (2016)
The name for the registered Society was finalized as Pickleball Alberta Organization, with Pickleball Alberta as a registered trade name. This was officially approved after considerable communications by George Frohlich with Service Alberta.
The first Pickleball Alberta logo was agreed to in February, with Chris Wharton from the Calgary Pickleball Club creating it.
The first Pickleball Alberta website was launched at www.pickleballalberta.org in September developed by Good Company from Calgary. The Pickleball Alberta not-for-profit Google Suite was set up at no cost and provided a powerful business suite and tools for the operation of the association.
Pickleball Alberta set the annual renewal process for clubs, with the membership year running from May 1 to April 30. Clarity was required on how Pickleball Alberta and the Pickleball Canada membership renewal would be integrated.
Pickleball Canada communicated the terms of the Commercial General Liability insurance provided to clubs who were affiliated along with the Player Accident insurance provided to individuals. This included the use of liability wavier forms and wording. Pickleball Canada communicated the process for a club to obtain Directors and Officers insurance through the group program.
The bank account was set up with Servus who recently added the capability to send and receive Interac transfers.
Base line operating costs for Pickleball Alberta were projected to be approximately $2,000 per year.
It was reported that Pickleball Canada had just over 7,000 individuals and that the plan was for attaining Sport Canada funding status in 2020.
AGM
The AGM was held in-person on September 24 at The Pines Community Hall in Red Deer.
Beverley Walker, Doug Fogg, Brenda Feser and Mike Cooper were continuing for 2018. The Secretary, Treasurer, and Communications Director positions were open.
The 2018 Elected Board:
- Beverley Walker President – Calgary (2016)
- Doug Fogg Vice President – Edmonton (2016)
- Bob Philip Secretary – Red Deer (2017)
- Terri Hampson Treasurer – Red Deer (2018)
- Brenda Feser Membership Director – Red Deer (2016)
- Norm Kowalchuk Director at Large -St. Paul (2018)
- Mike Cooper Director at Large – Edmonton (2016)
The Secretary and Communications Director positions were left open and communicated to clubs and posted on the website.
Items discussed moving forward for 2018 were:
- A school-based education guidelines for pickleball so clubs can approach schools to develop programs for students.
- Look at establishing a ‘youth’ category in the provincial tournament.
- Safety best practices for tournaments.
- Share how to get funding from government grants and how to obtain club sponsorships for events.
- Participate in Pickleball Canada player development / coaching (NCCP) development.
- Work towards PTSO requirements which includes developing a strategic plan.
Pickleball Alberta has affiliated clubs across Alberta of every size, each sharing the same high values of integrity and sportsmanship. The contributions to the growth of the game and service to their club members are recognized through the Legacy Project.
The second year of Pickleball Alberta saw clubs start up in different parts of the province, from major cities to small communities. Pickleball was setting its roots across the province.
Pickleball Alberta has affiliated clubs across Alberta of every size, each sharing the same high values of integrity and sportsmanship. The contributions to the growth of the game and service to their club members are recognized through the Legacy Project.
The second year of Pickleball Alberta saw clubs start up in different parts of the province, from major cities to small communities. Pickleball was setting its roots across the province.
Hall of Fame started in 2024
2nd Annual Provincial Championships
September 8-11, 2017
Host: Parkland Pickleheads
The 2017 Provincials were the 2nd annual Provincials and hosted by Parkland Pickleheads. It was an open championship. Being held in September, darkness prevented some brackets from being completed with players having to catch planes back to BC.
There were 259 registered players that played in Spruce Grove at Henry Singer Park with its 12 courts.
Of the Year Awards started in 2021
Power Rankings started in 2019
NCCP Coaches started in 2022
Meet the referees of each level who have helped grow the sport in Alberta and are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2017, the first two referees from the Red Deer Pickleball Club received their Certification (Level 3) through the United States Pickelball Association.
Level 1: 0 Level 2: 0 Level 3: 2 (🡡2) Total: 2 (🡡2)
2018 | President – Beverley Walker
Year in Review
Clubs: 20
Members: 2,934
Provincials Participants: 217
Accredited and Certified Referees: 5
NCCP Certified Coaches: NA
The 2018 Board of Directors
- Beverley Walker President – Calgary (2016)
- Doug Fogg Vice President – Edmonton (2016)
- Brenda Feser Membership Director – Red Deer (2016)
- Mike Cooper Director at Large – Edmonton (2016)
- Bob Philip Secretary – Red Deer (2017)
- Terri Hampson Treasurer – Red Deer (2018)
- Norm Kowalchuk Director at Large – St. Paul (2018)
Pickleball Alberta continued to progress the aim of sports organizations with player development, officiating, along with the decision to move to a robust membership system.
The decision was made to migrate to the Wild Apricot membership system for the May 1, 2018 membership renewal season. This would streamline the administrative work in tracking membership information and collection of Pickleball Albert and Pickleball Canada membership fees from affiliated clubs. Pickleball Alberta covered the subscription costs for the system. Clubs using Wild Apricot paid just the processing fees for their members. The centralized membership system was given high remarks by the Edmonton and Calgary clubs.
Financial accounting and reporting were improved. Invoice protocols to collect the Pickleball Alberta/Pickleball Canada fees were introduced to better manage the previous manual process.
Recognizing the need for player development, Pickleball Alberta subsidized one member per club to attend the IPTPA teach-the-teacher training to improve skill development at the club level. 22 participants from 12 clubs attended the training sessions held in Calgary and Edmonton.
Walt Buehler took on the Provincial Chief Referee role for Pickleball Alberta and conducted five referee training sessions with 78 participants from different clubs across northern Alberta. Pickleball Alberta covered expenses for the training.
Parkland Pickleheads hosted the 2018 Provincial Championships in August in conjunction with their Summer Smash tournament. The Provincials were an open championship that attracted 218 registrants, with over 150 volunteers and 51 sponsors. The 2019 Provincials were awarded to Red Deer.
The demographics of the association were 62% male and 36% female.
AGM
The AGM was held in-person on September 23 at The Pines Community Hall in Red Deer.
Voting procedures were introduced and explained with eight Sport Zones in Alberta with three voting Delegates per zone being able to vote. The Pickleball Alberta bylaws adopted the voting procedures to those of Softball Alberta.
The Elected 2019 Board of Directors
- Beverley Walker President – Calgary (2016)
- Doug Fogg Vice President – Edmonton (2016)
- Brenda Feser Membership Director – Red Deer (2016)
- Bob Philip Secretary – Red Deer (2017)
- Terri Hampson Treasurer – Red Deer (2018)
- Norm Kowalchuk Director at Large – St. Paul (2018)
Committee Chairs
- Walt Bueller – Refereeing/Officiating
- Peter Walker – Player Development/Coaching
Pickleball Alberta has affiliated clubs across Alberta of every size, each sharing the same high values of integrity and sportsmanship. The contributions to the growth of the game and service to their club members are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2018, 6 clubs from around Alberta affiliated with Pickleball Alberta for a total of 20.
Pickleball Alberta has affiliated clubs across Alberta of every size, each sharing the same high values of integrity and sportsmanship. The contributions to the growth of the game and service to their club members are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2018, 6 clubs from around Alberta affiliated with Pickleball Alberta for a total of 20.
Hall of Fame started in 2024
Provincial Championships – August 17-19, 2018
Host: Parkland Pickleheads
The 2018 Provincials were the 2nd Annual Provincials and the second consecutive hosted by Parkland Pickleheads. It was an open championship with players from across western Canada competing.
There were 217 registered players that played in Spruce Grove at Henry Singer Park with its 12 courts.
Of the Year Awards started in 2021
Power Rankings started in 2019
NCCP Coaches started in 2022
Meet the referees of each level who have helped grow the sport in Alberta and are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2018, two more referees from the Red Deer Pickleball Club and one from the Stratchcona Pickleball Club received their Certification (Level 3) through the United States Pickelball Association.
Level 1: 0 Level 2: 0 Level 3: 5 (🡡3) Total: 5 (🡡3)
2019 | President – Beverley Walker
Year in Review
Clubs: 20
Members: 3,400
Provincials Participants: 375
Accredited and Certified Referees: 7
NCCP Certified Coaches: NA
2019 Board of Directors
- Beverley Walker President – Calgary (2016)
- Doug Fogg Vice President – Edmonton (2016)
- Brenda Feser Membership Director – Red Deer (2016)
- Bob Philip Secretary – Red Deer (2017)
- Terri Hampson Treasurer – Red Deer (2018)
- Norm Kowalchuk Director at Large – St. Paul (2018)
Membership at the club level continued to grow dramatically with more than half of clubs exceeding 200 members. Pickleball Alberta led initiatives to help clubs accommodate the rapid growth in membership.
Pickleball Alberta implemented the Wild Apricot membership system to handle the spring membership renewal. Nine clubs were integrated with the membership system to collect their membership fees along with Pickleball Alberta and Pickleball Canada fees. Other clubs provided membership data and fees for import into to the system. Perry Young, Calgary Pickleball Club stepped up to offer technical skills to assist with this implementation.
Continuing to support player development, Pickleball Alberta subsidized one member per club to attend the IPTPA teach-the-teacher training. 46 participants from 12 clubs attended the training sessions held in Calgary, Edmonton, Medicine Hat, and Red Deer.
Red Deer Pickleball Club hosted the 2019 Provincial championships in August. The Provincials were an open championship with players from different provinces and some players coming from the United States. There were 376 registrants, with over 200 volunteers, and 59 sponsors.
Pickleball Alberta assisted the Rocky Mountain House Pickleball Club in organizing, promoting, and running the pickleball event for the 2019 Masters Games trialed by Alberta Sport Connection.
Coaching and Player Development
To promote consistent and professional coaching in Alberta, Pickleball Alberta subsidized a member from each club to attend an IPTPA Teach-the-Teacher clinic, as well as facility fees. Three clinics were held in 2019: Edmonton, Red Deer, and Medicine Hat. Representatives from 12 clubs were subsidized by Pickleball Alberta with a total of 46 participants. Appreciation to Mike Cooper who ran the clinics.
Pickleball Alberta fully supported the development of a National Coaching program aligned with the NCCP program.
Referee Development
Pickleball Alberta Chair of Referee Development, Walt Beuhler, sadly passed away leaving a void in this position. Pickleball Alberta will develop a focus for referee development in consideration of the new and emerging directions being established by Pickleball Canada.
AGM
The AGM was held in-person on September 22 at the Balmoral Hall in the County of Red Deer.
Kirk Jensen from the Edmonton Pickleball Club was elected President. Kirk is the second president of Pickleball Alberta, taking over from Beverley Walker, who had completed a four-year term as President. Kirk was able to recruit a full contingent of directors with him for the 2020 year. He introduced operational Director positions that included: Youth Director and Technology Director. A Past President board position was also created where Beverley stayed on for a smooth transition and corporate legacy.
Pickleball Alberta will be seeking interest from clubs to host the Western Regional in 2021. A list of 2020 tournaments were presented.
The Elected 2020 Board of Directors
- Kirk Jensen President – Edmonton (2020)
- Brenda Feser Membership Director – Red Deer (2016)
- Norm Kowalchuk Director at Large – St. Paul (2018)
- Haddow Thul Vice President – Calgary (2020)
- Dwight Chalifour Treasurer – Edmonton (2020)
- Sara McNeill Secretary – Edmonton (2020)
- Ian Miller Competitions – Spruce Grove (2020)
- Blair Morton Director of Technology – Red Deer (2020)
- John Lee Director at Large – Calgary (2020)
- Beverley Walker Past President – Calgary (2016)
Pickleball Alberta has affiliated clubs across Alberta of every size, each sharing the same high values of integrity and sportsmanship. The contributions to the growth of the game and service to their club members are recognized through the Legacy Project.
Pickleball Alberta has affiliated clubs across Alberta of every size, each sharing the same high values of integrity and sportsmanship. The contributions to the growth of the game and service to their club members are recognized through the Legacy Project.
Hall of Fame started in 2024
Provincial Championships – August 9-11, 2019
Host: Red Deer Pickleball Club
The 2019 Provincials were the 3rd Annual Provincials. It an open event with players coming from across Canada and parts of the USA to compete. Some events were not able to be completed due to rain.
There were 375 registered players that played at the new Motor Works Field and its 20 courts.
Of the Year Awards started in 2021
NCCP Coaches started in 2022
Meet the referees of each level who have helped grow the sport in Alberta and are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2019, the two referees from the Parkland Pickleheads received their Certification (Level 3) through the United States Pickelball Association.
Level 1: 0 Level 2: 0 Level 3: 7 (🡡2) Total: 7 (🡡2)
2020 | President – Kirk Jensen
Year in Review
Clubs: 19
Members: 4,289
Provincials Participants: Not Held Due to COVID
Accredited and Certified Referees: 23
NCCP Certified Coaches: NA
2020 Board of Directors
- Kirk Jensen President – Edmonton (2020)
- Haddow Thul Vice President – Calgary (2020)
- Dwight Chalifour Treasurer – Edmonton (2020)
- Sara McNeill Secretary – Edmonton (2020)
- Brenda Feser Membership Director – Red Deer (2016)
- Norm Kowalchuk Director at Large – St. Paul (2018)
- Ian Miller Competitions – Spruce Grove (2020)
- Blair Morton Director of Technology – Red Deer (2020)
- Beverley Walker Past President – Calgary (2016)
The year of 2020 was like no other, and one many wanted to forget for a plethora of reasons. The COVID pandemic paralyzed our game, with AHS guidance stating that groups could not gather. All organized club play and tournaments were halted starting in March and through to the end of the year. The 2020 Provincials were to be hosted by Parkland Pickleheads but were canceled due to the pandemic.
A Strategic Planning session was completed with the facilitation of Marcel Latouche. A Strategic Plan is one of the required steps for pickleball to become a recognized sport in Alberta and for future government funding.
In February of 2020, the first edition of the Pickleball Alberta newsletter was released through the Wild Apricot membership system. Ed Neuman was the first profiled in Faces Around the Court as the person recognized bringing pickleball to Alberta.
A new Pickleball Alberta logo was designed by Danie Hardie Creative showing the Rockies and motion of the game along with the Alberta provincial colors. It was unveiled to the membership in the February newsletter.
Pickleball Alberta introduced a referee training program that saw referees from across Alberta start to become accredited Level 1 officials, and Level 2 officials.
The 2021 Pickleball Canada National Championships were awarded to the Red Deer Pickleball Club.
The 2021 Elected Board of Directors
- Kirk Jensen President – Edmonton (2020)
- Haddow Thul Vice President and Competitions – Calgary (2020)
- Dwight Chalifour Treasurer – Edmonton (2020)
- Sara McNeill Secretary – Edmonton (2020)
- Brenda Feser Membership Director – Red Deer (2016)
- Ian Miller Competitions – Spruce Grove (2020)
- Blair Morton Director of Technology – Red Deer (2020)
- Danica Wu Communications – Edmonton (2021)
- Beverley Walker Past President – Calgary (2016)
Pickleball Alberta has affiliated clubs across Alberta of every size, each sharing the same high values of integrity and sportsmanship. The contributions to the growth of the game and service to their club members are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2020, the COVID pandemic continued across the province and shut down play for the year due to Alberta Health Services guidance. Three clubs shutdown and ceased operation.
Pickleball Alberta has affiliated clubs across Alberta of every size, each sharing the same high values of integrity and sportsmanship. The contributions to the growth of the game and service to their club members are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2020, the COVID pandemic continued across the province and shut down play for the year due to Alberta Health Services guidance. Three clubs shutdown and ceased operation.
Hall of Fame started in 2024
Provincial Championships – Cancelled Due to COVID and AHS Guidance
The 2020 Provincials were cancelled due to the world wide COVID pandemic. Alberta Health Services cancelled all sporting and social events.
Of the Year Awards started in 2021
Cancelled Due to COVID and AHS Guidance
The 2020 season was cancelled due to the world wide COVID pandemic. Alberta Health Services cancelled all sporting and social events.
NCCP Coaches started in 2022
Meet the referees of each level who have helped grow the sport in Alberta and are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2020, the refereeing program had a jump when Pickleball Alberta added an Officiating Director to the Board. Garand Jones took the position and started the first training programs across the province to accredit both Level 1 and Level 2 referees. Brian and Julie Sribbey from Spruce Grove were the trainers that were instrumental to the success of the program in 2020 and for years to come.
Level 1: 19 (🡡19) Level 2: 3 (🡡3) Level 3: 8 (🡡1) Total: 30 (🡡23)
2021 | President – Kirk Jensen
Year in Review
Clubs: 25
Members: 5,471
Provincials Participants: 309
Accredited and Certified Referees: 49
NCCP Certified Coaches: NA
2021 Board of Directors
- Kirk Jensen President – Edmonton (2020)
- Haddow Thul Vice President and Competitions – Calgary (2020)
- Dwight Chalifour Treasurer – Edmonton (2020)
- Sara McNeill Secretary – Edmonton (2020)
- Brenda Feser Membership Director – Red Deer (2016)
- Ian Miller Competitions – Spruce Grove (2020)
- Blair Morton Director of Technology – Red Deer (2020)
- Danica Wu Communications – Edmonton (2021)
- Beverley Walker Past President – Calgary (2016)
COVID continued to be a big part of the narrative for the first half of 2021. In July the Alberta government started to ease AHS guidance and started to allow large gatherings. With this the Pickleball Alberta Provincials were hosted by the Parkland Pickleheads in Spruce Grove which drew over 300 players and 30 referees. It was an open championship with many players coming from across the country to compete, with many also playing at the Pickleball Canada Nationals in Red Deer in two weeks time. For the first time live streaming was set up for some of the gold medal matches and posted to the Pickleball Alberta YouTube channel, @pickleballalberta, constructed and setup by President Jensen. Play-by-play was done for the games by Kirk Jensen and Garand Jones along with post game interviews.
The 2021 Pickleball Canada Nationals were hosted by the Red Deer Pickleball Club and set a new national standard with the number of players (789) and accredited/certified referees (80). There was a beer garden, evening meals and live entertainment that were very popular. Pickleball Alberta hosted one evening which was a great success.
The online system Pickleball Brackets was implemented for tournaments and used for the first time at a provincial championship, and later in the summer at the national championship.
A new membership system called the Pickleball Canada National System (PCNS) was introduced across Canada by region, consolidating data from the different software systems used by the provinces. Vice President of Pickleball Canada, Kirk Jensen from Edmonton, was tasked by President Richard Chambers to chair the national implementation. This represented the task of replacing different systems used by the provinces and converting the different systems data into the PCNS format. Business rules were introduced nationally including a consistent yearend across all governing bodies, making it much clearer and easier for members to pay their annual dues. The system was designed and selected to greatly reduced the membership administration for clubs, provinces, and the national body.
Beverley Walker chaired the team for Pickleball Alberta and installed and trained the affiliated club’s implementation. All data was converted and vetted with the clubs being installed by October.
AGM
Due to COVID restrictions put on by AHS, for the first time the AGM was held online using Zoom. An operational position, Officiating Director, position was created and added to the Board. Garand Jones took on the initial Officiating Director position.
The 2022 Elected Board of Directors
- Kirk Jensen President – Edmonton (2020)
- Brenda Feser Juniors – Red Deer (2016)
- Beverley Walker Past President – Calgary (2016)
- Haddow Thul Vice President – Calgary (2020)
- Dwight Chalifour Treasurer – Edmonton (2020)
- Sara McNeill Secretary – Edmonton (2020)
- Brad Hurshowy Director at Large – St. Albert (2020)
- Garand Jones Officiating – Spruce Grove (2021)
- Danica Wu Communication – Edmonton (2021)
- Ilsa Wong Coaching – Lethbridge (2022)
- Wanda Lazar Competitions – Medicine Hat (2022)
- Ray Keroack Membership and Technology– St. Albert (2022)
Pickleball Alberta has affiliated clubs across Alberta of every size, each sharing the same high values of integrity and sportsmanship. The contributions to the growth of the game and service to their club members are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2021, the COVID guidance finally started to ease in the summer with play started and clubs again forming.
Pickleball Alberta has affiliated clubs across Alberta of every size, each sharing the same high values of integrity and sportsmanship. The contributions to the growth of the game and service to their club members are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2021, the COVID guidance finally started to ease in the summer with play started and clubs again forming.
Hall of Fame started in 2024
Provincial Championships – August 17-19, 2021
Host: Parkland Pickleheads
The 2021 Provincials were the 4th Annual Provincials. They were a celebration as being the first tournament to be held for over a year due to COVID. AHS guidance was just being eased for public gatherings. PA Officials were trained, and all had their new official’s shirts. Blue for Level 1 and Yellow for Level 2. Many players from across the country competed with Nationals happening the following week in Red Deer.
There were 309 registered players that played in Spruce Grove at the Henry Singer Park with its 12 courts.
Pickleball Alberta Of the Year Awards
The first award ceremony was held in 2021 at the Pickleball Alberta Provincial Championships held in Medicine Hat. The five categories being awarded for the previous year were: Volunteer of the Year, Male Player of the Year, Female Player of the Year, the Junior Player of the Year winning the Logan trophy, and Club of the Year.
The Of the Year awards are intended to show appreciation and recognition for clubs, members, and volunteer accomplishments throughout Alberta. Although recognizing certain individuals for each category, pickleball in Alberta would not be what, or where, it is without the contributions of the hundreds of volunteers, instructors, and players across our province.
Pickleball Alberta Of the Year Awards
The first award ceremony was held in 2022 at the Pickleball Alberta Provincial Championships held in Medicine Hat. The five categories being awarded for the previous year were: Volunteer of the Year, Male Player of the Year, Female Player of the Year, the Junior Player of the Year winning the Logan trophy, and Club of the Year.
The Of the Year awards are intended to show appreciation and recognition for clubs, members, and volunteer accomplishments throughout Alberta. Although recognizing certain individuals for each category, pickleball in Alberta would not be what, or where, it is without the contributions of the hundreds of volunteers, instructors, and players across our province.
Volunteer Of the Year
The power couple of Brenda and Dick Feser of the Red Deer Pickleball Club has made many contributions to different sports over the years and they are recognized for their following volunteer pickleball accomplishments in 2021:
- Co-Chairs of the 2021 Nationals
- Volunteer work on the Red Deer Pickleball Club Board of Directors
- Volunteer work on the Pickleball Alberta Board of Directors
- Volunteer work with junior pickleball
- Volunteer work with membership growth
- Volunteer work with the building of the new 20-court facility
- Volunteer work with obtaining government funding.
The Fesers are an example of tireless work, commitment, passion, sacrifices, and leadership that they have shown to their club, community, province, and country.
Male Player of the Year
Brad Chapman of the Calgary Pickleball Club was awarded for his outstanding accomplishments of:
- Gold 2021 Alberta Provincials Open Mens Doubles
- Gold 2021 Alberta Provincials Open Mixed Doubles
- Silver 2021 Canadian Nationals Open Mens Doubles
- 2021 high standard of play in club tournaments across Alberta.
Brad’s calm, yet steely competitiveness is a shining of example of how you can be both a gentleman on the court and a stone-cold winner at the same time.
Female Player of the Year
Kim Harding Layton of the Calgary Pickleball Club was awarded for her outstanding accomplishments of:
- Gold 2021 Alberta Provincials Open Mixed Doubles
- Gold 2021 Alberta Provincials Open Womens Singles
- 2021 high standard of play in club tournaments across Alberta.
There are few players who train, drill, and study the game like Kim which has translated into her rise to being an elite player in Canada.
Junior Player of the Year – The Logan Award
Ben Gibb of Edmonton was awarded the Logan Award for the 2021 Junior Player Of the Year for his outstanding accomplishments of:
- Gold 2021 Alberta Provincials Junior Mens Doubles
- Gold 2021 Canadian Nationals Junior Mens Doubles
- Bronze 2021 Canadian Nationals 3.0 Mixed Doubles
- 2021 high standard of play and perseverance in play at clubs across Alberta.
Ben is an example of outstanding play, passion, and sportsmanship in the game of pickleball.
Club of the Year
Red Deer Pickleball Club was awarded Club Of the Year for their outstanding accomplishments in:
- Hosting of the 2021 Nationals
- Junior Programs
- Coaching and Development Program
- Mentoring of other clubs regarding the building of facilities.
The Red Deer Pickleball Club, with its over 600 members, has shown leadership and innovation in its club initiatives and building of facilities.
NA
Meet the referees of each level who have helped grow the sport in Alberta and are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2020, the refereeing program had a jump when Pickleball Alberta added an Officiating Director to the Board. Garand Jones took the position and started the first training programs across the province to accredit both Level 1 and Level 2 referees. Brian and Julie Sribbey from Spruce Grove were the trainers that were instrumental to the success of the program in 2020 and for years to come.
Level 1: 19 (🡡19) Level 2: 3 (🡡3) Level 3: 8 (🡡1) Total: 30 (🡡23)
2022 | President – Kirk Jensen
Year in Review
Clubs: 37
Members: 8,526
Provincials Participants: 428
Accredited and Certified Referees: 83
NCCP Certified Coaches: 73
2022 Board of Directors
- Kirk Jensen President – Edmonton (2020)
- Brenda Feser Juniors – Red Deer (2016)
- Beverley Walker Past President – Calgary (2016)
- Haddow Thul Vice President – Calgary (2020)
- Dwight Chalifour Treasurer – Edmonton (2020)
- Sara McNeill Secretary – Edmonton (2020)
- Brad Hurshowy Director at Large – St. Albert (2020)
- Garand Jones Officiating – Spruce Grove (2021)
- Danica Wu Communication – Edmonton (2021)
- Ilsa Wong Coaching – Lethbridge (2022)
- Wanda Lazar Competitions – Medicine Hat (2022)
- Ray Keroack Membership and Technology– St. Albert (2022)
2022 saw pickleball play to come out of COVID with full force across the province. New clubs and membership were on a steep upward curve in Alberta, setting new records.
Pickleball Alberta contracted Leads2Profits to develop a new state-of-the-art website. The Pickleball Alberta project leads were Ray Keroack and Kirk Jensen. The new website was designed for functionality on desktop computers to mobile devices. The PA TV YouTube Channel was unveiled with live streaming and videos of club tournaments and events. The channel had over 12,000 views, with 1,100 hours of viewing from over a dozen different countries.
The 2022 Pickleball Provincials were hosted by Medicine Hat Pickleball Club, with 428 players and 30 referees. Tournament Director, Brenda Lea MacPhail, was a strong proponent in holding the first closed Provincial Championship. Though this could possibly mean less competitors. The board approved the closed provincials policy and for the first time in Alberta, and in Canada, the Provincials were closed to Albertans crowning true provincial champions. The policy was also put in place that medal winners of the previous year’s Provincials, Western Regionals and Nationals would have a one-week window to register. This would ensure that some of the top players in Alberta would get entry and the Provincials were not a lottery and those that entered were the fasted on the computer to get registered.
The Pickleball Alberta Referee Program was top in the country with 81 referees for sanctioned tournaments and having the majority of matches being refereed and 100% of the matches at the Provincials.
With Brenda Feser as the Director, Junior Pickleball took a big 101% leap forward with 105 registered juniors. The first Junior Jamboree was hosted and well-attended in Red Deer. Junior grants and scholarships were also handed out to clubs and players by Pickleball Alberta.
Pickleball Alberta introduced Of-the-Year awards and were handed out for the first time for:
- Club of the Year
- Male Player of the Year
- Female Player of the Year
- Junior Player of the Year
- Volunteer of the Year.
The Junior Player of the Year was called the Logan Award in honour of the young, passionate pickleball player Logan Cassidy, who was tragically lost.
An NCCP coaching program was constructed by Pickleball Canada President Jim Parrot, and Pickleball Canada Vice President, Kirk Jensen. Tennis Canada representatives were Coaching Director, Ari Novak and CEO, Michael Downey. The national program was rolled out by Tennis Canada with Mark Renneson as the program lead. An operational Coaching Director position was created and added to the Board, with Ilsa Wong taking the inaugural director position.
Pickleball Alberta paid and sponsored coaches for each club in the province to take the Level 1 course. A Coaching Working Group was created with members from across the province.
The monthly Around the Post newsletter continued to be widely read, with over 50,000 opens for the year and many positive comments from members. Newsletters back to 2019 were put up on to the website for people to go back to and review.
With the exploding size of the membership and the number of man-hours volunteers were putting in, Kirk and Haddow introduced to the board and the membership, best practices of moving from an operational board to a governance board. In a close vote, the $10.00 a year fee increase was turned down by the board of directors. The new membership fee would have seen Pickleball Alberta follow the Quebec Federation and hire an Executive Director that would have greatly taken the operational load off volunteers as the membership and game increases in popularity.
AGM
With COVID still a concern to some the AGM was held online using Zoom. A presentation was compiled by all the departments and each director walked through their department reports.
The different member services and contacts were shown for a total of 87,853 touches for an average of 16 engagements per member for the year.
- Around the Post Newsletter (12) 45,787
- Website pickleballalberta.org 11,173
- PA TV YouTube Channel 10,686
- Facebook 18,904
- Instagram 1,303
Total 87, 853
Alberta Pickleball Day and Junior Jamboree were high profile events for the membership. Jackets, caps, banners, accessories also raised awareness and identity of Pickleball Alberta to the membership.
The major events for the year were:
- Jun – Pickleball Canada Nationals Kingston, ON
- Jun – Alberta Pickleball Day Clubs across Alberta
- Jun – 55+ Games Provincials Peace River, AB
- Jul – Pickleball Alberta Provincials Medicine Hat, AB
- Jul – Of the Year Awards Awarded Red Deer, AB Provincials
- Aug – 55+ Games Nationals Kamloops, BC
- Aug –Junior Jamboree Red Deer, AB
The Elected Board of Directors for the 2023 term were:
- Kirk Jensen President – Edmonton (2020)
- Haddow Thul Vice President – Calgary (2020)
- Dwight Chalifour Treasurer – Edmonton (2020)
- Murray Young Secretary – Edmonton (2023)
- Brenda Feser Membership – Red Deer (2016)
- Garand Jones Officiating – Spruce Grove (2021)
- Ilsa Wong Coaching – Lethbridge (2022)
- Wanda Lazar Competitions – Medicine Hat (2022)
- Alison Ramsley Technology – Calgary (2023)
- Dean Kroetsch Juniors – Hanna (2023)
- Lauren Evans Communication – Edmonton (2023)
Pickleball Alberta continued to be seen as a model and leader across Canada for initiatives and services to its members, with many provinces and the national body following some of the practices. A successful year was possible with a hard-working Board and a results-orientated team. Serving over 8,000 members and expecting to again see strong growth for 2023.
Pickleball Alberta has affiliated clubs across Alberta of every size, each sharing the same high values of integrity and sportsmanship. The contributions to the growth of the game and service to their club members are recognized through the Legacy Project.
The number of new clubs exploded in 2022. The Edmonton Volleyball and Pickleball Center became the first Associate Organization (for-profit club).
Pickleball Alberta has affiliated clubs across Alberta of every size, each sharing the same high values of integrity and sportsmanship. The contributions to the growth of the game and service to their club members are recognized through the Legacy Project.
The number of new clubs exploded in 2022. The Edmonton Volleyball and Pickleball Center became the first Associate Organization (for-profit club).
Coming Soon
Provincial Championships – July 8-10, 2022
Host: Medicine Hat Pickleball Club
The 2022 Provincials were the 5th Annual Provincials and the first Provincial championship that were closed to provincial residents, crowing true provincial champions of all levels. For the first time medal winners from the previous Provincial and National Championships were given advance registration.
There were 428 registered players that played at the new South Country Co-Op facility and its 20 courts. The Tournament Director for the 2022 Provincials was Brenda Lea MacPhail.
Pickleball Alberta Of the Year Awards
The 2022 Of the Year awards were handed out at the 2023 Pickleball Alberta Provincial Championships held in Red Deer. The original five categories were again awarded: Volunteer of the Year, Male Player of the Year, Female Player of the Year, the Junior Player of the Year winning the Logan trophy, and Club of the Year. Four new categories were added for the 2022 Of the Year Awards: Coach of the Year, Official of the Year, Queen of Recreation and King of Recreation.
Pickleball Alberta Of the Year Awards
The 2022 Of the Year awards were handed out at the 2023 Pickleball Alberta Provincial Championships held in Red Deer. The original five categories were again awarded: Volunteer of the Year, Male Player of the Year, Female Player of the Year, the Junior Player of the Year winning the Logan trophy, and Club of the Year. Four new categories were added for the 2022 Of the Year Awards: Coach of the Year, Official of the Year, Queen of Recreation and King of Recreation.
Volunteer Of the Year
Walt Carlyle, of the Seba Beach Pickleball Club, was awarded the 2022 Volunteer of the Year for his outstanding accomplishments, passion, and commitment to his club, community, and province.
In 2020 Walt Carlyle, a passionate pickleball player for a good portion of his 80 years, approached several like-minded individuals with the idea of forming a pickleball committee for the purpose of constructing and operating a 6 court pickleball venue in Seba Beach. From the beginning Walt was the driving force that created the idea and built the strategy for this much needed recreational facility.
Walt oversaw construction that began in 2022. From that point until construction was finished in the spring of 2023. When construction was halted for the winter months, Walt personally walked door to door and made many phone calls looking for the financial donations we needed to make the project viable. The courts were officially opened on July 1, 2023.
Pickleball Alberta recognizes Walt for his tireless work, commitment, passion, sacrifices, and leadership that he has shown to his club, members, community, and the sport of pickleball.
Pickleball Alberta started the Of the Year award program in 2021, with 2022 being the second year the Volunteer of the Year was presented.
Male Player of the Year
The Male Player of the Year was awarded to Gary Spencer of the St. Albert Pickleball Club for his outstanding results and accomplishments in:
- All Levels Cash – Parkland – MD Silver
- All Levels Cash – Parkland – MX Gold
- All Levels Cash – Parkland – MS Gold
- Red Deer Open – MD Gold
- Red Deer Open – MS Gold
- Summer Smash – Parkland – MD Gold
- Summer Smash – Parkland – MX Gold
- Summer Smash – Parkland – MS Gold
- SAPC Pickle Party – St. Albert – MX Gold
- Sweet Summer Solstice – Parkland – MD Gold
- Summer Kick Off – St. Albert – MD Silver
- Members Opener – Parkland – MX Gold
- Members Opener – Parkland – MS Gold
- Edmonton Open – MD Gold
- Edmonton Open – MX Gold
- Luck of the Irish – Stony Plain – MX Silver
Gary played in 22 events with an incredible record with 14 different partners. Gary’s passion for competition and the game is virtually unmatched, always saying yes to a tournament locally or provincially.
Pickleball Alberta started the Of the Year award program in 2021, with 2022 being the second year the Male Player of the Year was presented.
Female Player of the Year
The Female Player of the Year was awarded to the Kim Layton of the Calgary Pickleball Club for her outstanding results and accomplishments in:
- Kamloops Open – WS Gold
- Kamloops Open – WD Gold
- Kamloops Open – MX Gold
- Nationals – Kingston – WD Bronze
- Nationals – Kingston – MX Bronze
- Nationals – Kingston – WD Gold
- Nationals – Kingston – MX Gold
- Provincials – Medicine Hat – WS Gold
- Provincials – Medicine Hat – WD Gold
- Provincials – Medicine Hat – MX Gold
- All Levels Cash – Parkland – WD Gold
- All Levels Cash – Parkland – MX Gold
- The Center Open – EVPC – WD Gold
- The Center Open – EVPC – MX Gold
This is the second year that Kim has won the Female of the Year Award. She continues to take her game to new heights, including playing in the Canadian Professional Pickleball League.
Pickleball Alberta started the Of the Year award program in 2021, with 2022 being the second year the Female Player of the Year was presented.
Junior Player of the Year – The Logan Award
The Logan Award for the Junior Player of the Year was awarded to Ava Weeks of the St. Albert Pickleball Club for her outstanding accomplishments of:
- 3.0 Womens Doubles – Red Deer Open – 3.0 WD Gold
- Edmonton Open – The Center 3.5 Mixed Doubles –3.5 MX Silver
- Played in tournaments from level 3.0 to 4.0
- High standard of play, sportsmanship, passion, and love for the game.
Ava is an example of outstanding play, passion, and sportsmanship in the game of pickleball.
– The Logan Award –
In 2021, Logan Cassidy of Edmonton, at the age of 16 tragically passed away. Logan was a passionate pickleball player who loved to play anywhere there was a court, with anyone who wanted a game, until the sun went down, or the lights were turned off. A fierce competitor who podiumed many times, claiming many gold medals with junior partners Michael Jensen and Brady Hurshowy.
Each year the Junior Player of the Year will receive the Logan Award. It is awarded to the Junior player that epitomizes great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, sportsmanship, and a love of the game.
Pickleball Alberta started the Of the Year award program in 2021, with 2022 being the second year the Junior Player of the Year was presented.
Club of the Year
The Club of the Year was awarded to the Medicine Hat Pickleball Club for their outstanding accomplishments in:
- Construction of a facility with 20 national class courts
- Junior Program
- Coaching and Development Programs
- Hosting of the 2022 Pickleball Alberta Provincials
The Medicine Hat Pickleball Club, with its over 400 members, has shown leadership and innovation in its club initiatives and building of facilities.
Pickleball Alberta started the Of the Year award program in 2021, with 2022 being the second year the Club of the Year was presented.
Coach of the Year
The Coach of the Year was awarded to Mike Cooper for his outstanding passion, commitment to clubs, the province, and across Canada.
Mike as an IPTPA Master Teaching Professional, has travelled the province performing coaching clinics for players, as well putting on programs for certifying coaches through the IPTPA coaching program.
Mike was introduced to pickleball in 2010 and has won at the highest levels north and south of the border. As a retired educator, Mike has translated those skills to his pickleball coaching. In 2014 Mike was the Pickleball Canada Director of Player Development, and in 2016 moved to the Pickleball Alberta Director of Player Development.
Pickleball Alberta started the Of the Year award program in 2021, with 2022 being the inaugural year for Coach of the Year.
Official of the Year
The Official of the Year was awarded to both Julie and Brian Sribney of the Parkland Pickleheads for their outstanding passion, commitment to their club, province and across Canada.
Through Pickleball Alberta, Julie and Brian have held officiating training sessions through all parts of the province as well as across Canada to train new officials and level up many others. They are recognized as leaders in the field with their training program. Both have been Certified Level 3 referees since 2019.
Julie and Brian are one of the main reasons Alberta has one of the strongest referee programs in the country.
Pickleball Alberta started the Of the Year award program in 2021, with 2022 being the inaugural year for Official of the Year.
The Queen of Recreation
The Queen of Recreation was awarded to Saiad Shirabad of the Calgary Pickleball Club. This award recognizes individuals who eat, sleep, and breath recreational pickleball. They are at the courts organizing, including, and making sure everyone is having fun.
Farnoush is an advocate for pickleball and built a huge following at the Brentwood Courts in Calgary where she is the lead coordinator for the summer program and hosts many sessions herself. She maintains a great Facebook page with all the latest happenings, play, lessons, social events, and any changes or weather interruptions. She posts daily activities such as the Mumba Mondays. She monitors sessions and uses initiative in changing things up to keep everything interesting. She is the first to step up when any showcase events are needed such as Alberta Pickleball Day.
Pickleball Alberta started the Of the Year award program in 2021, with 2022 being the inaugural year for Queen of Recreation.
The King of Recreation
The King of Recreation was awarded to Merv Armstrong of the Red Deer Pickleball Club. This award recognizes individuals who eat, sleep, and breathe recreational pickleball. They are at the courts organizing, including, and making sure everyone is having fun.
Merv joined the Red Deer Pickleball Club in 2015 and has been very active within the club volunteering and playing in tournaments. His volunteer time greatly increased in 2019 with his role as the 2.5 – 3.0 Round Robin Captain. Merv created a large group of dedicated recreational pickleball players within RDPC every morning, Monday to Friday, with a large gathering of players that would join in for lots of play, laughs and fellowship. Merv ran a tight ship for people to arrive and sign up and play with guidelines that kept it fun, fair, and inclusive for all.
Pickleball Alberta started the Of the Year award program in 2021, with 2022 being the inaugural year for King of Recreation.
Pickleball Alberta works with Tennis Canada and the Coaching Association of Canada to train and certify coaches through the NCCP coaching program. In 2021, Richard Chambers, President of Pickleball Canada and Michael Downey the CEO of Tennis Canada agreed to construct a coaching partnership between the two associations. Pickleball Canada was represented by Kirk Jensen of Alberta and Jim Parrott of Ontario, and for Tennis Canada by Ari Novak and Michael Downey, both from Ontario.
The NCCP Coaching Program is the only coaching program recognized by Sport Canada and was run by Mark Rennesson of Tennis Canada.
Level 1: 73 (🡡73) Level 2: 0 Level 3: 0 Total: 73
Meet the referees of each level who have helped grow the sport in Alberta and are recognized through the Legacy Project.
2022 saw the largest increase in the history of Alberta or Canada. Fees paid to referees were raised depending on the level of referee and became standard for sanctioned tournaments.
Level 1: 45 (🡡18) Level 2: 34 (🡡15) Level 3: 9 (🡡1) Total: 83 (🡡34)
2023 | President – Kirk Jensen
Year in Review
Clubs: 40
Members: 10,421
Provincials Participants: 537
Accredited and Certified Referees: 97
NCCP Certified Coaches: 103
2023 Board of Directors
- Kirk Jensen President – Edmonton (2020)
- Haddow Thul Vice President – Calgary (2020)
- Dwight Chalifour Treasurer – Edmonton (2020)
- Murray Young Secretary – Edmonton (2020)
- Brenda Feser Membership – Red Deer (2016)
- Garand Jones Officiating – Spruce Grove (2021)
- Ilsa Wong Coaching – Lethbridge (2022)
- Wanda Lazar Competitions – Medicine Hat (2022)
- Alison Ramsley Technology – Calgary (2023)
- Dean Kroetsch Juniors – Hanna (2023)
- Lauren Evans Communication – Edmonton (2023)
2023 was an eventful year for Pickleball Alberta with many exciting events, tournaments, initiatives, and story lines that shaped the year.
One of the major milestones in 2023 was hitting the 10,000-member mark in October. The 7th Annual Pickleball Alberta Provincials were hosted by the Red Deer Pickleball Club, with a record number 537 players registered, including Juniors who were allowed to play up in the adult brackets and playing beautiful pickleball with podium finishes. The 2nd Annual Alberta Pickleball Day was held with clubs from across the province participating making it one of the most popular and widely held recreational events of the year.
The Coaching and Referee programs continued to lead the nation with coaches and referees across the province continuing to be accredited and certified.
The Junior program continued to grow with a successful Junior Jamboree happening at the Edmonton Volleyball and Pickleball Center along with the popular subsidized Junior Paddle program. The Special Olympics initiative grew with successful programs happening at clubs across the province. Pickleball Alberta coordinated with sponsor Poach Pickleball to have paddles provided to the athletes of the Special Olympic program at a subsidized cost.
Four new categories were added to the Of the Year Awards:
- Coach of the Year
- Official of the Year
- Queen of Recreation
- King of Recreation.
The website continued to be updated on a weekly basis, professional livestreaming continued across the province on the PATV YouTube channel, and the Legacy Project on the website was launched, capturing the history of each year for our association.
With the discord continuing to happen at Pickleball Canada, for the first-time directors of four of the major provinces, BC, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, came together and communicated on a weekly basis. The provinces discovered they were much more similar in their beliefs than they would have ever thought. Two of the major topics of discussion were the national bylaws and putting together a slate of directors to run for the board, in what was hoped would implement a change in leadership style.
One of the largest topics of interest was the provincial fee increase from $5.00 to $15.00 per year that was introduced the previous year. Haddow presented unprecedented data and information explaining the need for the increase and was laid out in detail in information packages that were sent out along with the Around the Post newsletter. The detail and reasoning were unprecedented for fee increases that had previously happened at the national and club levels.
Through the process it was obvious that the provincial bylaws that were written when Pickleball Alberta was formed were outdated and incomplete to deal with the size of the association. It was identified as one of the major items to address for 2024, to professionally bring Pickleball Alberta’s bylaws in line with other major sport organizations of the day.
Special Olympics
Director, Brenda Feser spearheaded the Special Olympic program at three locations: Edmonton, St. Albert, Red Deer. There were:
- 40+ Special Olympic athletes.
- 30-35 Coaches for SOA programs; Vulnerable Sector Checks (VSC) and Safe Sport (online) required for coaches and volunteers; NCCP Level 1 Pickleball is recommended.
- Recommend 8–10 week programs; once per week with 1.5 hour sessions.
- Poach paddles were subsidized by Poach and Pickleball Alberta for the SOA athletes.
The operational workload of handling over 10,000 members, 40 clubs, and a country leading number of initiatives and program, it was determined that the provincial body was not sustainable by board volunteers alone. The Quebec Federation of Pickleball, which was about the same size, had an Executive Director for the past three years. Discussions at the Pickleball Alberta board level had spanned over two years for progressing towards a governing board from an operational board.
In August, the board approved the staff cost range, and the hiring of an Executive Director. Subsequently the posting for an Executive Director went out on November 1.
Pickleball Alberta moved to another level of professionalism in seeking professional counsel on our bylaws, and for the first time Pickleball Alberta had a professional accounting firm do a yearend review of the books. A lawyer was also retained to counsel Pickleball Alberta to ensure that decisions were always made that were within the lines of the different tiers and government organizations.
The Year-in-Review newsletter returned to the popular graphic month-by-month format with the highlights along with the updated Pickleball Alberta Coach and Referee lists and the final Power Rankings.
AGM
The AGM went through several iterations, with the first one to happen in September. Due to the interest of the membership fee being raised $10.00 per year, the Zoom 100-userlicense was exceeded, and the AGM had to be postposed into October. In October the audit of the financials was questioned by a number the members, and subsequently King and Co were brought in, and for the first time the financials were professionally done with a Review Engagement. With the time required to prepare the statements, the AGM was again postponed into November where it was held in-person on November 19th in Red Deer at the Holiday Inn & Suites, Promenade Room.
The in-person Board presentation was compiled by all the departments and chaired by President, Kirk Jensen. Each director walked through their department reports and answered questions that arose.
Communication with the membership set new records with 107,463 engagements with our members through social media.
- Around the Post Newsletter (12) 76,296 Opens
- Website pickleballalberta.org 18,633 Sessions
- PA TV YouTube Channel: 20,501 Views
- Facebook: 21,637 Reach
- Instagram: 181 Reach
Total Member Contacts: 107,463 Up: 19,610 (+18%)
An average of 16 engagements/member through services and social media. Alberta Pickleball Day and the Junior Jamboree were high profile events for the membership. The sale of jackets, caps, banners and junior paddles also raised awareness and identity of Pickleball Alberta to members.
Four board members were stepping down completing four-year terms: Kirk Jensen (President), Haddow Thul (Vice President), Dwight Chalifour (Treasurer). Completing a two-year term, Wanda Lazar (Competitions). The search for a President dragged on into the fall, and after several meetings Pickleball Alberta was fortunate to have Jill Richard accept the nomination for President.
- Jul – Western Regionals, Medicine Hat, AB
- Jul – Alberta Pickleball Day, Clubs across Alberta
- Jul– Junior Jamboree, Edmonton, AB
- Aug– Pickleball Alberta Provincials, Red Deer, AB
- Aug – 55+ Games Provincials, Brooks, AB
- Aug – Of the Year Awards, Awarded at Provincials
- Aug – Nationals, Regina, SK
The successful and event filled year was made possible with the hard-working, dedicated Board that never waivered from how to best serve our membership and move our sport in our province to the next level. The fee increase was not popular with some clubs, but it in part will help sustain the growth and excellence our province has come to know.
The Elected 2024 Board of Directors
- Jill Richard President – Edmonton (2024)
- Charity Christianson Vice President – Sherwood Park (2024)
- Jeff Holm Treasurer – Edmonton (2024)
- Murray Young Secretary – Calgary (2023)
- Brenda Feser Membership – Red Deer (2016)
- Garand Jones Officiating – Spruce Grove (2021)
- Ilsa Wong Coaching – Lethbridge (2022)
- Ken Denzien Competitions – St. Albert (2024)
- Alison Ramsley Technology – Calgary (2023)
- Dean Kroetsch Juniors – Hanna (2023)
- Andrew Gorman Communication – Peace River (2024)
Hundreds of volunteers from across the province continued to make our game popular and inclusive. Special thanks go to those that offered the positive and supportive comments that were received by the board throughout the year that saw changes for the health and growth of our sport in Alberta.
Pickleball Alberta has affiliated clubs across Alberta of every size, each sharing the same high values of integrity and sportsmanship. The contributions to the growth of the game and service to their club members are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2023 clubs were established across the province in each sport zone from border to border.
Pickleball Alberta has affiliated clubs across Alberta of every size, each sharing the same high values of integrity and sportsmanship. The contributions to the growth of the game and service to their club members are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2023 clubs were estabalised across the province in each sport zone from border to border.
Coming Soon
Provincial Championships – August 10-13, 2023
Host: Red Deer Pickleball Club
The 2023 Provincials were the 7th Annual Provincials and the first Provincial championship that were closed to provincial residents, crowing true provincial champions of all levels.
There were 537 registered players that played at the MotorWorks Field facility and its 20 courts.
NA
Pickleball Alberta works with Tennis Canada and the Coaching Association of Canada to train and certify coaches through the NCCP coaching program. In 2021, Richard Chambers, President of Pickleball Canada and Michael Downey the CEO of Tennis Canada agreed to construct a coaching partnership between the two associations. Pickleball Canada representitives were Kirk Jensen of Alberta and Jim Parrott of Ontario, and for Tennis Canada by Ari Novak and Michael Downey, both from Ontario.
The NCCP Coaching Program is the only coaching program recognized by Sport Canada and run by Mark Rennesson of Tennis Canada.
Level 1: 84 (🡡11) Level 2: 19 (🡡19) Level 3: 0 Total: 103
Meet the referees of each level who have helped grow the sport in Alberta and are recognized through the Legacy Project.
In 2023 Pickleball Alberta recognized certified referees and those officiating over 200 matches with referee pounces that displayed the Pickleball Alberta logo and the designation. The first referee certified in Canada was awarded at the Pickleball Alberta Provincials in August.
Level 1: 53 (🡡8) Level 2: 38 (🡡4) Level 3: 11 (🡡2) Total: 97 (🡡14)