Pickleball – Delta’s Fastest Growing Sport

We cover various sports but the one we seldom cover that is probably the fastest rising sport is Pickleball which continues to grow on a daily basis.

Even when outside cutting the grass I had a lady approach me at first talking about finally getting the grass cut then on to  sports and somehow the topic of Pickleball came up.

She mentioned how it has helped her get out every couple of days which was more of a therapeutic outing after the loss of her late husband.

On that note I wasn’t sure how to approach the topic but after a bit of a “chit chat” she was telling me about how Pickleball changed her life.

Needless to say I was pleased that we had the time to chat and a short two days later I had the chance to connect with Landon Kitagawa who is the Delta Pickleball Association (DPA) President who continues to be amazed how the club continues to grow.

Let’s not forget that Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in North America hearing that there is over a 300% growth in only the past three years. 

All due to a couple of reasons with the first being its easy to learn plus the low cost starting out, health benefits but mostly due to the social nature of the sport.

In our recent conversation he mentioned how the public perceives the sport noting that they know the following: first it’s noisy, second it is a fast growing game and lastly that it’s played by “old people” play.

To some extent in part the above is true but what’s frustrating from those playing is that the public don’t understand the positive aspects of the sport.

The oldest member in the club is a “young 90” who recently is three months off a knee replacement plus players who are in their 80ties competitive who come from tennis and other racquet backgrounds.

One mandate by the DPA is to educate the public of some of the other elements benefits of the sport which could be a 2.0 pickleball message which includes getting people off the couch, away from the TV becoming active as my neighbour mentioned earlier in the  article.

I personally have spoken with some in the area who mentioned they have dropped weight maintaining a healthier lifestyle plus a sport that’s easy for elders to play due to the rules.

Fair to mention that historically the “less athletic people” are able to play who might not have been able to play pickleball have nothing in the past now having a sport something they can play.

The other thing that many don’t understand is that in the province we currently have an epidemic of mental health and it’s not just for young people but also elderly people as well who are recently retired looking for things to keep them active looking for a new lifestyle.

With Landon being a long-time Delta resident II asked him what he enjoys most and he mentioned “ seeing and watching people in Delta have opportunities to be able to transform their lives where appropriate.

Everyone talks about various negative things such as mental health, physical health and accessibility for elderly people but it’s Pickleball is not just sport for elderly people but with the fastest growing sector in sport is from in North America being ages 18-34. This is something that we in Canada have yet to discover yet but it’s ironic that the average age of membership in Delta DPA has been decreasing noting that which is evidence that the club is attracting younger members.

The one reason that Pickleball’s explosive growth in Delta and the rest of Canada is in large part to all of the significant benefits players get from playing. is gaining popularity is due to all the benefits that you might not see at first but over time you’ll notice the change.

Interesting to note  that initially the The Delta Pickleball Association, after starting with just 12 members  club started with 12, noting that the club currently has “roughly” now boasts around 900 members! with a turnover of about 20% of the members who find other areas to play.

Everyone talks about various negative things such as mental health, physical health and accessibility for elderly people but it’s not just sport for elderly people but the fastest growing sector in sport is from ages 18-34.

This is something that we in Canada have yet to discover yet but it’s ironic that the membership in Delta has been decreasing noting that the club is attracting younger members.