Pickleball glory on the line at Manitoba championships

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This article was published 29/05/2024 (542 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of Manitoba’s most accomplished players is looking to stand atop the podium again this weekend at the 2024 Pickleball Manitoba provincial championships.

Lisa Walsh, considered a 4.0 skill-level player, is eyeing back-to-back gold medals in the women’s doubles event with her partner, Sandra Webber.

Walsh and Webber are two of nearly 300 athletes set to compete Friday to Sunday at the Dakota Fieldhouse. The province’s largest pickleball event features men’s and women’s singles and doubles play, in addition to mixed-doubles and a full slate of junior competition.

Walsh said she would cherish a second consecutive title as she also prepares for the Canadian championships in August in Halifax.

“I feel like I’m always preparing for a competition, whether it’s competition season or not,” Walsh said, earlier this week. “Just always wanting to try and improve my game.”

She’s played the burgeoning sport for six years, among the approximately 1,700 members of Pickleball Manitoba. Conservative estimates suggest about 5,000 people are involved in the paddle sport, which combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis.

“Pickleball is so good for all aspects of my health,” said Walsh. “Not just physically but mentally, emotionally, even spiritually. The camaraderie amongst players is like no other sport that I’ve experienced.

“It’s just an all-around genuine, fun, competitive, serious sport,” said Walsh. “It’s so simple and so fulfilling.”

Neal Hastings is also going for consecutive gold medals in the men’s (age 60-69) 4.0 skill-level division with his doubles partner, Ken Bradford.

In his fourth year playing pickleball, the Winnipegger takes the game seriously, competing across the country in regional and national tournaments. He’s already got plans for late July when he’ll battle at the 2024 western regional championships in Vernon, B.C., and will also be in Halifax for the nationals.

The frigid Winnipeg winter doesn’t stop him, either, as the ‘snowbird’ plays four or more times a week in the Arizona Pickleball Players League.

“It’s the people you see that makes the game addictive,” said Hastings, who is thrilled with the sport’s rise in popularity locally and nationwide.

“When I first started to play, you’d have to almost go look for people to play with. Now, you can show up at courts and (have) long waits in between games to get a court. So, it’s exponentially growing. It’s quite incredible.”

Ted Fardoe, president of Pickleball Manitoba and director of the provincial championships, hopes this weekend’s event will put a spotlight on the sport.

“It’s growing every day,” he said. “I think it’s definitely a sense of community. It’s a lot of fun and it’s easy to have fun on the court. There’s so many good things for health benefits, social benefits.”

Fardoe said the association is working hard to attract younger players, and an event Saturday should help the cause. A youth division/learn-to-play clinic will be staged, with an hour of skills and rules instruction followed by an hour of game play.

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca