Vernon Pickleball Association “Best Pickleball Club in Canada” – Pickleball Today Contest Winner

The results of Pickleball Today’s Canada-wide contest to determine who is the best Club in Canada have been announced – and the Vernon Pickleball Association (VPA) has been chosen!

Walter Knecht President of Pickleball BC said “while there are many great pickleball venues across Canada there is no doubt the Vernon OWA facility [Okanagan Wealth Advisor’s Pickleball Complex at Marshall Fields] ranks high on the list of places to play. Combine the number of courts with the dedication of the VPA executive and the 1,000 plus members who volunteer endlessly – the Vernon Pickleball Association deserves this top rated recognition.”

Pickleball Today conducted this contest over the last while to find Canada’s best as follows:

• “We conducted a very thorough nomination phase in early summer. Over 140 different clubs were nominated and they spanned the country, from coast to coast to coast.
• In that phase East Coast Rock of St. John’s NL came out on top.
• We had an article submission and publishing phase where the nominees submitted articles about their clubs. All articles will remain on our site.
• We had a phase where we had submissions of other clubs that were smaller or hadn’t caught on to the nomination phase early enough sent us articles, and we selected one of those clubs as a worthy finalist.
• Of those submissions, Pickleball Hamilton was selected to be included in the FINALS.
• And lastly, over a period of 1 month, we allowed anyone in Canada to vote for the club they thought most worthy, allowing 1 vote per person.”

Patrick Batty founder of Pickleball Today stated “You folks have created a club that could be a template for all of us to follow. Your achievements, enthusiasm, tournament hosting, fund raising, and local community relations are quite amazing”.

“The VPA has hosted four tournaments this year including the inaugural B.C. Provincials with 650 competitors. Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in North America, and having a year-round dedicated facility in Vernon has become a draw for both tourism and new residents,” Anne Longley spokesperson for VPA told Vernon Matters earlier.

Second place in Canada’s Best Pickleball Club 2023 went to: St.-Isidore Pickleball Club in Saint-Isidore, NB
Third Place in Canada’s Best Pickleball Club 2023 went to: Pickleball Hamilton of Hamilton, Ontario

The Board of Pickleball BC and on behalf of our 16,000+ strong membership congratulates VPA (where the Provincials and the CNPL Western Region draft was held this summer, amongst other tournaments) and all the winners!!!