Dozens are popping into pickleball to escape the January chill, and Grande Prairie Pickleball Club (GPPC) vice president Dan Gorman said more players than ever are showing up every week.

Gorman said the club has approximately 350 players, from as old as 86 to as young as five years old.

“We’re expecting that to grow over 500 by the end of 2026 and well over 1,000 by 2030,” he said. “We’re growing and expanding all over the place.”

He said about 500 players are expected by the end of 2026 and well over 1,000 by 2030. 

The club was founded in 2017 and is governed by a 12-member board. 

Three years ago, there were only 125 players in the city.

It’s a sport that’s only on the rise. Gorman said pickleball has tripled in size over the last three years with more than 2 million players in Canada and over 10 million in the U.S.

In Canada, pickleball participants have tripled in just two years, according to the club.

In February of 2023, the Canadian National Pickleball League (CNPL) officially launched as the country's first professional pickleball league.

Gorman said the rise in popularity was due to it being an “incredibly inclusive” game.

“Everyone can play,” he said.

“If you can walk, you can play, and it’s one of the few sports that you can actually start playing immediately. It takes a while to learn all the rules and stuff like that, but you can actually get out on the court and play immediately.”

The popular sport is played on a badminton-sized court, with two teams made of two players using paddles to hit a hollow, plastic pickleball over a net.

The majority of the Grande Prairie club’s play is inside at the Eastlink Centre; indoor play is also available at the Grande Prairie Activity & Reception Centre (ARC), Mother Theresa and Maude Clifford schools and the Dave Barr arena.

The social and the community aspect is “second to none”, according to Gorman. 

“In between the games you’re sitting at tables, visiting with people, you play different people every single game. 

“There’s such a community and social aspect to it that I really haven’t seen with other sports.”

The club has been working to bring more young players into the fold, operating youth clinics through the spring and summer.

“They’ll bus kids in from some of the different schools in the area and bring them to the outdoor courts and our club members would give instruction,” Gorman said.

Used to be, said Gorman, the average pickleballer was “late 50s, early 60s”. Now, he said, the average of a person playing pickleball is 38.

The sport is getting so popular that Gorman said the GPPC hopes to develop an entire pickleball complex.

“Our plan is to develop and create a 15 to 20 court indoor/outdoor complex that’s got a coffee and lounge area (and) change rooms. Most of the regions of our size in the province have got a similar facility”.

“We know it’s probably a four- to five-year plan, but we've already discussed it briefly with the (County of Grande Prairie), the city, the province and even our federal representative, (Grande Prairie-Mackenzie MP Chris) Warkentin. We’re hoping to start putting a committee together on that and getting some local support and involvement as well.”

Gorman estimated the construction of such a facility to cost between $10 to $12 million.

“We’re in the extreme early stages,” he said. “With the sport growing and showing no sign of abating we feel it’s important to start planning it now.”

This winter, pickleball is available in Grande Prairie at the Mother Teresa Community Gym & Maude Clifford Community Gym on Sundays from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., as well as at the Eastlink Centre on Mondays and Fridays from 7 a.m to 12 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Pickleball popularity isn’t limited to the city. 

Drop-in pickleball is available in Beaverlodge from Tuesday to Thursday at the Nuvista Energy Centre from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., as well as at the St. Mary Catholic School on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7 to 9 p.m.

In Sexsmith, Robert W. Zahara Public School hosts it Thursdays from 7 to 9 p.m. 

The Wembley Pickleball Club will start up again on Jan. 14, running Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Wembley Elementary School.

In Saddle Hills County, The Valley Pickleball Club operates at the Savanna School every Monday and Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. as well as at the Woking Multiplex on Wednesdays, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.