A pair of plucky Haida Gwaii pickleballers won gold at the first-ever Terrace Pickleball Classic.
Regina Williams and Christina Lord took home a women’s doubles title after winning a close, 19-game match against a tough Terrace duo in the final. Held June 22 and 23 on outdoor and indoor courts in Terrace, the tournament drew 84 players from Terrace, Prince Rupert, Smithers, and Telkwa. Williams and Lord were the only players from Haida Gwaii.
“Christina and I did really well because they couldn’t really find a weaker player between us,” said Williams, who thanked the crew of Masset pickleball regulars who helped her and Christina train up in the weeks before the tournament.
Williams and Lord worked on their backhands, practiced set plays, and amped up their drives knowing they would face some aggressive players in the 3.5-and-up skill bracket.
Lord said there are about a dozen people who regularly play in Masset, and the 5 p.m. Friday beginners’ night is the busiest night of the week.
“We’re so hooked,” she said. “We’re in the roller rink three times a week without fail.”
Daajing Giids also has a regular pickleball group that plays in the high school gym during the school year, and now on Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. in the Bear Park courts, weather permitting.
Daajing Giids organizer Fran Fowler says anyone can try it since there are extra rackets on hand.
Invented in 1965, pickleball took off in the 2010s and enjoyed a real spike during the pandemic, since it’s a fairly COVID-safe sport. Williams said she really appreciated being able to play as usual then, when so much of day-to-day life got upended.
Williams also appreciates all the court time they get in Masset’s John Lalonde Roller Rink.
“People all over B.C. are clamouring to find court time,” she said. In other towns and cities, players have to hang their paddles for 20 or 30 minutes between games until a court frees up. But in Masset, pickleballers can play all their games back-t0-back.
For anyone who hasn’t tried it yet, pickleball is an easy-to-learn sport that’s a kind of a grab-bag of tennis, ping-pong, and badminton. The name comes from “pickle boat” rowing races — fun, pick-up races where there are no set teams, just enough people to fill a boat.
Because pickleball uses a whiffle ball, there isn’t a huge advantage to being a heavy-hitter. Pickleball courts are only about a quarter the size of a tennis court, with a slightly lower net.
Pickleball courts also have a zone called ‘The Kitchen’ — an area near the net where players can’t return a ball until it has bounced on their side first.
“It’s such an easy sport to learn, but you can get really good,” Williams said, adding that pros and players up in the nearly-pro 5.0 skills bracket are astounding to watch.
“Their hands are so fast, and they predict every ball.”
Although most popular with people in their fifties, the age range at the Terrace Pickleball Classic went from mid-20s to 80, with a fair number of 30-year-olds.
“It’s getting younger,” said Lord.
Late this month, Williams will go to Vernon, B.C. to compete in singles, women’s and mixed doubles at the Pickleball Western Regional Championships — a tournament that draws around 600 players from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
Williams played in it last year, helped in part by a Gwaii Trust travel grant.
“It would be just great to have more people travel from the island to go and experience the play out there,” she said. “The people you meet, it’s just incredible.”