Vernon will be hosting a massive pickleball tournament this weekend. There are 270 teams registered for the three-day second annual Rally in the Valley at the indoor pickleball complex.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Vernon Pickleball Association/Anne Longley

Vernon will be hosting a massive pickleball tournament this weekend.

There are 270 teams registered for the three-day second annual Rally in the Valley at the indoor pickleball complex.

“With about 20 teams more than last year, coming from the Lower Mainland, Alberta and as far away as Terrace, we’ve got about 90 mixed teams on Saturday, so it’s going to be a very full day, that’s a lot of people competing and it’s very encouraging,” tournament chair Richard Chambers told iNFOnews.

“I’m also excited that we’ve got about 17 accredited referees. That really helps lift the standard of play. Vernon now has about a third of accredited officials in BC.”

Spectators will be able to enjoy pickleball of all levels. The levels range from 1.0, the lowest level, to 5.0+, the highest.

“We have players from the introductory competitive level of 3.0 to 4.5 and 5.0 which are very skilled players, so we’ve got the whole gamut with lots of 4.0, which is where we start to get a lot of very good players,” Chambers said.

The Vernon Pickleball Association has been able to extend the pickleball season thanks to its indoor facility.

"These tournaments not only showcase our facility and organization but also have a significant economic impact on the City of Vernon because of the large number of out-of-town participants,” association president Myron Hocevar said in a media release.

Pickleball courts at the Vernon Pickleball Association's pickleball complex.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Vernon Pickleball Association/Anne Longley

Chambers said the indoor facility is in part responsible for the astonishing growth in popularity pickleball witnessed in the Okanagan during the past five years.

“Prior to 2019, we just played on tennis courts and the membership was around 300, then we were able to build our own dedicated courts and membership went up to around 600, and ever since we put a roof over the courts, we’re at 1,100 which is pretty astounding,” Chambers said.

“As the community started getting its own courts, and became less of a thorn in the community's side with the noise, more people started playing."

Pickleball BC had 3,000 members in 2019 and that number has grown to more than 14,000, he said.

Anyone wanting to attend the event should note that is free to do so and a food truck as well as a beer garden will be available to the public.

Chambers reminded attendees that it will be chilly this weekend and to prepare for that because, although the games are indoors, parts of the event will still be held outdoors.

The tournament runs from Friday, Sept. 29 to Sunday, Oct. 1.

For more information check out the association's website here.

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