Classic tournament putting NOTL on the pickleball map

The culmination of a vision that John Hindle and his fellow early members of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Pickleball Club had six years ago begins next Friday at the Virgil Sports Complex. 

That’s when the Niagara-on-the-Lake Pickleball Classic kicks off with a demonstration by pickleball professionals and a celebration of the fledgling and often misunderstood sport. The tournament continues with men’s and women’s doubles matches Saturday, and mixed doubles matches Sunday. 

“It’s been in germination since we first started developing a vibrant club,” says Hindle. “Most of Niagara’s municipalities don’t have a pickleball club. They have community centres where people drop in to play. We thought that was a poor way to represent a sport. We wanted our club to be a community that would support each other in their development in the game.”

Hindle says the club started with six members, then quickly grew to 16. Sixteen became 28, and 28 became 75. The growth was so phenomenal that Dan Makesenuk, who manages the NOTL Community Centre, encouraged them to start a club.

“We got such great support from Dan and from Kevin Turcotte (manager of parks and recreation),” Hindle says. “And the entire arena staff has been amazing in the lead-up to this event.”

As members of the NOTL club started to get better at the game, many of them began entering tournaments. 

“Tournaments were springing up all over the province,” remembers Hindle. “We looked like the Bermuda Triangle down here with nothing happening. So a bunch of us spread out entering other tournaments, watched the way they were running them, and it’s finally time for us to host our own.”

Hindle promises the Classic will be bigger and better than any event any of his members have played in so far. 

“It will be massive,” he says. “We have over 100 volunteers, plus 16 of us on the steering committee. We capped the entries at 300 players, from ages 17 to 77. The spots were filled in less than six weeks. They’re coming from Alaska, California, Florida and everywhere in between.”

One of the things that sets it apart is the pro night on Friday.  

“It’s what makes this tournament special,” he says. “We wanted to bring the excitement for learning pickleball. We’ve invited eight top pro players to play in exhibition matches that night, two women’s doubles, two men’s doubles and a mixed match. The pros will get a lot of time to highlight their skill.”

The club is charging a $10 fee that night, hoping to pack the seats in the Meridian Credit Union Arena. He promises a 50/50 draw and door prizes and has even arranged VIP seating right on the floor near the six courts. 

YourTV will be broadcasting those matches on Cogeco channel 100 (channel 700 on Epico) as well as the tournament matches on Saturday and Sunday. 

“They just laid the fibre cable this week,” he says. “They have cameras shooting from up above at the centre, cameras from the back end and mobile cameras on the floor too. It is going to be an elegant presentation.”

Following the men’s and women’s matches on Saturday the organizers and participants will be heading to the NOTL Community Centre for a dinner and dance celebration, with music provided by a live band. 

All entrants are guaranteed at least three matches over the weekend, with the finalists in each of the 27 different categories, based on age and skill level, playing as many as eight games. Winners will take home gold medals, with silver and bronze going to second and third place finishers. 

With play taking place simultaneously on six courts on each arena’s floor, it will be a busy, buzzing weekend in Virgil. And Hindle is ready for the questions visitors may ask about those beautiful outdoor courts beside the parking lot which are verboten for pickleball play following last year’s noise complaint.

“We felt we had to do something big to remove that black eye,” he says. “We swallowed hard and said ‘let’s move on.’ We also had the challenge of COVID to deal with. We felt this tournament would be a great celebration, and the club has really come together over this.”

Organized using software called Pickleball Brackets, the tournament is sanctioned by Pickleball Canada. That means players’ results will be entered into a national database and can be used to rank skill levels for future tournament entries. 

“And we’ve trained 25 members to be officials for next weekend,” adds Hindle. “Most tournaments only provide officials in the final matches. We aim to have a referee on every court for every single match. That is not at all usual in any tournaments we’ve experienced.”

As well, Niagara College physiotherapy students will be on hand to help some of the players work out the kinks between matches.

Speaking of working out the kinks, two weeks ago 80 club members participated in a trial tournament to test out the software and the flow of play. 

“We learned a bunch and made some mid-course corrections,” says the retired educator. “It gave us a chance to see what needed to change. We expect it to go on without a hitch.”

As if he won’t be busy enough, Hindle and his wife Alison will be welcoming friends from Tillsonburg, who will park their RV at the Hindle home. He expects many visitors will make a weekend out of the event. 

“We’ve heard a strong indication that most people want to come down Friday night, they want to come to the pro exhibition,” he says. “They’ll do some late-night touring, and come to the dance Saturday. Most people will be here at least Friday and Saturday night. It’s going to be a big boost to the town.”