Pickleball is booming, and Victoria wants to lead the way

Pickleball players from all over the region are smashing, slamming, and dinking this morning at a pretty big tournament in Sooke, and come late August, an even larger event, one that has organizers talking about going national with it, will take place at Victoria’s Topaz Park.

The Pickleball Festival, a three-day pickleball smorgasbord, will feature a tournament for competitive and recreational players across multiple skill levels, with the best competing for the inaugural Clipper Cup.

The tourney, which organizers said will be the first of its kind in Canada, is expected to attract participants from across the region, province, and Washington state.

“Pickleball is more than a sport right now. It is a movement, and Canada deserves a flagship festival that matches the energy players are bringing to the courts every weekend," says Brittany Buna, the festival's founder.

That energy will be boosted by the buzz of a vendor’s market featuring “all things pickleball and beyond, from gear and apparel to local makers, brands, and small businesses.” Players and festival fans will be able to power up at a food garden comprised of food trucks.

“Victoria is the perfect launch city,” Buna says. “We are starting here, and we plan to take this festival across the country.”

It will cost $65 per player to take part, with registration opening on July 5.

The Clipper Cup component of the Pickleball Festival and the Sooke Paddle Battle are the organizational work of Court Crushers, a Sooke-based business specializing in directing professional pickleball tournaments and event management. They're also examples of a sport gone mad: Suddenly, everyone’s playing pickleball.

“It’s the most inclusive sport I’ve ever seen—you see people from all walks of life participating,” says James Nielsen, founder of Vancouver Island Pickleball, a digital community hub dedicated to supporting and growing the pickleball community across Vancouver Island.

“It’s pretty easy to pick up and play off the bat.”

The Sooke event was expected to draw 250+ players, ranging in age from 12 to 79. That “wild” demographic is the key to the sport’s success, Nielsen says.

“You can literally have someone in their 70s or 80s playing a competitive match against a 10-year-old—I have been humbled by people decades older than me, albeit I’ve never been great.”

Pickleball attracts all ages

It may have been introduced as a sport for seniors, but pickleball is growing, especially amongst those in the 25-35 age bracket. “It really is an egalitarian sport,” says Roger Graves, president of the Victoria Regional Pickleball Association (VRPA). “You need a $50 paddle and a $2 ball to play.”

Graves says another reason the game is becoming more popular is that it’s easy to pick up. “I'm a nationally certified Level 2 coach, and in one 90-minute lesson, I can take people who have never played and have them playing a recognizable game of pickleball.”

Graves says that means people can compete with their kids, and they can hit the court with their parents—"which is not something you can say about all sports.”

Pickleball is seen as the fastest-growing sport in the country. According to Pickleball Canada, roughly 350K Canadians played the game in 2020. By 2022, one million Canadians were playing pickleball. Today, there are 1.8 million enjoying the sport—an 80% uptick over the last four years.

The numbers are reflected locally, too. In 2016, when the VRPA was formed, there were 34 members. The association has seen a 30-fold increase since. Membership hit a high-water mark of about 1,200 in 2025.

New courts a plenty

The sport has had its hiccups with noise concerns— see Wain Park, North Saanich—and the challenge of finding places to play, but in Greater Victoria, that’s changed.

Over the past 18 months, more than 30 courts have been built in the region, including the 11 dedicated outdoor courts at the newly renovated Topaz Park.

Pickleball-dedicated courts in the CRD:

• Juan de Fuca (Colwood): 6
• Royal Bay (Colwood): 4
• Fowler Park (Saanich): 6
• Centennial Park (Central Saanich): 4
• Iroquois Park (Sidney): 2
• Topaz (Victoria): 11

“The VRPA has worked with virtually every municipal government in the region, and the results are fantastic,” Graves says. “New, indoor profit-based groups like the Victoria Pickleball Centre in Langford are also great additions, and I think that another new indoor facility will be developed in the near future, almost certainly with private money.”

The Victoria Pickleball Centre opened in March 2024, providing six dedicated indoor courts to a community that was used to making do on tennis courts. Buna, a lawyer turned pickleball entrepreneur, helped found the popular facility—its courts are available 24/7—and says the game's social aspect is a key driver of its steady growth.

“Pickleball is giving us what we need the most: face-to-face connection, in real time, on the court.”