Pickleball: Is Canada's Fastest Growing Sport Also Its Most Disruptive?

Like many British Columbians, I was surprised at the end of last month to read about a Chilliwack couple undertaking a Ghandi-inspired hunger strike against the Pickleball courts in their neighbourhood.¹ Could the racket sport really be so disruptive that residents felt the need to engage in a public protest? As it turns out, yes.

Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in Canada, but many residential home owners say that having a court near their house is a major nuisance. Pickleball, which has been described as a cross between tennis, ping-pong, and badminton, grew 40% between 2019 and 2021, with an additional spike as people were spending more time outdoors during the Covid-19 Pandemic.²