Work begins this week to change Alpine Park's two tennis courts into 12 permanent pickleball courts, and a provincial funding announcement is helping the project along.
Members of the St. Albert Pickleball Club took a break from their morning game at Red Willow Community Church Tuesday morning to celebrate a $125,000 cheque from the province to help give the Alpine Courts a facelift.
The courts, nestled in the neighbourhood of Akinsdale, will bring the city's pickleball court count to 22. The project means more space for a sport that keeps growing and shows no signs of slowing down.
The project includes asphalt work, surfacing and lining of the court, post and net installation, fencing, signage, wind screening and bench signage. Work will also be done on the park playground and parking lot.
Stella Rafuse, former club secretary and board member, said the $125,000 came from Alberta's Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP). The club will be giving that money to the city, which in December approved $276,900 for the project.
"We're working with the city to get some extra things, because what they budgeted for was just basic stuff," Rafuse explained.
"We're looking for a wind screen, and maybe a shelter over the courts for the sun."
Rafuse applied for the CFEP grant last summer and received the good news in April. She said it was exciting to have provincial support for the project.
The work doesn't stop after Alpine Courts, though. With 298 members and growing, the Pickleball Club could outgrow Alpine Courts in no time.
The club routinely has 40 members turn out to play Round Robin – its most popular game – and some end up getting turned away or sharing spots, Rafuse said.
"Even when we get to Alpine, it already might be too small," Rafuse said.
Jack Rafuse, who captains games and helps to train players, said the club's membership has been exploding. Membership tripled in the past year and a half and he said he expects it to hit 400 by Christmas.
"There's a lot of people playing seven days a week, sometimes two times in a day, morning and evening," he said.
For Jack, pickleball is about more than swinging a racquet. It helps older St. Albertans stay fit and healthy and it helps keep people limber.
It's also more inclusive than sports driven by a win-or-lose mentality.
"It's really a true sport for everybody," Jack said.
He was thrilled to hear about provincial funding for a sport near and dear to his heart.
"I thought it was fantastic. It's needed – it's really needed," he said.
Trainer Nicole Currie said each month she has up to 25 new people register for a beginner pickleball class.
She said the new courts will allow the club to venture into new territory: holding regional tournaments.
"I think it's just fabulous," she said of the funding announcement.
"A lot of our members are now starting to go to different places for tournaments, so it'll be nice to kind of host one here."
Although St. Albert MLA Marie Renaud could not be present for the funding announcement, constituency assistant Carol Volger presented the cheque to the club on her behalf.
