With just hours left until the official grand opening of Canada’s first "pickleball social club," staff were busy putting together the final touches at a new 21,000-square-foot facility in Barrie.
Pickleplex Social Club, which was set to open to the public at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25, includes seven 32-by-62-foot professional, championship-style courts, as well as a lounge area, cornhole boards, a ping pong table and corporate rooms, said co-founder and president Steven Fry.
It is even fully licensed, he noted.
“We could have fit more, but we wanted to make sure we had a proper area for being social,” said Fry, pointing to the lounge area with its leather couches and cornhole boards.
“We put Pickleball Social Club for a reason. We want this to be a social environment," he added. "We want this to be a place where people come and hang out, socialize with friends and we are giving people purpose. People are looking to have fun and do something social in the community and this is a great place, so we deliberately designed the courts in such a way that really embraces that.”
The north-end Barrie facility, located in the former Sears store at Georgian Mall, is the first club to open, but it won’t be the last, said Fry.
“We will be opening a club a month this year. It’s extra special for me because I grew up here and my whole family lives here,” he said when asked why Barrie was selected as a new location. “I want to give back to the community because it’s such an amazing community. We are pumped to be here.”
Pickleball has quickly become the fastest-growing sport in the world, Fry noted, adding there are currently more people playing pickleball than there are playing tennis and golf combined in the U.S.
Although Canada is about a year-and-a-half behind, the sport is quickly garnering popularity here, too, he said.
Currently in Barrie, there are 19 dedicated and seven shared outdoor pickleball courts.
While pickleball had previously been known as a game for an “older demographic,” that is no longer the case, Fry acknowledged.
“The median age for people playing pickleball is driving down and I think it’s now sub-40. (It’s) a lot of working professionals and a lot of retired people as well," he said. "What’s unique about this sport is that it is busy during the day because you have the retirees playing, but in the evening it’s the new hot date-night thing to do.
“It’s an easy sport to learn, but it’s difficult to master … and it’s fun.”
The ball used in the game is a wiffle ball, which means it can’t be “smashed” super hard or far, making it more accessible to a wider type of player.
“It’s like a hybrid of ping pong and badminton. It’s easy to pick up and learn, and once you get going it’s fun because the movements are shorter … but it’s a hell of a workout,” said Fry.
“I think the secret sauce for pickleball is that it’s a wiffle ball. It’s got holes in it. It’s not like you go crazy distances, but it’s still a very fast-paced game," he added. "A lot of the game is played at the net, so softer touches. Pickleball is making people who want to be athletic into athletes again.”