The Richmond BC Pickleball Association was formed to advocate for the growth of pickleball racquet sports in the City of Richmond BC for the enjoyment, health and social engagement of all players.
We endeavour to engage and collaborate with the City of Richmond BC to develop dedicated outdoor pickleball courts and increase indoor court access in the region.
Our objectives include:
- Promote the sport of pickleball for all skill levels and age groups.
- Develop pickleball clinics with a structured approach for improvement of play for all levels.
- Organize tournaments and schedule outdoor court playing times.
- Liaise with the community centers to have more time set aside for indoor pickleball.
- Work with the City to improve and develop dedicated outdoor pickleball courts in Richmond, possibly through a court improvement program.
The Richmond BC Pickleball Association is registered as
Canadian Not-For-Profit Corporation
Societies Act of British Columbia
A Glance Back At Our Association’s Genesis
In April 2019, when Sandra Sequeira was playing pickleball on Cambie Community Centre’s indoor courts, she met Anne Primeau and the two discussed the dire need for outdoor courts in the city. They agreed that together they would try to spearhead an initiative to create local courts.
At the same time Ed Wong was making enquiries on how to approach the City of Richmond to convince them to build outdoor pickleball courts at South Arm. Both Ed and Sandra sought advice from Peter Darvill, founding member of Delta Pickleball Association, and Peter coordinated a meeting for Anne, Ed and Sandra.
In June 2019, the Richmond trio submitted a proposal to the City of Richmond, requesting funding for dedicated outdoor pickleball courts ideally in time for the 55+ BC Games in 2020. When Peter recommended an Association be formed and additional people be recruited to join, Gordon Farrell and Lori Barkley joined the group. Gord registered the Richmond BC Pickleball Association under the Canadian Not-For-Profit Corporation in July 2019 and later under the Societies Act of BC.
In the first executive team Gordon Farrell was Director & President; Anne Primeau was Director & Vice-President; Lori Barkley was Director & Secretary; Sandra Sequeira served as Director & Treasurer and Ed Wong was an Advisor.
In December 2019, City Council’s approved 2020 Capital Budget included the construction of three pickleball courts at South Arm Park. Later, Parks & Recreation found additional funding for six courts at Hugh Boyd Park.
The City consulted with the Association on the design and layout of the courts, and with their input, created courts that are wheelchair accessible and that exceed USAPA’s minimum recommendation for overruns.
Construction on the South Arm courts began in mid-May 2020 and the last courts at Hugh Boyd were completed in early August. In just 16 months we had nine beautiful courts in the city!
The Association is grateful to the City of Richmond for its support, and especially for prioritizing the completion of the courts in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The outdoor courts gave us an opportunity to stay active, fit and social, especially so when our indoor courts were not available.