midlandareapickleballclub.ca © All rights reserved.

Designed and updated by Helen Proctor.

Comments and questions are appreciated.

Last updated: April 6, 2024

We play pickleball for free in 2 facilities designed just for pickleball. If we care to, we can pay a $10 fee to join a separate club for $10/yr, which gives us more organization and designated times for those looking for a more regimented organized play. Our new pickleball facility, which was completed last year costing $3.8 million, has resulted in a huge increase not only in membership from 180 members to over 890, but people see how great the facilities are and are moving into the areas in droves. We offer the largest permanent indoor facility in the USA with 8 indoor courts and 12 outdoor courts. An additional 7 courts in another rec centre with permanent facilities is also available . The board of Sun City has realized that by offering modern areas to its senior population, people will purchase and move to this area. The numbers I heard are that a new home is being built every week plus add the re-sales and that number increases to 5 per week. This will give you a idea of how the seniors are influencing the policies of all levels of society.

​How small is this world?

At the registration desk Bev ran into Norbert and Thérèse, all from the Midland Area Pickleball Club.

Norbert was playing in the 4.0 Men's Doubles.

Thérèse was playing her first tournament.

Bev was playing Women's Doubles.

It just goes to show it is a very small world.

We are staying at Lakeside Village, a mobile park located in Lake Placid, Florida.  Pickleball has only been offered in this park since 2013 and there are 12 people who play off and on.  They are from all over the US and Canada and after just a few games, I felt like I'd known them all forever, people are very friendly.  There is only one outside court and it is not asphalt but some man-made material, quite unusual apparently.  It certainly has been interesting adapting to not only the outside ball but also the court.  Not the place for highly skilled players but great for beginners or intermediate players.  We play every morning for 2 - 3 hours and skill levels are mostly intermediate.  Even though the group is small,  six of us are registered to play mixed and mens/womens doubles at the Tanglewood Winter Pickleball Classic IV in Sebring.  This is a three day tournament and registrations are by skill level, from 2.5 to 5.0.  They have a beautiful facility with fourteen courts,  I believe 8 outside and 6 inside.  The tournament is Feb 27 - 28 so I'll send you details about the results, hopefully in time for the March Newsletter.  Looking forward to reading about all the Pickleball playing happening at home and in the USA  -  B & T.


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Naples

At Veterans Community Park in Naples FL. They have eight courts with over 60 players. Cost is $25. They offer play six days a week from eight to twelve noon.The format for playing is self-regulating. You write your name on a white board, four per box. You can play with whom you want or randomly. It works well.

Two days a week indoors at the Lea County Community Centre, FL. They have six courts. 82 players came out Tuesday. The format is that you put your paddles on the floor in fours either with whom you wish or randomly. They have a volunteer that ushers you along to an on-deck spot. She will also try to match you with players at same skill level if you ask. Play games of nine. Cost is $10 for life. The process works well for such a large group and moves along surprisingly quickly.

Registered to play in the Lea County Senior Games at Fort Myers. Playing 65 plus mixed doubles with a lady from Windsor ON. This is age based  like the OSGA not skill level. 

Staying at Bonita Springs you are ten minutes by bike to Barefoot Beach on the Gulf Coast. A 15 minute drive to outdoor and indoor pickleball facilities. The RV places in the area go for $1200 per month for a minimum of three months. I stay at a 55 + Trailer Park. It is booked . I just checked a gated community for my friend. For one bedroom for February goes for $5,500 US.

Sebring

Tanglewood Resort in Sebring, Florida:
170 members at $15 per year
4 courts now but 4 new ones are supposed to be built next year

They have two travel teams, men and women which are made up with their top level players.

They also have leagues, men's, women's and mixed doubles.
2 courts are reserved for rotation of any players and 2 courts are called "challenge" where 2 people, as a team will challenge another team.

2 courts are reserved for beginner instruction and/or drop in.  They have occasional clinics and a fun tournament every year and another with outside players

They are a social club and get together approximately 3 times a year. The biggest challenge is how to deal with the mix of levels of play.

This year's tournament was held at the end of February and 250 players entered  -  K & I.

Hilton Head

has an active pickle ball association.
8 outdoor courts, with more coming. Courts are set up Mon – Fri 9-12.
There can be anywhere from 8 players to 50 depending on the weather and how many snowbirds come out to play.
It can be cool here 40F, or hot, 80F+ in the spring.

Calibre of play is from beginners to really, really good.
Everyone here is very friendly. Most players are from out of state or Canada.
As for other activities and places to go here, I would suggest checking out Hilton head on web sites.

The cost is $3 per day or $50 for a year membership. I paid for the year because I plan to play lots during the 2 months I am here. - M

My partner Kathy, from British Columbia, and I will be playing in both of these tournaments and also one other at a Robson Ranch community later in March. My male partner, Jim from Orillia, and I will play in the mixed skills events. The competition will be strong but I know we will have a blast, win or lose  -  A & D.

Casa Grande

Come to Arizona.......sunny everyday. Did you know that the sun shines here 350 days per year! The only issue we have with outdoor play is sometimes its windy. 

In the winter, I play in Casa Grande, Arizona in a resort called Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort. We have 32 courts and recently held the National Championship in November. We currently have submitted our intent to hold the Nationals again for 2016 and 2017.

I am currently a 3.5 USAPA rated player. I play several round robins throughout the week with players of my same level as well as challenge play with players one skill level higher. We teach pickleball to new members every week. They start at the 2.0 level but quickly move to 2.5 once they have the basic skills worked out. The skill levels in our park go from 2.0 through to 5.0. We have approx. 600 members in our pickleball club. We charge a nominal fee of $20.00 to play as much as you want for the season.

On February 5th through 8th we will hold our in-house park tournament where we encourage all new members to try their hand in a fun pickleball tournament. In March we host the Dual in the Desert. We see several top players from across the US and Canada come to the park to compete in all skill and age level play.

I've been an avid low handicap golfer for over 30 years....pickleball is taking over my life. I can't wait to get home to play at our new Tiffin Park and Tay Township courts. MAP has been working hard to make pickleball a staple in the Midland area. 

Okeechobee

We are staying at Silver Palms Rv Resort which is a beautiful park located in the town of Okeechobee. Centrally located in Florida, we are 2 hours south of Orlando, 1 hour for the Atlantic ocean and 2 hours from the Gulf.

Our park now has 10 pickleball courts and there are rumors that 2 more may be built this summer.

We have all levels of play from beginner to 2.5 up to 4.5 , so people can play with who ever they want.

There are also clinics offered every Tuesday and Wednesday and we have a pickleball machine (Simon) to help out with the instructions.

Time to get ready to play, so we will see you mid April  -  N & T.

M E X I C O

A R I Z O N A

S O U T H   C A R O L I N A

Melaque and Barra de Navidad

The towns are a few kms. apart.They are located approx. a 4 hour bus ride south of Puerto Vallarta.There are 3 courts in Melaque and 4 courts in Barra de Navidad.For information on the area....www.tomzap.com...The closest airport is Manzanillo which is a 20 minute taxi ride from either Barra or Melaque.There are 4 rv parks in the area.It is a 5 day drive rom Midland to Melaque.

Play in Barra....10 pesos a day...approx. 80 cents.....don't think there is any charge in Melaque but not sure.....play starts at 8am and lasts about 3 hours...after that,its too hot to play.....we have quite a number of 3+ players and one certified 4...instruction for beginners is available for free as well as loaner racquets....had 33 players and four courts today so it was quite busy....temps 30+ all this week...love it... M

The Villages

​Pop. Pop. Pop.
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
That echo of perforated, wiffle-like balls is the sound of a new day each and every morning in The Villages.
It’s the sound of health, exercise, fun and camaraderie.
It’s the sound of one of America’s fastest growing sports, rocket-fueled to international popularity by legions of players there.

Pickleball players of all skill levels can be found in The Villages — from those who just picked up their first paddle to those who are winning national competitions regularly.
This is the big mecca of pickleball.

The number of courts in The Villages......176 Courts in 29 Centres all within walking distance.
Approximately 3000 new players are introduced to the sport each year.

Fees to pay........free if you are renting a place or own a place.
Rentals of villas, ranch homes, designer homes and premier homes vary in cost by season and month.

Can be anywhere from $1000.00 per month during the summer to $5000.00 per month for the humongous premier home with a pool on the golf course.

Best site to check out some prices is:   http://www.villagershomes4rent.com/

RV parking is off site in various parks around The Villages i.e. Recreation Plantation in Lady Lake
PB playing is from dawn until dusk. New players can borrow paddles at the rec. centers. - G

Will be going down to check out the 45 courts in Naples where the US Open will be played at end of April.  Met some great snowbirds and locals which reinforces that pickleball is as much a social activity as it is a competitive activity. The popularity is exploding in towns and cities everywhere.  -  G & S.    http://usopenpickleballchampionship.com

Port St. Lucie

If you like boating AND pickleball, this is the place to go for the winter.

When I was in Florida last winter, I visited the Civic Center in Port St. Lucie every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM.

Yes, you read it correctly, a full five hours of fun for a $3.00 drop-in fee  (cheaper if you joined).

Brought my lunch so I would not have to miss a game.

Pickleball is offered from November to May.

The Center boasted 6 indoor courts, split between three for beginner/intermediate players and three courts for advanced/competitive players.

It was up to you to decide which side you wanted to play, they soon let you know where you belonged, not in so many words but looks.

I learned to ignore the looks as I usually started with the advanced and when I got tired I moved over to the beginner section.

Good place to practice placing the balls as players there were not into smashing.

They had a good setup going because like everywhere else pickleball was very popular.

Quite often there were from 10 to 20 players waiting at each side.

If you stayed the entire time, there were plenty of opportunities to play a lot.

It was busiest from 10:00 to 12:00 and not that long to wait after or before that time.

Two winners would stay on and split up.

Two new players would join them.

Winners again stayed on and split up.

However when it was busy you were only allowed to stay on twice in a row, then sit down and that meant that quite often they would call for three new players to join the game.

Wonder if that would work in our club.

Hope I explained it correctly.

Port St. Lucie is located on the Eastern Ocean side, where there are numerous marinas located from Titusville to Miami.

The beauty is that beaches, restaurants, theaters and shopping is all within walking distance of your boat.

I highly recommend the area, people are super friendly, they just have a funny accent, but then again so do I.

Beer, wine and liquor are very affordable, although it is all in U.S. Dollars, sigh ...  -  H & W.

Rick Masters (right) from Midland Area Pickleball Club in Ontario & his partner Mark Tamblyn from Kelowna BC won a Silver Medal in the Mens 3.5  65+ division  -  R & K.

F LO R I D A

Sun City

Sun City is a suburb of Phoenix,AZ with a population of 30,000. It is an age restricted community. It has 7 rec centers strategically located within the city each one with its own pool and exercise gym.

There are 5 golf courses within the city boundary and they are available for everyone to use. Along with pickleball there is bowling, baseball, tennis and lawn bowling to mention a few.

Lake Placid

Lakeside Village in Lake Placid, Florida has two clubhouses and offers shuffleboard, horseshoes, bocce ball, pickleball, pool (like 8ball), table tennis, putting green, poker night, bunko night, bingo night, games night, bible study, movie night and once a month offers park breakfast and a park dinner.

They have a $5.00 fee to join the North Park clubhouse and a $3.00 fee to join the South Park clubhouse. There is no charge to play any of the sports/games.

The Park does handle mobile rentals for owners and they charge $1,250.00 per month. There are a few RV spots that I believe cost $500.00 per month.

Lake Placid is famous for it's murals, in fact there are 46 murals throughout the town; they even paint murals on their trash cans! The downtown area is small and has many unique shops and several "home" cooking restaurants. There are really no fine dining restaurants but there are numerous golf courses, two major grocery stores and it is surrounded by lakes.

Major shopping malls are located a 30 minute drive and there is also a casino about 30 minutes away. Two major airports (Tampa and Orlando) are approximately 2 hours away.​