Montrealers getting in on the pickleball craze

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in North America. It's described as a fast-paced sport with similarities to badminton, tennis and ping pong.

Even tennis pros like Genie Bouchard have caught onto the craze.

"Once you play, you’re coming back," jokes Ben Iortim, who moved to Montreal from Nigeria a year ago. He credits the sport with helping adjust to life in Montreal.

"Pickleball, you know, held my hand and helped me work through the winter and the culture and everything," he says.

At the Y.M.C.A. in Westmount where Bem plays once a week, the organization says it has seen a rise in pickleball’s popularity and it plans to add more game time come fall.

"The last couple years, we've definitely had more requests to have more spots and seeing the participants having a lot of fun and attracting more and more of their friends to join in," Y.M.C.A. Westmount/N.D.G. assistant site manager, Benjamin Grecoff says,

Across the city, public tennis courts are now being shared with pickleball players, and that has led to a demand for their own designated courts.

Lorraine Millette, director of Club De Pickleball Montreal/Lachine chapter, says there needs to be a plan in place to handle the demand for more court time.

"I think that we're having a growth spurt right now that is just too fast and not enough people are involved to try and make this happen in a structural way," Millette said.

She has been asking her borough mayor, Maja Vodanovic, to accommodate the league’s growing numbers. The mayor said Lachine does have a game plan.

"Two of the tennis courts are going to be removed to make eight pickleball courts, which is a good, I think it's good ratio," Vodanovic says.

Millette says the additional courts are a good start but is looking for a long-term solution, and offers up an idea.

"Right now, we don't have a complex in our community because that would be too expensive, but we have a lot of schools, so why not utilize them?"

As newcomer Iortim says, for those who play pickleball, it's more than just a sport, it’s a chance to connect to the community.

"I love you all. You helped [me settle] down."