Western Slope Pickleball Club: Keeping Pace With Rapid Rise In The Sport
“Pickleball, anyone?”
Or should we say, “Pickleball, everyone!”
The amazing surge in popularity of what used to be a game for geezers has turned pickleball into the fastest growing sport in the United States. The Western Slope has jumped onto the court in a big way, too, thanks in large part to the Western Slope Pickleball Club (WSPC)in Grand Junction and several driving forces within the group.
Photos courtesy of Western Slope Pickleball.
From its inception in 2016, the goal of the club has been to promote growth in the sport, improve physical and social well-being in the community and provide instructional, recreational and competitive events for players of all ages and abilities.
Club membership, which began with 30 picklers in 2016, stands at 645 as of mid-2023. It’s a drop in the pickleball bucket considering an estimated 4.8 million who are now playing the sport worldwide, but it’s a huge 76.7% increase from two short years ago.
Members range from national, regional and club tournament champions to recreational players and beginners. There’s a place for everyone to find their own comfort zone.
Club membership ($35 per year) includes free clinics, free court time, free tournaments, social gatherings and fundraising events. The club also provides volunteers to teach pickleball at local middle schools.
“This is more than a sport,” says Brenda Furnace, the founder, past president and current tournament director of the WSPC. “It’s about fun, friendship and fitness.”
With Furnace, current WSPC president Jeff Smith and Grand Junction’s nationally-ranked senior pro player Tao Thongvanh leading the charge, the city approved a project that is transforming the tennis/pickleball courts at Lincoln Park into a 20-court pickleball mecca that includes LED lighting, allowing for more court time. When complete, before the end of 2023, it will hopefully set the stage for regional and nationally-sanctioned tournaments.
“We’ve worked so hard to get to this point,” says Furnace, an avid player. “It’s needed. We’ve outgrown the current facilities, and it still won’t be enough. That’s how popular pickleball is here.”
There are courts all around Western Colorado — Delta, Montrose, Fruita, Palisade, Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, Aspen and Vail, to name a few locations. Grand Junction stands out thanks to the collaboration between the club, Parks and Recreation and the city.
“We’re lucky here in a lot of ways,” says George Gerson, the club’s membership and communications director. “People from all over the state and a lot from other states are club members. It’s inexpensive to join; there’s a bunch of perks (ball and bags); it doesn’t cost anything to play; there’s free tournaments; we run clinics. And, we have Tao.”
Thongvanh has won dozens of gold medals at pro senior tournaments around the country. He’s also carved out time to work with community leaders and has suggested ways to increase the number of courts and to grow the club.
“Tao has done so much to get us and keep us going,” says Furnace. “Not only is he a talented player, but he’s also a great motivator and teacher. He has been so generous with his time in helping all of us.”
Thongvanh, recently drafted by the Indy Drivers of the new National Pickleball League, picks up the latest trends in his travels and incorporates them into his clinics.
“The skill level is going up all the time, and I bring back what I learn,” he explains. “The game is changing. What worked a few years ago on the court is old school now.”
The sport took off on the Western Slope during the COVID-19 pandemic. With so many people isolated for months at a time, pickleball was a way for a few to get outside and play with limited contact with others.
Of course, we now know pickleball is more than just a bit of recreation.
“It’s a very social sport. You just show up and play, no pre-arrangements needed,” says Gerson, an original club member. “It’s also relatively easy to play. And, it’s low-cost.”
In March, the ground-breaking ceremony for the new courts took place at Lincoln Park. Parks and Rec director Ken Sherbenou was clear that the pickleball community produced a win-win plan.
“The love of pickleball is really causing it to spread at an astronomical pace across the country. Up and down the Western Slope, all through Colorado and all over the U.S., pickleball is all the rage,” Sherbenou says. “It’s really cool to see the enthusiasm for the sport and what it does for its users.”
In April, the WSPC held its two-day tournament at Lincoln Park. It was the biggest turnout in club history — 171 players competing in men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
The pickleball expansion project has been years in the making and will be one of the biggest and most popular pickleball spots in Western Colorado.
“Players from neighboring towns will want to play here more often. It will attract travelers to stop and play, and it’ll be good for business and the economy,” says Thongvanh.
Originally published in the Summer 2023 issue of Spoke+Blossom.