In a normal non-COVID year, Marc Sommer and Beverly Anderson would have been playing pickleball under the warm Arizona sun in Tucson.
Instead, the Vancouver Island residents (Chemainus, via the Comox Valley), and grounded snowbirds are staying at home and enduring slightly less desirable weather in order to play their favourite sport at Fuller Lake Park.
They didnB次元官网网址檛 plan on playing pickleball here from October through March or early April. ItB次元官网网址檚 been an adjustment for Sommer, 60, a retired commercial fisherman, and Anderson, 66, a retired health care worker.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think weB次元官网网址檝e spent a year in Canada for 20 years,B次元官网网址� laughed Sommer. B次元官网网址淚 think everyoneB次元官网网址檚 going to have to make adjustments with snowbirding. ItB次元官网网址檚 not as bad as I thought it would be, but we havenB次元官网网址檛 had a bunch of snow.
His body can feel the difference, but thatB次元官网网址檚 the reality of their climate change.
All snowbirds are in the same boat, so to speak, with travel restrictions and the crunch is especially noticeable on Vancouver Island being the purported best spot for weather year-round in Canada.
B次元官网网址淎 lot of the R.V. parks are booked solid and hard to get into,B次元官网网址� observed Anderson.
Home base is just a little different for Anderson and Sommer, but theyB次元官网网址檙e making the most of it. TheyB次元官网网址檝e been in Chemainus now for five months since last August.
First and foremost, theyB次元官网网址檙e sold on the local pickleball environment thatB次元官网网址檚 been everything they expected. People who play here come all the way from Saltair to Mill Bay in the south.
B次元官网网址淭he Fuller Lake courts are in a good location for pickleball,B次元官网网址� added Sommer. B次元官网网址淚 would like to see it enhanced. Noise is not an issue.B次元官网网址�
For now, play is restricted to singles only and within the same household, with the middle courts closed off for social distancing that leaves just four courts available. Anderson and Sommer have added the necessary equipment for winter play tucked away in the back of their truck.
B次元官网网址淲e bought rollers, squeegees, court shoes, track pants, wool socks, a leaf blower,B次元官网网址� chuckled Sommer.
TheyB次元官网网址檙e well equipped to keep the courts cleared for uninterrupted play.
One of the hazards of winter pickleball has also been cracking paddles and the switch to rubber balls necessitated by the cracking of the traditional plastic ball.
B次元官网网址淲e kind of moved here for the pickleball,B次元官网网址� said Sommer. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 pickleball in Comox, but the high level pickleball is limited.B次元官网网址�
They used to winter in California for about five years before setting up headquarters in Surprise, Arizona and then Tucson. Pickleball consumed their time B次元官网网址渟ix hours a day, seven days a week,B次元官网网址� Sommer added.
Both have extensive sports backgrounds and actually met at a squash club. Sommer was a scratch golfer as well as a ski and snowboard instructor and high-level squash player. But the pickleball phenomenon of the last decade proved to be the perfect match for them.
B次元官网网址淧ickleball just took over,B次元官网网址� acknowledged Anderson. B次元官网网址淧eople used to think even five years ago it was just for old people.B次元官网网址�
But since many people have gotten over the stigma of the name, itB次元官网网址檚 a game thatB次元官网网址檚 captured the interest of athletes from many different backgrounds B次元官网网址� especially other racket sports B次元官网网址� because of its fast pace.
Anderson is currently a 4.0 sponsored pickleball player for TMPR Sports and Sommer a 5.0 sponsored player for Team Selkirk. That means they receive paddles and clothing from the companies.
Anderson and Sommer have combined their winter pickleball activities with extensive travels. They managed to complete one particularly long circular trek of 55,000 kilometres, going all across Canada to Sydney, Nova Scotia doing pickleball clinics and then heading south to cover the perimeter of the United States all the way back to Arizona.
B次元官网网址淓verywhere we went we found pickleball and made very good friends,B次元官网网址� noted Sommer.
He said their stops in Prince Edward Island and the New Orleans area were particularly memorable.
B次元官网网址淲e were lucky to get it in before COVID,B次元官网网址� said Anderson.
They drove their truck and pulled a travel trailer. Unfortunately, they havenB次元官网网址檛 been able to retrieve the trailer left in Oregon yet due to the closure of the U.S.-Canada border. And Sommer doesnB次元官网网址檛 expect itB次元官网网址檚 going to be opened any time soon.
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