Some of Canada’s best pickleball players are in Waterloo this week for the Canadian National Pickleball League playoff championships. They are being held at The Club at Northfield. “It’s an honour to host such a large tournament with such talented players,” Hillary Salvian, the owner and general manager of The Club at Northfield, said. Playoff action got underway on Friday, with semi-finals set for Saturday leading up to Sunday’s finals. “We’ve sold over 400 tickets for the weekend, which is great,” Tony Camilo, general manager for the Grand River Rapids, said. “We had our awards banquet last night. One of our players, Bruno Faletto, was voted the MVP of the league, which was great. It was kind of the first time we’ve actually done a formal awards banquet, which shows the growth of [the Canadian National Pickleball League] and where we’re going with this league.” Growing the game The league launched in 2023, and fans say it’s only getting bigger. “Big difference from a couple years ago ‘til now. It’ll only get better,” Anthony Damico, a father of a Grand River Rapids player, said. The league currently features eight teams: six from Ontario as well as teams from Vancouver and Montreal. “It’s getting better every single year. We started out four years ago and the crowd was a lot smaller,” Christina Chin, a pickleball player with the Montreal Lions, said. “Now it’s gained a lot of popularity. The players have gotten so much better. The owners are really taking care of us and it’s just amazing.” Camilo said they are hoping to expand the league to include more teams. “It’ll only help develop pickleball across the country and get some of these players playing at a high level,” he said. Weekend action The Grand River Rapids are a new team, and competed in the playoffs for the first time. Managers said they have seen growth all year long, and are hoping to cap it off with a trophy. “We had some growing pains. We did some moves and stuff,” Camilo said. “I think we adjusted really wall and the Rapids came out to perform. We finished third in the regular season. We had some great showings, and it’s good, but there’s always learning to do for sure.” The Rapids were eliminated on Friday, but the championships continue. Tickets are available online.
