Pickleball in The Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada


   Tony Sequeira, Ambassador GTA

I had the privilege of spending Wednesday afternoon with Tony Sequeira, the ambassador for the Greater Toronto area. Tony invited me to come to his club that plays out of the Milliken Community Center in the North East end of Toronto, Ontario.

The club was formed in 2001 and thanks to Tony has grown to 40 members playing Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:30 to 3:30.

They are using three indoor badminton courts to play on. This is ideal since the Ontario summer season is very short and playing outdoors would be limited. Several of the players play tennis in the morning outside and join the pickleball group in the afternoon. The recreation center has been very cooperative in setting up the courts for pickleball two days a week and changing the courts back for badminton on other days and evenings.


The area has a very diverse cultural background and this was reflected in the ethnic mix of the players. It was a great experience to see players of different cultures playing this great game with such enthusiasm. The players have formed their own monitoring system and rotation under Tony’s supervision. All levels of players rotate in and out of play in a very organized fashion.

Since play continues over the lunch period, several players bring their lunch and treats to share. They sit at tables outside in the gallery area and discuss the game and socialize. They take a break and then go back on the court. This was quite different than what I have seen elsewhere. Most players stay for the whole time.



Several players go to a nearby recreation center to play on other days. Many of the players play several racquet sports including: badminton, ping-pong, and tennis. Ping-pong has had an obvious influence on the style of the game played. Players are able to put plenty of spin on the ball and look for the down the line passing shot.

I was very impressed with the level of play. Although the club does not compete in any tournaments, the players certainly have the potential to do so. The main focus of the club is to have fun and get exercise.


Submitted by:
Wayne Roswell
Ambassador, Sebring FL