WATCH: Kelowna is crazy for pickleball

• Why it's not just older folks who are playing
• Kelowna memberships are full

Spring is here and the air is filled with the click-and-clock of ball against paddle; pickleball season has arrived.

However, if you were looking to join Pickleball Kelowna this year, you’re out of luck. The organization has reached its cap of 550 members and there is simply no more room for new additions. That shows just how popular this sport has become in Kelowna, and across North America.

“It’s so serious right now that anyone who wants to play can’t even get into a club,” Tournament Director for Pickleball Kelowna Carly Penfold told Kelowna10. “West Kelowna is capped, Kelowna is capped, and Lake Country has been capped. We don’t have enough courts in the city to accommodate the demand that we’re seeing.

May 1 was the official kick-off to the season with over 100 people gathered at the pickleball courts at the Parkinson Rec Centre.

The popular sport combines elements of tennis, table tennis and badminton and is played over a tennis net with what look like oversized ping-pong paddles and a hollow plastic ball…hence the constant click-and-clock sound.

Penfold added this is the first year they can get back to full performance with the highest number of memberships they’ve had since the COVID-19 pandemic. The sport attracts all athletic abilities and ages.

“We see grandkids out with their grandparents playing, multi-generations are playing,” Penfold said. “It’s a fun sport to get into and it’s very social.”

While the game has been associated with older players, the reality now is that many younger people are getting involved. The fastest growing demographic is in the 18-to-35 age range.

For members Brian Wright, and Eman Fyvie, at either end of the age spectrum, both have found a love for the sport through the community and sporting aspects.

Wright, whose been a member for four years, said it’s a game he can physically keep up with.

“I played a lot of racquet sports when I was younger, and this is a great substitute. I’m turning 70, I want an activity that I can do, and my body can withstand,” he said. “I’m playing with some of the younger people and they’re learning so quickly and they’re fast and agile. It’s fun.”

Fyvie, 16, said it was someone in his family who nudged him towards the game.

“My grandma,” he said. “She started playing in Arizona and told me it was a really fun sport and I thought I’d try it and now it’s my favourite sport.”

Fyvie likes how it’s similar to tennis, and has transitions from slow to fast play, and he also enjoys the abundance of different people who enjoy the game.

“I think I’m good at the front and smashing the ball down. That’s the fun part,” Fyvie said. “I played in Rutland and it was a little smaller last year and I come to opening day and it’s packed. It’s great.”

Pickleball Canada says it has 30,000 registered players across the country.