The Huffin Puffin Muffin Girls

The Huffin Puffin Muffin Girls is one of the most charming and meaningful stories to come out of Kingston pickleball.

In this episode of Kitchen Conversations, Mike sits down with Pam Bidinost, one of the founding forces behind the Kingston Pickleball Club, to talk about how a women’s exercise group with a hilarious nickname turned into a full blown pickleball obsession. What began with laughs, coffee, muffins, and a few wildly off target shots at RMC eventually became something much bigger: a deep love for the game, tournament success, and a key role in helping bring one of Ontario’s early dedicated indoor pickleball facilities to life.

Pam shares the early days of discovering the sport, the addictive pull of competition, and the behind the scenes story of how the Kingston Pickleball Club came together through vision, volunteerism, belief, and a whole lot of hard work. This episode is about more than pickleball. It is about community, connection, purpose, and the kind of people who help build something that lasts.

Whether you’re already part of the pickleball world or still wondering what all the fuss is about, this conversation captures exactly why the game means so much to so many.

Learn more about Kingston Pickleball Club:

Kingston Pickleball Club Website

Kingston Pickleball Club on Instagram

Kingston Pickleball Club on Facebook

Phone: (343) 477-0246

Pam Bidinost on social media:

Pam Bidinost on Facebook

And that wraps up this episode of Kitchen Conversations.

If you enjoyed the conversation, be sure to follow the show, leave a review, and share it with someone who loves the game as much as you do.

And if you want the full experience, including the visuals, head over to YouTube and watch the episode at

https://www.youtube.com/@KitchenConversationspodcast

Or search Kitchen Conversations Pickleball Podcast

That’s where these stories really come to life.

You’ll also find links and show notes in the episode description.

Until next time…

more than dinks, drops and drives…

these are stories from behind the paddle.

And that wraps up this episode of Kitchen Conversations.

If you enjoyed the conversation, be sure to follow the show, leave a review, and share it with someone who loves the game as much as you do.

And if you want the full experience, including the visuals, head over to YouTube and watch the episode at

https://www.youtube.com/@KitchenConversationspodcast

Or search Kitchen Conversations Pickleball Podcast

That’s where these stories really come to life.

You’ll also find links and show notes in the episode description.

Until next time…

more than dinks, drops and drives…

these are stories from behind the paddle.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hi and welcome to Kitchen Conversations. Welcome to the podcast. Boy, am I excited! I get to sit down today with one of my pickleball pals, Pam Bidnost. Now, Pam and I have known each other for probably almost 30 years now. Yeah, it would be almost 30 years that we've known each other. Pam was a neighbor and a friend, and ultimately became the person that introduced me to pickleball. Now, we all have that person, you have it, I have it, and for me, it's her. Her passion for the game is unmistakable. It all started at a fitness class when they encountered the game of pickleball being played at RMC here in Kingston. From there, she became a very passionate pickleball player, a tournament winner, and ultimately a co-founder of the Kingston Pickleball Club. You're going to hear her entire pickleball story on today's episode of Kitchen Conversations. Well, Pam, good morning. And well, hello. Welcome to the podcast studio. I'm so glad that you're here. It's been uh quite a journey to get to where I am today. All these components and lights and cables and plugs and technology. And uh yeah. Well, I'm so happy that you're here, and I'm so happy we get a chance to talk about your game and your love for pickleball and and of course the Kingston Pickleball Club and the dream, the vision behind all of that. So yeah, so thanks for being here this morning.

SPEAKER_00 1:17

Oh, thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

Well, listen, there's so much to talk about. Um, gonna try to wrap this up within 45 minutes if we can. But when you and I get chatting, that it could be tomorrow. You know, we could wake up and go, Are you 100%? I'm hungry. We've been here for 12 hours and we can't talk enough about pickleball. But yeah, what an amazing game, isn't it? I mean, really at the heart of it. Yeah, it's just really something, Pam. And so I'd like to start by kind of asking you to tell us about how did you find it or did it find you and walk us through the journey of where it started for you and some of the people maybe that were involved. And I guess do you remember, you know, maybe your first game, second game, and how that addiction kind of kicked in. So why don't you start with that this morning?

SPEAKER_00 1:57

Yeah, so I was going to well, sorry, I I should go back to um when I in Glen Burney, I with your wife, we used to go to an exercise class and it was called the Huffin' Puffin Muffin Girls.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

The what?

SPEAKER_00 2:07

The Huffin' Puffin Muffin Girls. One of the husbands um nicknamed us the Huffin' Puffin Muffin Girls because we would exercise and then we would have a coffee, and sometimes we would have muffins, and sometimes we would do bake anyway. Right. So then from there we started a we went to start to go to a class at RMC, um, and it was a half hour um exercise class for women over fifty or older women. Um and we did that for about six months. And then the lady that was teaching it said one day, you know, you really should do more than just this half hour. You should maybe go walk the track. There was a walking track there, or go and play pickleball. And we were like, whoa, what is pickleball? And she said, Well, actually, we're doing a um a not a podcast, but a a news um the CKWS News was coming in to do a segment on their sports there. Right. And they needed somebody to be playing in the background. So they she's like, Well, I'll show you quickly how to play and and you guys can play in the background. Well, I mean, if you go back to I have not found it yet, but it's there somewhere to that video and see us in the background. We're not playing pickleball, we're just laughing like crazy. The ball is going everywhere. So, anyways, that got us hooked. And then and then we started watching people in the gym. Like when we would go on the walking track, there was an area in the middle where people would play pickleball, and there was you know, some pretty serious people in there, and we can hear them saying the score, and we're like, Well, what are they saying? Like, there's three numbers and they keep repeating. Anyway, so we decided one day, and at the RMC, you can take the pad, they have the paddles there, they have the nets, everything. So we decided to get brave one day and we're gonna we're gonna play. So we go and we set up a net. I don't think we set it up right, um, and we start playing, and it like I I think I've told you before, we're uh we started saying like 10, 50, 30, and and and then we'd hit the ball and it didn't make any sense at all. Not at all. And and I don't even think sometimes we got the ball over the net, but we kept playing and hitting the ball. And so finally this one day, this woman came over and and she said, Oh, I can't stand this anymore. I need to teach you guys how to say the score properly. Because what what are you saying? We're like, we don't know, we're just having fun, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:13

We're making it up, right?

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Yeah, yeah. So, anyways, and we learned how to say the score properly, and then we learned about the kitchen line, we learned about the the game. And then I was to the point where I would go to the exercise class at nine, or I think it was started at nine until nine thirty, and then I would get home. One day I got home at like 2.30 or something in the afternoon, and my husband was like, Where have you been? And I was like, I was playing pickleball. And it just it it went from there. And then I said to him, And I think there's some tonight. Do you mind if I go back after supper? And he was like, sure, sure. And I don't think he'd ever seen me so uh enthused about like I've always gone to exercise classes, I've always kind of participated in physical things, but this was like something else next level, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

So I I went back in the evening and I see this group of men playing and and uh I sit down on the bench with my paddle in my hand and I'm all excited and and of course the the one guy in the it doesn't now I know who he is, Victor Carques, right said to me, you know, are you here to play? And I was like, Yeah, is that okay? And he's like, Oh yeah, absolutely. And so we start playing and and about two games in, I start to realize th they're like way beyond me, and I'm not understanding what I'm doing. So I said to him, you know what? Next game I'm just gonna sit out. And so I sat on the bench and and then I realized after watching them play that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Oops. So I was like, you know, thank you very much. And and I said, I I know I don't fit in here. And he's like, No, absolutely. He like encouraged me to stay, but anyway, it turns out that they were very competitive, and it was a group that had been invited, and you don't, you know, now I know beginners don't get in on that, you know. And sure, I mean it changed it evolved.

SPEAKER_01 5:49

Yeah, you took the downtown pickle bus and should have been on the uptown pickle bus. 100%. I got to the pickleball, but the wrong pickleball. Yeah, yeah. It's interesting though, to for you to hear you say that, Pam, because you know, there's a group that obviously, you know, to your point, was maybe playing at a slightly more experienced level than you were at the time, but yet so gracious to include you in that.

SPEAKER_02 6:09

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 6:09

And I want to talk more about that in a minute with you about what I love about the game and the people. And it really isn't so much the paddle and the ball connecting, which is, you know, it's a part of it. But for me, it has always been about the people. And that story, you know, sharing that this morning and thank you for that. That's the essence of the game. And I think for those listening to the podcast today who maybe are thinking about getting out there and trying it, that would be the moment. That's the reason. It's not really about hitting the ball, although that's enormously fun.

SPEAKER_02 6:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:36

It's about the social sort of community that you're going to find that you just it's hard for us as pickleball players, Pam, I think to explain that to a non-player.

SPEAKER_00 6:45

Well, and I found what for me it was at because I started playing at I think I was 55.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

I never dreamt that I would be this devoted to a sport and I would win medals and go to competitions at this age. I I just wanted, was looking for something to get me some exercise. And yeah, I'm totally addicted. And I've yet to meet somebody in the learn to play or whatever, even at the club, sure who has come away and said, Oh, I really hated that.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

Oh no, it doesn't happen.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

If anything, it's like, I'm not good enough. I gotta get better.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

You know? Yeah. How do I sign up for more? Like I want to play every day, and now I want to play twice a day. So how do I do that? So, so but let's go back to Victor and that group and that moment, because obviously in that moment, it had started for you. And when I say it, I'm referring to the addiction.

SPEAKER_00 7:29

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 7:29

And if you're listening to Pam and I this morning on this podcast, uh, and you're kind of wondering what we mean by that, just try it and then you'll know. And there is a point of no return, and that was your point of no return. 100%. And you know, your husband realized it, you realized it, and you know, you were knee deep by that point. It was like quicksand, it's like pickleball quicksand, it just sucks you in.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

And I think I went to to uh bracket science the next week and bought myself a paddle in a bag. Right.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Why not? Yeah, right. Now I gotta gear up. Yeah, it's time to go. I'm not using those crappy RMC paddles. I'm a pro, I'm almost pro-level now. And that was the other thing.

SPEAKER_00 8:01

Those RMC paddles were the old-fashioned wooden ones with the holes in them.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, this game started in 1965, as you and I both know, on Bainbridge Island. Yeah, and yeah, I was too, I wasn't born yet. So almost I think close, yeah. Yeah, 67. So a couple years late. But you know, to think about that game and how it started, Pam, and the reason it started was a bunch of kids driving a bunch of parents nuts. Go grab the you know, the ping pong paddles and a net and and go grab one of those baseball wiffle balls and go hit it around. And you know, to think about where it is today from where it came from. But you know, that moment at RMC with that group of of players and and you getting addicted. And so where does it go from there? You went and bought a paddle, you got into it, and then what's sort of the next phase of that? Because that's phase one.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

Phase one is you try it, you love it, you like it, you're well then you're looking for other places to play or more more people to play with. And at that time, there was a um a group that was at a I think it was a um the Catholic school downtown by Metro. Okay. Um had a group that went in the evenings, and that was in a gym. Um, the the walls were like it was really close up to the serving line, so you'd hit your paddle on the wall as you go to serve. And um, there was someone there, Vitali, okay, who had um come up to me, I think it was the third or fourth day in and said, you know, would you like to go in a tournament with me? And I was like, Oh my god, a tournament, like like compete. And and um so of course, and I'm like, sure. And he's like, Well, it's in Waterloo, Ontario. I'm like, Oh, I got my brother lives in Cambridge, that'd be great. He'll go for a visit, right? Perfect, perfect. And at that time, um, my aunt came to watch, my brother came to watch, my cousins were there. Like it was just um, and we uh entered in the 3.0 mixed, and we won a bronze medal. Wow, and I'm telling you, I was like a kid in a candy shop with my my I wore my medal everywhere. Like I walked around the place, even the next day I went back to watch when I wasn't playing. I should have been going home with my medal on because I wanted everybody to see that I won a medal.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

So I get it, and so those listening understand. So you start the game. How much uh how much time passes between starting the game and going to that very first tournament? Was that months?

SPEAKER_00 10:06

Like, yeah, two, three months. Wow, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

Well, so yeah, I started in um it would have been the summer.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

And it was October that we went to the tournament.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

No kidding.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Yeah, that's I won my first medal and then I was hooked.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

That's courage. Like, because I'll tell you, and we'll talk a little bit about tournament play this morning, hopefully. Don't let me forget, because it's a completely different animal. When you talk about social pickleball or even slightly competitive pickleball at the club level at KPC, when you're playing and you know, you're doing your thing. Um, that's that's one thing. But boy, when you step into a tournament, the adrenaline, the emotions, the heart rate, the the breathing. So let's not forget to talk a little bit about tournaments today. But wow, good for you to jump in that quickly. And good on him for asking.

SPEAKER_00 10:46

And for him to believe in like that, I just couldn't believe that he wanted to play with me. Like I I yeah, I was blown away. But yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:53

So that was tournament number one, and you've done you've got a wall of medals.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

Well, I've got I don't know, not a wall, it's a little plaque, but um, yeah, I've I think I've got twenty medals or something. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

Um, and then and then I hit a wall. I I can't seem to get any more medals now. But um actually just yesterday, Kathy Bally and I were playing, and she's like, Would you like to do a tournament again? I'm like, absolutely. She goes, Well, why haven't you? But I said, 'cause nobody's asked me.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Right.

SPEAKER_00 11:16

So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:17

It's interesting. Same for me. I'm heading to Peterborough next week to do an overnight to play at Smash Courts. Oh, Alex. Yeah. I met Jody and Jeff Allen, the owners of that. They've done a lovely job in building at their facility. And Terry Grosgen plays there. Yeah. And of course, Terry and I have done some tournament play through two north pickleball events here and a couple of different things. And we've meddled a couple times together and we kind of like each other. So he reached out yesterday and said, Come on up and play next Thursday. And I want to get into a tournament with you again if you're ready to go. And I said, Well, you know, I have. It's been a couple years since I played a tournament. So you sort of need somebody to be the start, you know, to the firecracker. Let's let's go. Let's do it again. So good for you guys. Well, good luck with that. So yeah, it's really something. I think, you know, Pam, when we think about that moment of getting into the game and then trying the tournaments, and then ultimately, you know, it just kind of goes and goes and goes. And so sitting here today, um, tell me a little bit about how all of that start to the game ultimately ended up in you becoming one of the co-founders for the Kingston Pickleball Club. Where did that group kind of begin to get the idea of, hey, this is something that might make sense? Yeah. Walk me through that story because it's fascinating.

SPEAKER_00 12:23

Yeah, and I I well, it got to the point where my husband Sergio was kind of getting tired of everywhere we went. I'm like, oh, we could put a pickleball court there. Oh, a pickleball court would fit there. And and he just didn't understand. And so we had um one of our, so we are in commercial real estate, and one of our units initially uh when when I first met my husband had Kingston Gymnastics Club in it, so it had high ceilings and they had the trampolines and whatever the tenant in that unit was leaving, and I said, Oh, maybe maybe we could do our own pickleball club.

SPEAKER_02 12:52

And sure.

SPEAKER_00 12:53

So we had reached out to um uh Ryan and um Cam Taylor from um Collingwood. Um when we ran the numbers for um having two indoor courts, it didn't seem as viable as if you had more. Um and then at that time, Ryan was also looking for some indoor space, and we had outdoor courts here, but there didn't seem to be enough anyway. Um so then Ryan came across um the space where we're at here and had me come and look at it with him, like our surgeon and I, and and um and he had this idea of the founding members. So um everybody pays in advance their sure um membership five or ten years in advance, and then um if he could we could convince some people to lend the club some money and pay it back at three percent simple interest over however many years, I think it was three years. Um and so we started to, you know, talk about that and the and so Kingston Pickleball Club was already established at that point as a as a non-for-profit.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

Right. So what put a timeline on this? What when you're talking about all of this happening, talking to Cam Taylor, talking to Ryan Haynes, yeah, touring some buildings, thinking about building an indoor club for the Kingston Pickleball Club. What's the timeline on that? Is that 2018?

SPEAKER_00 14:05

I think it was uh well, it was before COVID. So it was 17. Yeah, 17, 18, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

Right. Okay, so we're going back that far. So almost a decade ago, give or take, because we're sitting here recording this. I know, I know. Which means we're a decade older than we were when it started. We won't talk about that. But yeah, to think about that, Pam, and I think that's an important part of this story because I think people that go and play at KPC today and walk in and see what's there, uh, you know, and in all fairness to those people who maybe have just started with the game, no understanding, and even going back further, the history of pickleball in Kingston with guys like Chuck McDonald and bringing that game from Cali or from Arizona rather into Canada, talking to the city, trying to get Bell Park cleaned up. I mean, Bell Park, those tennis courts there were in such rough shape that he needed a lawnmower, not a can of paint. Like it was pretty rough. But I think a lot of us, and I'm in that us bucket because I came late to the game, we don't have that appreciation that you and some of the others that were part of the Kingston Fickleball Club, as sort of a community club, yeah. Um, you you were there when it was gym floors and multiple lines and terrible outdoor courts and you know, all of that. And the passion to get from there to where we are today and where you are today as a founding member of the club is just phenomenal. And I think that's something worth noting today. I really do, because it's it's hard and you can't expect someone who wasn't there when it was happening to appreciate. It's kind of like it's part of Kingston pickleball history. Yeah. And because it's history, it's you know, it is what it is. So okay, so that around 2017, this idea to start to form an indoor facility to house the Kingston Pickleball Club started to kind of come together. Yeah. Yeah, perfect. So how does that then get to where it is today?

SPEAKER_00 15:42

Um, yeah, so um we looked at the space and and and it we were fortunate because it was a it's in an old muffler manufacturing building. Right. Um, so there was already there was offices in the front and then there was space in the back. And in the back they had um, you know, uh huge machinery and um compressors and all kinds of stuff that was attached to the floor. So there was a lot of work to get the floor ready. Um one being we had to grind down pipes and and whatever. Anyway, we negotiated the the lease with um Ryan and the and the Springers and um and we looked at it from a landlord's uh standpoint and the it was reasonable. Um we found some hidden costs afterwards that we didn't like, but you know. Um anyways, it it it all seemed to come together. Yeah. Um and we had enough people uh invested in the idea that we had enough money up front um to get the so we had the floor done professionally, the the fencing, the painting, the lighting, um like anything where the courts are was all done by uh or what you call it uh contracted out. Sure. And then the front office area was literally eight to ten uh volunteers six months just in there going at it. Yeah. Um, you know, we we took down ceiling tiles and vacuumed them off. We painted some of them, we had to replace some of the light fixture things, we the carpet was a mess, like it was just yeah, it it came together. And there's pictures at the in the lobby now that are running all the time that show the the beginning, which is nice, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:07

So from the moment that you start thinking about this indoor club in say 2017, 2018, to when the doors opened at the Kingston Pickleball Club in the facility at 1050 Gardeners Road that it's in today, what was that amount of time? How long did it take to get from idea to we're open?

SPEAKER_00 17:24

And we're probably a year from the time we started having meetings. Yeah, and then we signed the lease. And and the day we opened was the day of the second nationals that we had hosted as well.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

A big day, which was huge, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. But I think, and again, for those listening today, Pam, that maybe are not familiar with the back end story to the Kingston Pickleball Club. It was a club that had a lot of people kind of invested in it. You could buy a membership, I understand, to be five dollars, 25 bucks to be a member of the Kingston Pickleball Club. And then that they were organizing, people within that were organizing games at different outdoor locations, indoor locations, churches, boys and girls club, places.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

Posting tournaments, yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

So I've got that story kind of right, that that's kind of how it started. And so then when the club, the actual building itself was constructed and and you put so much time and effort and it turned out just to be amazing, uh, the club kind of that became its home club then. Instead of dealing with churches and boys and girls clubs, they kind of moved that great wow.

SPEAKER_00 18:19

Well, yeah because we were at the boys and girls club for the time between RMC and and sharpening this up. We were at the boys and girls club um for quite a while. Well, it was a couple years, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

Yeah. Must have been a moment though for those players that weren't who were part of the Kingston Pickleball Club. They were paying their 25 bucks to be a member, had been playing, you know, with the group forever and ever. Um, the first time they walked in, though, to what would have been at that point in time, the first club that they probably laid eyes on that had dedicated pickleball courts.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

Yes, and no other lines, no other interference.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

And and I know from being there and volunteering and helping out a bit in the background, long after all the hard work was done, we came along, you know, hey, we're here now, we'll help. You know, my wife and I, oh, is all the heavy lifting done? Great. We're here, we're here now, we'll sit and help. Yeah. But I, you know, I I know in talking to different people, the amount of time and energy and thought that went into every aspect of that club that the average player wouldn't appreciate today, the rubber within the floor, the way the floor is constructed, even the color of the wall was not just something that you didn't just throw a dart and pick a dark color blue. It was specifically so that the ball and Ryan Haynes was, you know, instrument. Yeah, and Deanna Christie, yeah, sure, and in defining that. And I think that's the part of that story, Pam, that I, you know, I'm glad we get a chance to tell it in some small way on this small podcast.

SPEAKER_00 19:35

Well, and I'm not sure if we were um it was Swing Courts is the one that's a good one. Swing, there you go. There you go. Yeah. I think Swing opened, did they open before us or around the No, yeah, they opened before us. So I think we were the first um of this size indoor facility in Ontario for sure, and possibly in Canada. Canada. I'm not I don't know that like I I don't want to say and and be wrong, but that's a strong possibility. And since then, look at how many years in now. Yeah. And now you've got this you've got swing courts, you've got us, you've got um the smash courts. Um there's another um what's the one in Belleville?

SPEAKER_01 20:12

Um Pickle Pickleplex is open and running. You've got fairgrounds running now, you've got the forge in Ottawa, you've got so much. But you know, again, being first is difficult. Like anything when you're pioneering an idea, and and to be able to look at it today. Yeah, but you know, in spite of all of that, Pam, to look at what's there today, it still is best in class. Yes, I believe so, yeah. You know what I mean by that? Like, and there's been some recent improvements. Uh, you've made some adjustments to to uh fence heights, which has just been, I mean, it's transformed the space to see it today versus say six months ago, and yet at the time it made sense to have slightly higher fences in certain court areas. But now when you look at it, and I know that uh your social people did a really nice sweeping video of it on Facebook. So if you haven't seen it, go to Facebook, check it out, join, and be part of that. Because to see how that worked uh and how it just kind of opened up the space, it's almost like a brand new club again.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 21:03

It's that you know, impactful. It's done it. But I just think to those people, I think because when my wife and I walked in, we'd gone to one of the open houses just prior to opening up, and we were, I think there was there was no fencing. I can't remember specifically what was there that day, but it was just like, oh my gosh, you walk around the corner.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

I think we were using that, weren't we using the cardboard?

SPEAKER_01 21:22

I think it was cardboard sort of dividers, yeah. I do. But you know, I remember walking in, and there's a door there. I call it the magic door because it's kind of like the the polka dot door. Remember, wasn't that a TV show, the polka dot door? I can't remember who was in. But this is kind of the version the Kingston people. Here we are. But when you go through that door uh for the very first time, uh, and I've had the pleasure of walking dozens of people through that door when I was volunteering on the desk, uh, it's like wow, they're just not expecting it. Because they come in the front door, they say hello, down the hall, they go, you give them a little tour, change room, change room, kitchen, boardroom, and here's the courts. When you open that door, it's a moment. And I just, I, I try to imagine those people that were playing pickleball in 2012, 2013, 14, 15, 16, 17, you know, loving the game, but playing it on multi-court surfaces, some hardwood, some concrete arenas, hockey rinks, wherever they could set up a net. And to walk in there and play their very first game on what was arguably, you know, the only club in Ontario of its kind, possibly Canada. Yeah. And to have that moment, the pride that you and the other co-founders had in that I must have been emotional. Like I like it almost gives me chills now to thinking.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

I still get and I still have I love taking people on a tour. And my and my my line is always, and this is our pride and joy, and I open the door. And they oh my god, it's huge. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:44

So you should really have some kind of a s of a sound effect that when you open the door, right? That you just made it a minute ago.

SPEAKER_00 22:53

Well, and my husband, who um is I I call him a bit of a negative Nelly, so he he was very unsure about all of this and even the investing part and lending the money to the club and and um He was cautious. He was very cautious. And and and he's a he's a numbers guy and he's a research guy, so he's always like, I I he had nothing to compare it to. No. So it was really hard for him to be on board. And the other day he was talking to somebody, I don't know who it was, and then he's like, Well, if you wanted to have a 12-court facility, and I looked at him and I said, What are you doing? What is happening? Yeah, what's happening? Because he went from, oh, this is never gonna work, there's no way he could and doing the numbers as far as a landlord goes, he couldn't see how that was gonna, you know, how many members you needed and whatever. And now he's like thinking we should we should get a bigger facility, indoor, outdoor courts, and you know, anyways, it's it's quite fun to see. And he doesn't even play pickleball. He's he calls himself a pickleball widow.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

Right. Yeah, which he is, yes. Yeah, well, suck it up, buttercup. It's all about me and my paddle. Me and my paddle, my new best friend. Yeah. Well, you know what? And I think one of the one of the smart moves, he made a lot of smart moves, by the way, the co-founders of the board, um, everybody in setting up as a not-for-profit. You know, I think that was critical to it. And I think maybe that's a message that isn't understood broadly enough in the community. I think that's something we should talk about more. That's right, yeah. It is a not-for-profit, so it's unlike some of the other facilities, which are, you know, in it. And that's fair. I'm not that's not I'm not judging. I'm certainly not judging, but I'm simply saying that you are also not only first to do it, you're also the only not-for-profit operating, at least in this part of the world that I'm aware of. And and that's significant because the membership should appreciate that. And the volunteers that pour a lot of hours into keeping those doors open. You know, we had a small business, as you know, Pam, for many, many years, and we always said the most important person in the business was a guy that put the key in the door in the morning. Because without that key in the door, nothing happens. So you can have a great business or a great facility, but if you don't have people to put keys in doors at the beginning and the end, to think about the volunteers and how many hours they put in and how they're four years in and we're still volunteering.

SPEAKER_00 24:56

We do have a staff member, Greg, who is it's been great having him. For sure. Everybody loves him and he does a great job. Um, but just I think that's what sets us apart is the fact that we are non-for-profit run by volunteers. And it's it's it's like a family. It's a home away from home for so many of us, right?

SPEAKER_01 25:14

Yeah, it really is. And it's interesting as the game develops. And you know, if we go back to the day that that KPC opened the doors and welcomed the the pickleball community in, and we think about the change in the landscape and the offerings that are out there now, and to your point, and you mentioned it, you've got the franchises that are now starting to gain a bit of traction, and not just here, not just in Ontario. This is this is around the world, and certainly in North America. If you were to count the number of indoor courts today across, let's just say North America, and I don't know where you'd find that number, but it's enormous compared to where it was just five years ago. You know, so but everybody's kind of coming into the market with an agenda, with an idea, with a marketing con, you know, we're we're this for pickleball, we're that for pickleball. And and yet, you know, I think KPC has come out of the gate, you know, being the first and establishing themselves as a club that uh, you know, really kind of took that first leap of faith. And that's something that I just don't want uh, you know, to be missed on the conversation this morning because that that's hard. It's so hard to be the first because it's kind of easy now for someone to come along and go, oh, you know, I'll take the best of this and the best of that. So people opening a pickleball club in North America today can now drive around and tour dozens and dozens of different, you know, you've got the pickler, you've got the flying pickle, you've got, you know, chicken and pickle and chicken and pickle and and dink and dine. I mean, Mesa. I I was talking to a fellow on the podcast a couple days ago who's going down to play in Mesa at a facility called Dink and Dine. So I I went on the Google, and let me tell you, like, wow, like something else.

SPEAKER_00 26:42

Well, and in Canada, we have Steve Deacon, who's our um male um number one or toping player. Yeah, um, is opening up, it's called the Nest in uh Burnaby, BC.

SPEAKER_02 26:53

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

Um, and he'll be, I think he's hosting the one of the nationals coming up or something. There's a lot of big stuff coming as far as his club goes, and and they are from the ground up, like they built it from the ground up, and it's huge.

SPEAKER_01 27:04

I just I think it's 20 indoor courts or something, absolutely and then some outdoor courts, and so that'll be fun to yeah, and you're seeing a lot of of clubs now coming along that are offering multi, you know, there's different things to do within the club, you know. And but again, it it it's when you go back to being the very first, and I still say everything that's there today is just phenomenal. So, but yeah, you're seeing the game grow. And I think if there's you know an upside to all of that, it's that it's that the game is growing and they're seeing things. And somebody had mentioned that in order for pickleball to get to the Olympics, which is ultimately what most of us would love to see, because it's a great spectator sport. I mean, you know, dinking, the dinking part, you know, the smashing, the firefights, they're all pretty cool. But when you get into the pros and they're into that really nice game, and then it speeds up, and then there's a reset, and it just it's really a spectator-friendly uh more than four back and forths, yeah. Yeah, right. Somebody does an accidental reset, you know. So the the yeah, the beginners are whacking it away, and all of a sudden somebody makes a mistake, and we've had what what I call an accidental reset. But it is a spectator-friendly game, and it really does need to get to the Olympics, and I really hope it does. And I know organizations, uh, I've spoken to the Global Pickleball Federation, and they are working on a three-year plan to try to get to where they need to get.

SPEAKER_00 28:13

Did you see April Fools that somebody put out there that it was I I fell for it? I totally fell for it. I even shared, I think I shared it because we're so anxious for it, right?

SPEAKER_01 28:21

We want it to get there. But I think the point I'm making is as you know, these facilities start building out and we welcome more people and we reach more people, and you know, it's it's all just good for the game. And there's no downside to seeing the game grow and to see where it's all going. So yeah, wow. Well, congratulations on all of that. It's just such a great story. Yeah, and uh, you know, the people involved. And I, you know, I'm so glad to hear that there's a rolling sort of pictorial at the desk now because I've seen some of the pictures from you know, guys like Brad Lowe and Simon up on a skyjack and you know, and what look like hazmat suits tearing down.

SPEAKER_00 28:55

Yeah, Dave, Dave and Deanna in the hazmat suit, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:58

It's just great. So yeah, well, congratulations and all that. So the other element I would add to tournaments is that it um, you know, you do meet people from other parts of the country. And so when you go into, let's say, a true north event, one of the team challenges, for example, which are just terrific. Oh, that's awesome. If you're hearing this and thinking about joining one of those, please do. Uh, it's well worth it. And uh, I mean, it's it's just a great weekend. Um, but you'll meet people, and I mentioned Ken Pikarski earlier. Now, Ken, for those that are listening that might know Ken, is he does resemble Will Farrell. There's a certain physical look to him. So when I saw him I can't wait to see that. Yeah, I rushed over and had a chat with him and and we kind of had a laugh about that. But you know, we become buddies and we talk quite often. And you know, he's up in you know, north of Aurelia kind of thing. And but I would not know Ken if it weren't for a tournament.

SPEAKER_00 29:43

And so Well, even Dan Aykroyd came to the club and sponsored one of the tournaments and had his um Crystal Head. Crystal Head Vodka was the I mean, and that and that inspired people to play because they were gonna get Crystal Head Vodka as their first prize or whatever. But haven't quite convinced him to play yet. But um Maybe. Yeah. You never know. Well that's the other thing that strikes me is um so we hosted the Nationals in 20, I believe it was 2018 and 2022.

SPEAKER_02 30:08

Right.

SPEAKER_00 30:08

Um and at that time, so the very first one that we hosted, Catherine Paranto, uh, did a clinic here. So I've I've done a clinic with the top women's um player in Canada. And I drove Steve Deakin around Kingston and he was in my car. And you know, it's reachable if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 30:25

It's interesting, and I yeah, I would reflect on that. I've had a chance to talk to Steve Peranto, of course, the Hall of Famer. And again, there's an example. I shouldn't, you know, I mean, I shouldn't say hi to Steve Peranto on a street, let alone talk to him on a podcast. But for him to sit down with me for an hour and talk about his father and the legacy of the paddle that he invented in 1984 and Steve playing in the first ever organized tournament in 1976 in Washington State, you know. I just and I and I hang up from that call or or from the podcast, and I just I take my earbuds out and I just I have to sit here for a minute. And I think I just talked to Steve Peranto, like unbelievable, you know, and but that's pickleball people. And so if I could say one thing to the person listening, and by the way, the goal of the podcast, I finally decided what what is my ambition here? What am I trying to do? I'm trying to inspire just one person personally. If we can get just one to pick up a paddle pan, because I think if this is a game that you go through life not trying, that you've you're making a mistake. And listen, I will say on closing with you here today that the game is in good hands. And by that I mean I've had a chance to talk to two really fascinating young people, both in their 20s. One's a uh top-rated pro in the UK named Millie Smythe. And Millie is uh when I spoke to her training in Australia, uh, down there doing some training, but she's a top three player in her age bracket in the UK. And she's come up with a company called Cracked Pickleball. So we're gonna get that podcast out at some point, and it may, depending on how this all schedules out, either that podcast is already out, so go check out the channel, or it's coming. So go check out the channel. But I can't exactly tell you when all of these are gonna come out. But needless to say, I spoke to her and she has come up with taking cracked pickleballs and turning them into things like coasters.

SPEAKER_00 32:02

Oh, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 32:03

Little keychains.

SPEAKER_00 32:05

Oh, I love it.

SPEAKER_01 32:06

Yeah, so I've got a parting gift for you today. I've got some coasters and a and a little keychain to take with you. So that's one young person that has recognized, I think, Pam, what I call yeah, a bit of the dark side of the game. And that is that globally speaking, there's about uh 500 million pickleballs produced, you know, for sale in the world each year. Yeah. And the estimate is somewhere between 100 and 200 million that get cracked or warped or damaged. And unfortunately and sadly, in the moment, many, many of those are just hitting a landfill. So this young lady has come up with a way to collect these balls, crush them down, and create this product. So she does key change carabiners, you know, she's just trying to make a difference. The other interesting guy is a guy named Dylan Rosenthal. And I'm holding in my hand right now the very first recycled pickleball in the world. One of phenomenal. This was out of the very first batch that he did, and he's got collection bins out across 70 plus courts and facilities in the U.S. He's based out of Florida.

SPEAKER_00 32:59

I was gonna say it's not in Canada yet.

SPEAKER_01 33:00

Yeah, not yet. But he's looking at scaling up and globe. He's just still working through some of those initial humps and bumps and what it takes to do what he's doing. But, you know, we played with this ball at KPC a week ago with uh four other guys, and I threw it into gameplay without them knowing it. And at the end of the day, one of them Chuck, who's like Chuck McDonald, who knows who knows what a ball should feel like. I'm not sure about the other three, but you know, he sure knows. I mean, we could have been playing with Josh. But yeah, I I can pick on them. They're my buddies. But you know, I think the point being is we played with this for a couple matches, and when we came off the court, I said to the guys, is there something weird about that ball today? Like, is there just what are you talking about? You know, or whatever. I said, Well, I don't, just wondering. And they said, No, it's perfectly fine. Like, there's nothing wrong with it. I said, Great, because we just made history. We just made history at KPC this morning by playing one of the first recycle balls ever produced in the world. It's amazing. And it was a moment, Pam. I mean, everybody just kind of stopped talking for a second, and everybody's trying to get their head wrapped around what it is. So when I say the game's in great shape, that's partly what I'm talking about. You've got young people like Millie Smythe, Dylan Rosenthal looking at the game through a different lens, you know, because again, born in the 60s, we didn't do a lot right when it came to Planet Earth. Let's be honest. Yes, like TV dinners, plastic, waste, landfills. So it's really inspiring to see the demographic of the game shifting, younger people coming into it, but also not just coming into it to play, but to also support it and to make it, you know, a little more sustainable. Yeah. So I'm thrilled that the podcast is somehow able to share those stories and be part of that. So, and I want to close on a final note by thanking you personally. You are the reason I play pickleball.

SPEAKER_02 34:31

Ah.

SPEAKER_01 34:32

No, you're it. You're the number one reason. You drag Fran and I in there, you you know, had us come over and see the open house.

SPEAKER_00 34:38

I'm so excited to have you guys there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:40

No, without pickleball, I don't have all of these friends that I've mentioned a few of today. I don't have the social network. I don't have that reason to get up and get off the couch every day and go hit the ball. And uh, and I don't have this podcast. And as much as I know this podcast is not going to make a significant difference, it's it if it does, in some way inspire it will, 100%. A couple people to try the game, Pam. I think it's worked. So it's a game that's so important to all of us for so many different reasons. But uh, I just wanted to thank you. I didn't want to let you get away on this this morning because we all have that person, you know, we really do. And for you, in some ways, it was Victor at RMC who welcomed you into a slightly more competitive game that you had no business being on, right? But still made you feel welcome. And then from there, the next thing you know, you're doing tournaments, and here you are today. So, well, listen, continued success at KPC with you and and all the work that you're doing over there.

SPEAKER_00 35:25

And uh and you as well, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:27

Thanks. Yeah, I'm enjoying the game and I'm enjoying the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 35:29

And thanks for this because I think this is really gonna, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:32

It's fun. Yeah, it's been fun. So well, thanks for being here. Appreciate it. Yeah, have a great day.