WEYBURN - The first time Deana Mainil picked up a pickleball paddle to play was at the insistence of her daughter on her 50th birthday.
In the years since, Deana has gone on to win many medals at tournaments, including at provincial and national competitions for Canada and the U.S.
She shared the story of her road to the medals with the Weyburn Rotary Club, of which she is a past president.
Giving a brief history of the sport, she shared statistics from Selkirk Sports, the major maker of pickleball paddles, which showed that from 2010 to 2019, they saw a 385-per-cent increase in the number of players.
Deana estimated there are about 350,000 pickleball players in Canada currently, and about 3.5 million in the U.S. Of the Canadian players, only about 22,000 are registered with Pickleball Canada, enabling them to play in sanctioned tournaments.
“It’s the fastest growing sport in Canada, and it continues to explode,” she said.
Pickleball was described as a combination of tennis, badminton and ping pong, with the paddle resembling an over-sized ping pong paddle.
“It’s a lot easier on you than tennis, where you’re constantly running. Literally any age can play,” said Deana.
She explained that once a player enters a tournament, they play according to their skill level and age bracket, and the skill level is determined by the games you’ve played and who you’ve played against.
“I began playing on Aug. 23, 2013, after much prodding by my sweet brother Kevin and his wife Heather. We were playing soccer, and they were saying you’d love pickleball. I said I wouldn’t have the time,” she said. “They got me out on my 50th birthday, and the rest is history.”
She first began playing in Weyburn and then in Regina and Saskatoon, and was invited to partner with a Manitoba player, Rose Sawatzky, in a tournament. This floored Deana as she had heard that Sawatzky was a highly-talented player, but as it happened, Sawatzky’s partner was unable to play in the tournament, which was held in Centralia, Wash.
The “highlight of my pickleball life” was in November 2019, when she was asked to partner with Pam Clark of Regina Beach to play in the United States national pickleball championships in Indian Wells, Calif.
In order to get into the U.S. nationals, you have to qualify by winning a gold medal at a regional tournament in the U.S., but she was able to play as she was invited by Clark to be her partner.
“We played in plus-30 heat, and went on to the gold medal game. We had it, but we lost it. It was a nailbiter to the very end,” said Deana.
At that time she was rated at a 3.5 skill level, but after three major tournaments this past summer, she has now upgraded to 4.5. This is a high skill level, as when you reach 5.0, a player can then play professionally.
She played in the True North tournament in Saskatoon, and with her sister Angela Chastain she went on to the Canadian nationals in Red Deer, Alta., on Aug. 10.
Describing this experience, she noted they arrived at 7 a.m. to register, and they then had a five-hour rain delay, after the weather prior to that day had been hot and sunny. They ended up being edged out by another team of sisters, by the score of 17-15.
They later took part in the Saskatchewan provincials on Aug. 28, where they won the gold medal for women’s doubles.
“The next big tournament I’m looking forward to is the Western Canadian tournament in the International Trade Centre in July of 2022,” said Deana, noting this will be a five-day tournament with over 750 players expected to come, the biggest pickleball tournament Saskatchewan has ever held.
