Pickleball tree with designer and builder Marco Longley at the Okanagan Wealth Advisors Pickleball Complex in Vernon. (Submitted photo/Vernon Pickleball Club)

By Pete McIntyre

fundraiser for food bank

Vernon club lays claim to tallest pickleball Christmas tree in the world

Dec 1, 2021 | 11:19 AM

The Okanagan Wealth Advisors (OWA) Pickleball Complex in Vernon is home to what is possibly the tallest pickleball Christmas tree in the world.

The tree is over 12 feet tall, has 350 pickleballs and is a one-of-a-kind creation.

It is displayed inside the pickleball complex at Marshall Field, and members are encouraged to hang a tree decoration from home and to bring non-perishable food items to donate to the Vernon Food Bank.

The Vernon Pickleball Association (VPA) has set a goal of donating 1,000 pounds of food and hygiene products before Christmas.

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Pickleball tree with designer Marco Longley (Submitted photo/Vernon Pickleball Association)

The association is known for doing things in in a big way. The OWA Pickleball Complex is the largest dedicated (all season) covered facility in Canada; the VPA has nearly 700 members which is double what they had in 2018; and the VPA members have big hearts, having raised more than $1.2 million in 2020 to ‘raise the roof’ on the courts.

“I’m very thankful for having so many dedicated club members who volunteer their time and energy to make the VPA a success, and this includes Marco Longley who designed and built the tree,” said VPA president Myron Hocevar.

Longley collected broken pickleballs for months before building the tree in his garage, and is now challenging other clubs to create their own pickleball inspired Christmas trees and to collect donations for their local food bank.

For more information about the Vernon Pickleball Association, visit their website at www.vernonpickleball.com