(L-R: Bruce Imrie, VPA board member, Anne Longley (VPA), Marco Longley (VPA). (Photo credit VPA)

By Pete McIntyre

Record smashed

Pickleballers donate 1,100 lbs of food to Vernon Food Bank

Dec 22, 2022 | 12:15 PM

The Christmas spirit is alive and well at the Vernon Pickleball Association (VPA).

For the past three weeks, VPA members have been bringing bags of non-perishable food and toiletry items to the Okanagan Wealth Advisors Pickleball Complex at Marshall Field when they came to play.

Members were challenged to raise more than last year’s amount of 750 lbs, and they smashed it! When all the food was weighed prior to being delivered to the Salvation Army Food Bank warehouse, the total amount was 1,185 pounds.

The association also added to its ‘World’s Biggest Pickleball Christmas Tree’ with hundreds more broken pickleballs raising the tree to over 15 feet tall.

“With a thousand twinkling lights and a tree-topper consisting of pickleball paddles, it’s an impressive tree and focal point at the courts for the food drive. One VPA member, Marco Longley, was the driving force behind both the tree and the food drive, along with help from his merry elves,” a news release from the VPA stated.

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VPA’s growing pickleball Christmas tree with creator Marco Longley. (Photo credit: Anne Longley)

The VPA includes more than 900 pickleball players, many of whom volunteer their time as board or committee members, hosts, tournament referees, in fundraising & sponsorship, and, in the past, with the construction and completion of the Okanagan Wealth Advisors Pickleball Complex.

“The spirit of giving at Christmas time, and throughout the year, is what makes the Vernon Pickleball Association a very special pickleball community with a strong sense of belonging, sportsmanship and friendship,” the news release added.

For more information about the Vernon Pickleball Association, go to www.vernonpickleball.com