London
When not used for worship or youth groups, several churches in London are offering up their spaces for pickleball players in the community. Pickleball courts are a way for churches to become more involved in the neighbourhood and generate revenue, coordinators say.
Renting out their gym is a way for churches to generate revenue, coordinators say
Kendra Seguin · CBC News
· Posted: Feb 12, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 6 hours ago
Staff at Colborne Street United Church, Laverne Kirkness, Norma Stokes and Sigmar Martin, set up pickleball nets in the church gym several times a week for community members to use. (Kendra Seguin/CBC)In the otherwise quiet halls of Oakridge Presbyterian Church in west London on a weekday afternoon, a rhythmic thud echoes through the building.
The church is one of several in London that offers up space not used for worship or youth groups to pickleball players in the community.
It’s a win-win: pickleball players get court time in a market that’s crunched for space and churches get more people through their doors and paying fees.
“We realized that we could make money using the empty gym during the day for the growing sport of pickleball,” said Nancy Martin, a volunteer at the Oakridge Presbyterian Church who runs the pickleball court.
Martin, a player herself, had the idea to open the courts at her church in 2020 after playing the sport with her friends in the gym of St. Peter’s Cathedral Bascilica.
“It’s filling a need in the neighbourhood for recreational activities and retired people can come during the day to play,” she said. “It’s social, physical and fun.”
Oakridge Presbyterian Church is one of several London churches with pickleball courts. The church offers six 90-minute time slots a day, which groups can book for $35 (Kendra Seguin/CBC)There are at least eight churches in London that offer pickleball courts, including Wesley-Knox United Church, Ridgeview Community Church and Colborne Street United Church.
“The pandemic kind of hit the churches square in the nose, and the enrollments have dropped off,” said Laverne Kirkness, who coordinates the pickleball program at Colborne Street United Church.
He started offering $5 pickleball court rentals and clinics at the church five months ago as a new way to help keep the doors open.
“Churches are in many ways reinventing themselves to be more involved in the community and in terms of providing facilities for the community,” Kirkness said.
Rentals and bookings keeping churches afloatOakridge Presbyterian Church offers six 90-minute time slots a day, which groups can book for $35, and Martin said it’s often fully booked.
Some pickleball players even book a regular time at the church, like Angela Everest, who plays with her friends every Monday and Friday.
Laverne Kirkness coordinates the pickleball program at Colborne Street United Church. (Kendra Seguin/CBC)”It has high ceilings, so you don’t have to worry about that and the way the courts are, you don’t have to worry about hitting any side walls,” Everest said. “It’s so spacious, which is great.”
While Everest is a member of the church, both coordinators said the majority of their pickleball players do not attend their respective churches. They said most players are people who happen to live close by and have a passion for the sport.
“We find that we’re kind of alone here in inner city London and we have a lot of people that are just walking here to play, then go home,” said Kirkness.
He said the church gym has a more community-focused atmosphere and cheaper cost than traditional pickleball facilities, which he said can be appealing to novice players.
Both coordinators said finding ways to become more involved in the community, outside of religious services, is helping churches stay afloat.
Angela Everest, seen hitting the ball, is a pickleball player who regularly books the courts at Oakridge Presbyterian Church. (Kendra Seguin/CBC)At Colborne Street United Church, Kirkness said renting out the facilities for school programs or concerts is the main way they generate revenue, and that this is the future of churches in London.
Martin said offering activities such as pickleball is also a good way to get the church’s name out to the public.
“If they come regularly and then they find themselves with a need for a church, hopefully we will come to their mind,” said Martin. “If they need a wedding, funeral, baptism or just some support, they know which church to go to because they’ve been in the door before.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kendra Seguin is a reporter/editor with CBC London. She is interested in writing about music, culture and communities. You can probably find her at a local show or you can email her at kendra.seguin@cbc.ca.
