The Pulse: Aug. 1, 2023

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Essentials

  • 25°C: Clearing in the morning. High 25. Humidex 27. UV index 7 or high. (forecast)
  • 17: Adult survivors of sexual assault are waiting about 17 months for counselling, says the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton. (details)

Players face-off on an indoor pickleball court coloured blue, green, and brown. The court's net runs through the centre of the photo, with players holding paddles on either side.

Pickleball facility expands as interest in sport soars


By Colin Gallant

As interest in pickleball continues to grow in the region, a St. Albert-based facility is opening a second location in Edmonton.

The Pickleball Hub will expand to the Roper Industrial Park at 63 Street and Roper Road sometime between August and October, co-owner Michelle Cho told Taproot.

"It's near the Whitemud Freeway, it's near Sherwood Park, and it's easy access for all the southsiders," said Cho, who found the location while driving her son to soccer. "Pickleball is something that you plan ahead. You book a court, you arrange some time with your friends, you join a league, you join a lesson, and it's more of a destination-type activity."

Cho said she became interested after playing pickleball in St. Albert and connecting with the hub's owner, Vinh Ngo.

"We actually grew up playing ping pong together, and the two of us are still very close to our old ping pong coach," Cho told Taproot. "Once you're in the community... you see that the demand for pickleball has risen, and it's growing."

Ngo said he opened the St. Albert pickleball hub in 2018 when he couldn't find places to play during the times when he was free.

"Once I caught the pickleball bug, there was really no place to play, five years ago, in the evening," Ngo told Taproot. "For those prime-time hours, most of the rec centres are booked. Even to this day, it is always a challenge to get those courts."

The Edmonton Sport and Social Club added the sport in 2017 and has seen it skyrocket in popularity.

"I think that pickleball is pretty unique in how quickly it has grown," said marketing director Caitlin Richler. "We didn't really realize the growth potential, but it has been our fastest-growing sport."

Pickleball has grown so quickly that many municipalities are having a hard time keeping up with the demand for facilities. The Parkland Pickleheads have been lobbying hard to get more courts built to serve players in Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, and Parkland County. Last year, members of a pickleball group in Leduc told the Leduc Representative they were disappointed in the number of dedicated pickleball courts in the city.

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Headlines: Aug. 1, 2023


By Mack Male

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Andre Corbould answers questions from a podium in front of the steps inside City Hall

Anti-Black Racism Action Plan recommends permanent office


By Nathan Fung

The final version of the Anti-Black Racism Action Plan commissioned by the City of Edmonton last year recommends the creation of a permanent office devoted to meeting the needs of Black people in Edmonton.

That's one of 130 recommendations in the plan, organized into 12 categories such as municipal leadership, hiring and employment, and data collection. Other recommendations include the following:

  • Design a program to promote upward mobility for Black employees in the City of Edmonton;
  • Mandate the collection of disaggregated data by race within all municipal departments;
  • Develop accessible avenues for reporting hate crimes on transit, including third-party reporting for those not comfortable in engaging with the police.

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi first announced the creation of an Anti-Black Racism Action Plan in August 2022 as part of an event re-committing the city's support for the UN's International Decade for People of African Descent. The city appointed two Halifax-based consultants — DeRico Symonds and El Jones — to create the plan, which they based on consultations with various members of Edmonton's Black community.

The city made a draft version of the plan available on its website in May and posted the final version on July 17. In it, city manager Andre Corbould says the city will review the action plan over the coming months and recommend next steps to city council in the fall.

"As we develop a plan to address these recommendations, we will turn our focus on taking action, and we will continue to listen and learn," Corbould wrote.

The city's Anti-Racism Strategy, which city council approved in February 2022, also recommends the creation of an independent anti-racism body, guided by a temporary advisory panel that has been meeting since February 2023, shortly before the dissolution of the Anti-Racism Advisory Committee. The city's website says it is expecting a report from the panel by spring 2024.

Photo: City manager Andre Corbould, seen here at a news conference in June 2022, said administration will bring recommendations based on the Anti-Black Racism Action Plan to city council in the fall. (City of Edmonton/YouTube)

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