The Victoria Regional Pickleball Association (VRPA), through the Activating Youth Pickleball Program (AYPVRPA), is hosting two Slamboree youth pickleball fun days for elementary students, June 4-5, 2026 at the Archie Browning Sport Centre.
The 2026 Slamboree is sponsored by the CFAX Santas Anonymous Fund. We are grateful for their support of both the Slamboree and the work we do to put paddles in the hands of our youth. In addition, Pickleball BC, Pickleball Canada the Township of Esquimalt Fire Fighters and the City of Victoria Firefighters ensured every participating school could receive a basket of pickleball equipment.
“The Slamboree is run like a tournament with Court Crushers volunteering to run the tournament,” said VRPA’s Connie McCann. “We have court marshals who walk the student teams to the court and keep track of the score, we have medals for everyone and one trophy for the top scoring school team.”
Slamboree Sponsors
- CFAX Santas Anonymous Fund
- Viasport
- Pickleball BC
- Vancouver Pickleball Club
- Pickleball Canada
- Franklin Sport
- Township of Esquimalt Fire Fighters
- City of Victoria Firefighters
- Country Grocer, Esquimalt
- Thrifty Foods Fairfield
- Beacon Drive In
- Victoria Regional Pickleball Association (VRPA)
- AYPVRPA leadership team
- Shangri-Law Pickleball
- Barb McLeod
- Dennis Quan
“Snack bags are given out, a snack table is provided with fruit and water donatedby Country Grocer, Esquimalt and veggie trays donated by Thrifty Foods Fairfield,” added McCann. “There is a very fun door prize table with many ‘pickleball people’ created by VRPA member, Barb McLeod, ice cream cone gift certificates donated by Beacon Drive In, assorted fund packages from AYPVRPA leadership team, and over 13 paddles donated by VRPA.”
McCann noted that it takes over 30 volunteers to run the tournament and a School Leader team of 16 teachers who have dedicated countless hours to prepare students for the Slamboree.
With a generous grant from Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities™, AYP was able to include a Victoria Middle School in its program for the first time in 2026. The hope is to expand this program to include more middle schools in the 2026/27 school year.
About Activating Youth Pickleball
Activating Youth Pickleball (AYPVRPA) was initiated by Pickleball BC in September 2024, building on work by Vancouver Pickleball Club in the East Vancouver School District. Seed funding from ViaSport and early regional partners supported getting paddles into elementary schools. VRPA was one of the initial regions and is now listed as Region 3; by the 2025–2026 school year, seven regions in BC are participating. In School Year 2024–2025, AYPVRPA introduced pickleball to six SD61 elementary schools and held the inaugural Slamboree in June 2025 with 50 students attending. The program has since expanded to reach 11 schools and launch nine Noon Hour clubs.