The Bright Tennis Club has had a wonderful 12 months of pickleball, culminating in the inaugural pickleball club championships. One of the fastest growing sports in Australia, pickleball has gained a larger foothold in Bright thanks to positive word of mouth on a large scale, and genuine local interest in picking up the paddle and having some fun. Bright Tennis Club secretary Jody Vlahandreas said the club invested in providing pickleball based on local interest in the sport. “The tennis club was increasingly receiving enquiries from locals and visitors about playing pickleball which led to us seeking funding to incorporate pickleball lines onto our existing hotshots courts,” she said. “We received a community grant from the Alpine Shire in 2024 that provided some of the funding required to repaint our hotshot courts. “The tennis club provided the remaining funds and in-kind labour to convert our existing courts into multi-use courts, with pickleball and hotshots tennis able to be played on them, and repainting occurred in November 2024. “The addition of pickleball has seen our revenue from court hire increase significantly, which will allow us to make further investments into improving our facilities and offerings to the local community. “Our weekly events are very well attended by our members, including an aggregate ladder competition on Monday afternoons and an all-ages social play on Thursday afternoons.” The sport has grown so much in the region that 25 members were able to contest the inaugural club championships on Saturday, 25 October. Each event consisted of a round robin event, followed by finals. Winners Men's singles: Wally Arcidiacono def Craig Collins. Women's singles: Jody Vlahandreas def Anna Mountjoy. Men's doubles: Wally Arcidiacono/Craig Collins def Lance Harrison/Oscar Hershel. Women's doubles: Charlotte Paton/Jody Vlahandreas def Roshelle Harrison/Tess Smith. Mixed doubles: Craig Collins/Jody Vlahandreas def Wally Arcidiacono/Charlotte Paton The club is accepting registrations for their Easter Saturday pickleball tournament – for more information or to register, contact the club at brighttennisclub@gmail.com, or club president Michelle Yarwood on 0413 994 596.
