TORONTO – The 2024 pickleball season hasn’t quite been what Nicholas Giles-Pelletier had envisioned.
Due to some health issues that he’s dealt with during the course of the year, the Thunder Bay man has been limited in the number of events that he’s wanted to take part in.
However, Giles-Pelletier took advantage of his main goal of wanting to compete in the provincial circuit.
He won a gold medal in Toronto last weekend with his mixed doubles partner Florina Nisioiu in the 3.5/4.0+ under 40 division at the Pickleball Ontario Championship Series finals and also picked up a bronze medal in the men’s doubles 4.0+ under 40 competition with his dad Paul.
“I was just happy that my body held out and I was able to compete for all three days,” Giles-Pelletier said.
“There was really good competition all the way through and there was no real drama going on. Everybody was just ready to play and have fun.”
Giles-Pelletier had a busy schedule for the event, which was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
He competed in men’s singles open play on Thursday, the men’s doubles event with his dad on Friday and the mixed doubles competition with Nisioiu on Saturday.
“The goal going into the weekend was just to stay healthy,” Giles-Pelletier said.
“I’ve been going through some vertigo spells, so I was just wanting to get through the tournament and play the best that I possibly could.”
The tournament didn’t get off to the best of starts for Giles-Pelletier. He fell ill on Thursday and had to withdraw from the men’s singles open competition.
After that, it was smooth sailing.
“My body was getting used to playing all day and I wasn’t feeling too bad by Saturday, which was when Florina and I were able to get our mixed doubles win,” Giles-Pelletier said.
Giles-Pelletier qualified for the provincials with his showing at the Championship Series qualifier event in Midland from May 31 to June 2.
While this past weekend allowed him to see where his skills stacked up with the rest of the top players in Ontario, Giles-Pelletier said the real highlight was getting to catch up with and meet fellow pickleball enthusiasts.
“Honestly, the best part of the sport for me is the people,” Giles-Pelletier added.
“In pickleball, it’s more about getting to know one another than in other sports. I got to see the people that I had met or played against back in Midland and to reconnect with them and form some friendships was the most fun part of the weekend for me.”
Giles-Pelletier started playing pickleball three years ago when he and a friend from college went to the court at Boulevard Lake and fell in love with the game.
“I got my father into the game as well so when my buddy moved back home after he was done college, I pretty much started playing all year round with my dad,” Giles-Pelletier said.
“I had played hockey until about six years ago, but I wasn’t going to be going to the OHL (Ontario Hockey League) or anything like that. I also played soccer and I got pretty into ping pong when I was in college before I started playing pickleball.
“There’s a few ex-ping-pong players who play pickleball now, and they definitely have a step up on people who don’t play any racket sports. Any sport that involves hand-eye coordination is going to set you up really well.”
The next competition for Giles-Pelletier will be this weekend as he’s headed to Grand Marais with fellow members of the Thunder Bay Pickleball Club for the Meet in the Middle tournament.
He may also have an opportunity to represent Ontario at the USA Nationals in Dallas in November, but he’s currently waiting for confirmation on whether he has been selected for that event.
