Valleystream was bustling and bursting at the seams on June 3-4, as roughly 120 pickleball enthusiasts doubled the tennis club’s court capacity for the sport’s biggest local tournament, the Ottawa Outdoor Pickleball Slam.
The event drew participants from throughout Ontario and Quebec, as well as upstate New York and the sport’s hotbed in Florida, plus a big contingent from the local Ottawa Pickleball Association.
OPA’s Matthew Kawamoto matched his silver medal performance from the 2017 provincials (in the men’s open singles competition) with a runner-up finish in the top men’s doubles division alongside his father, Hamilton’s Tom Kawamoto.
Montreal’s Ernesto Fajardo and Ian Lepine won the event. Fajardo was a double gold medallist, also winning the mixed doubles with Megan Boisvert of Owen Sound.
Ottawa’s Pat Bertrand and Evelyn Eldridge were champions in the top women’s doubles division.
—Ottawa Sportspage
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