KITCHENER – Wellington Center residents Bryce Richardson and Tim Porter will be heading to the 2024 Summer Games – the Canada 55+ Summer Games.

“We're still in shock,” Richardson said upon learning that he and his pickleball partner had qualified for the national competition.

He and Porter participated in the Ontario Senior Games Associationat the 65+ men's doubles pickleball tournament in Kitchener on April 16, winning silver and earning them a spot in the cross-country competition.

THE Canada Games 55+ is a biennial event, which will take place this year from August 1 to August 1. From the 27th to the 30th in Quebec.

Approximately 2,500 participants from across the country are expected, competing in events ranging from track and field, floor shuffleboard and golf to table tennis, slo-pitch, swimming and more.

Porter and Richardson will focus on a single event – ​​pickleball – a sport Richardson said he took up because it is easier than tennis.

“We are originally tennis players,” he said, noting that he had a court in his backyard and still played the sport as well.

Richardson started pickleball seven years ago and Porter has been playing for about two years, he said.

“It’s the fastest growing sport in North America, so there’s nothing hotter these days,” Richardson said.

The popularity of the sport means competition for playing space can be fierce, but luckily Richardson can train in his own backyard.

He said he expects the national tournament to be as competitive as possible, but that he and his partner are “as good as anyone.”

In preparation, they will continue to train, do their best to stay healthy and generally “keep doing what we do,” he said.