The Commercial Pickleball League has received a boost in numbers with 13 teams registered ahead of the start of its fifth season at the WER Joell Tennis Stadium on Thursday night.

What started off as a pilot project in 2023 has grown with four teams in Division One and nine in Division Two and the action is set to continue until March, when the champions are crowned.

Teams from Applied Computer Technologies, Arch Investment Management, Butterfield Bank and Chubb have signed up to play in Division One, with Arch Capital Group, Aspen, Chubb, Conduit Re, Hamilton Re, KPMG Blue, KPMG Red, Orbis Investment Management, and Bermuda Union of Teachers completing the list of teams in Division Two.

Stewart Gurr, one of the league’s organisers, has been working hard to ensure that the season runs smoothly.

“We have two divisions for the Commercial Pickleball League,’’ Gurr said. “Division One is an advanced league and Division Two is intermediate to advanced.

“Division Two starts on Thursday and we’re looking at Division One starting next week. We’ll play until March when the winners of each division are presented with their plaques.

“The number of players registered is growing because one of the accounting firms has just joined. They’re going to pull another 20 people, so it’s well-subscribed this season.

“So far we have over 110 players registered. There’s no limit on the number of players each team can register, but there’s only so many matches you can play in one night.”

Gurr spoke of the challenges that come with putting together a league in winter when the weather is unpredictable on island and has no covered pickleball facility.

“It’s not easy organising a winter league because the weather is not as co-operative during this time of the year,” he said.

The first time we organised it, we tried it out at Newstead because they had lights but now we have lights at the stadium, so there are a lot more courts available, which is great.

“What we're doing this time around, which is a little bit different, is that we’re running two sessions. That way we can get more people out and the teams get to mix up a little bit more.”

There is also an opportunity on Saturday for pickleball enthusiasts to test themselves at the Stowe and Stowe fundraising day, which is taking place at Newstead Courts.

Some of the funds raised will go towards DailyMale Men’s Health Clinic, which provides free services including testing for prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease.