Pickleball Victoria - Community Game Plan
Growing the system around one of Victoria’s fastest-growing sports
Pickleball in Victoria is experiencing extraordinary growth. Membership has more than doubled in approximately fifteen months, with more than 5,000 members now connected through 66 affiliates across hundreds of metropolitan and regional communities.
For Pickleball Victoria, the challenge was no longer simply attracting more participants. It was ensuring that clubs, venues, facilities, contributors, pathways and organisational systems could grow alongside the sport.
Through the Vicsport Guiding Sport process, we listened to players, clubs, venues, volunteers and community leaders. This included stakeholder forums, workshops, validation activities and a statewide survey receiving 383 responses.
The findings confirmed a sport with exceptionally strong participant experiences. People enjoy pickleball, recommend it, build friendships through it and feel part of its community. But success was also creating pressure around court access, contributor workloads, progression pathways and communication.
Rather than beginning with a list of new programs, we examined the system underneath participation and asked:
What conditions help people start, stay and contribute to the sport?
The result was Growing Pickleball in Victoria: A Community Game Plan 2026–2029.
The Game Plan establishes four priorities:
- Clubs, Venues & Contributors
- Facilities & Access
- Pathways & Participation
- Systems, Communication & Sustainability
It also introduces a participation lifecycle, six different participation journeys, a Pickleball Experience Index and a broader scoreboard measuring participation, experience, contribution, system strength and community value.
The strategy provides Pickleball Victoria with a clear direction towards 9,000 members, 100 affiliates, 35 venue partners and 400 junior members by 2029 - while protecting the community, belonging and enjoyment at the heart of the sport.
A Testimonial
Working with Andrew O’Loughlin of VicSport to develop Growing Pickleball in Victoria 2026–2029 has been a terrific experience.
From the outset, Andrew demonstrated a genuine commitment to understanding our sport, our stakeholders and our aspirations for the future. His consultation process was thorough and inclusive, ensuring that the voices of clubs, members, volunteers, partners and the wider community were heard and valued.
What impressed us most was the way VicSport combined meaningful stakeholder engagement with robust data and evidence-based analysis. Rather than producing a generic strategic plan, they collaborated closely with us to create a practical, achievable and inspiring roadmap that reflects the unique opportunities and challenges facing pickleball in Victoria.
The result is a strategic plan that has the confidence of our Board and our stakeholders. It provides clear direction, measurable priorities and a strong foundation to guide the continued growth of our sport over the next four years.
On behalf of Pickleball Victoria, I sincerely thank Andrew and the team from VicSport for their professionalism, expertise and collaborative approach.
Lea Preece
President
Pickleball Victoria
Many thanks to Lea and her team. We are grateful to the Pickleball Victoria Board, committees, clubs, venues, players, volunteers and community leaders who contributed so openly to the process.
When systems become stronger, more people start, stay and contribute - and the benefits of pickleball can reach communities across Victoria for years to come.
For more information on this project, and on how we are Guiding Sport, please contact Andrew O'Loughlin - Manager, Strategic Projects on email at andrewo@vicsport.com.au.
Biathlon Australia - Participation Plan
More people, more involved in Biathlon
Running alongside the recent Winter Olympics, Vicsport had the opportunity to work with Biathlon Australia through the Guiding Sport process to help shape their Participation Plan.
The brief: How do you make a highly specialised sport easier to start, easier to stay in, with limited resources, and all be aligned to the national Play Well strategy.
Our discovery work quickly identified the biggest challenges were around perception, discoverability, and friction to entry.
So instead of starting with elite pathways, we started with participant experiences.
What emerged were 'laser-first' formats. Repeatable community activations. Taking biathlon to the audience via schools and park-based programs. Beginner-friendly products. Clearer pathways. And a stronger focus on belonging, progress and contribution.
The result is a practical participation plan designed to help more people experience some form of biathlon, more often, and for longer.
We are grateful to the team at Biathlon Australia for embracing such a thoughtful and progressive approach to growing the sport.
Thanks to Sandra Paul and the team at Biathlon Australia - we look forward to seeing the growth in biathlon for many years to come.
For more information on this project, and on how we are Guiding Sport, please contact Andrew O'Loughlin - Manager, Strategic Projects on email at andrewo@vicsport.com.au.