Are ‘picklers’ plotting to take over the tennis world (at least in California)?
Pickleball may be America’s fastest-growing sport, but hard as it is to believe, not everyone is thrilled about that.
Consider, for example, what San Luis Obispo County Supervisor John Peschong had to say when he voted in favor of funding a Nipomo skateboard park: “I’m just glad it’s not another pickleball court.”
There was the faintest hint of a smile, but the tone was dead serious.
Of all the pickleball haters out there, though, perhaps none is more curmudgeonly than writer Dell Franklin of the small Central Coast beach community of Cayucos, who describes pickleball as a “desecration of tennis” and worries the pickleball “mob” is running out of room elsewhere in SLO County and will soon try to take over courts in his hometown.
During a guest spot on Dave Congalton’s talk radio show, Franklin described “picklers” (I’m told that’s what avid pickleball players call themselves) as “members of a mad cult.”
Congalton was almost as nasty.
“I agree with you 100 percent,” the radio host said. “What gets me about pickleball is the noise. ... Why does it have to be so loud?”
Seriously, Dave? Is it that much louder than tennis?
And by the way, at least picklers don’t grunt.
Turf war?
Anyway, Franklin is upset about what he sees as a move by pickleballers to take over tennis courts.
There is a kernel of truth in that.
Some cities are permitting tennis courts to be converted into pickleball courts — either permanently or temporarily — because that’s a quick, cost-effective way to accommodate pickleballers.
These conversions have led to some turf wars — or “court” battles, as some pundits put it.
At a park in Santa Rosa, for example, motor oil was dumped on a combo pickleball/tennis court. The tennis-only courts weren’t touched.
According to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, someone left a “profanity-laced note” at the scene of the crime.
“Its writer threatened to key the cars of any pickleball players who came to the courts, and called tennis players who didn’t do anything to stop the pickleball players ‘chickens,’” the newspaper reported last November.
Such rancor appears to be the exception, though.
For instance, the Central Coast city of Grover Beach, which has been without a single pickleball court, is allowing one court to be used by pickleball players at certain times. As far as we know, there’s been no grief from the tennis crowd.
The court at Grover’s Mentone Basin Park was chosen because it wasn’t being used much by tennis players. According to City Manager Matthew Bronson, soccer players and skateboarders sometimes co-opted the court. So, the city decided to experiment by converting it into a dual-purpose court.
Not a single person showed up to comment at a public hearing before the City Council — either for or against the arrangement, though the city had been getting a lot of informal pickleball requests.
Tennis in decline?
There are still plenty of dedicated tennis players out there, but picklers report that tennis courts often are empty, while people are lined up to play pickleball.
That’s frustrating.
Allowing tennis courts to be used for pickleball — even part of the time — makes better use of limited public recreation facilities; you can get four pickleball courts on a single tennis court.
Keep in mind, too, that pickleball isn’t just a physical activity, it’s a social one as well.
“With pickleball, you just go to the courts and you can find people to play with ... and all of a sudden these people are your friends,” said Brian O’Kelly, past president of the San Luis Obispo Pickleball Club.
That doesn’t mean other recreational sports — cycling, running, basketball, swimming, and yes, tennis — don’t encourage camaraderie.
But let’s face it. Pickleball is having a moment. (A recent headline in the New York Times reads, “Pickleball is Ready for Prime Time.”)
Picklers deserve their fair share of facilities. No more, no less — just their fair share.
So give it up, curmudgeons.
You might as well surrender because this court battle is not going your way. Pickleball, it seems, is here to stay.
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Are ‘picklers’ plotting to take over the tennis world (at least in California)?."
