The idea of Club 509 Pickleball started with a small group who realized that the growth of our loved sport would quickly exceed the number of courts available in our community. With this in mind the Club was formed to advocate for our sport with the local city leaders, bring Pickleball players together for social and competitive play, and most importantly give us a voice. Showing the number of people who support Pickleball in our community will ultimately convince the cities to budget for courts in new parks and hopefully allow us to renovate under-used courts for Pickleball.
Club board members worked as consultants with The Pacific Clinic (formerly TriCities Court Club). This has resulted in 6 beautiful indoor courts in the TriCities allowing many of us to continue play throughout the winter months. We are continuing our efforts to renovate the tennis courts at Lawrence Scott Park as well as reaching out to the other cities for opportunities to include Pickleball in their future plans. Club leaders were also involved in organizing play at the Pasco City Hall facility giving us an additional 3 courts on a gym floor surface (Currently closed due to COVID restrictions).
In the past our Club has had league play and tournaments, social play events and clinics. It is our hope to continue with all of these as soon as we are able to safely return to large gatherings.
Ultimately the reason for the Club will be different for each of you but advocating for our sport will prove to be the single most important thing we can do to provide a future with enough courts for everyone. This is why we need you! Our ability to have league play has been difficult due to the number of players vs. the number of courts available. Tournaments are currently being held with temporary nets on taped down courts because we do not have adequate facilities. The past year with COVID has been challenging for our entire community but during this time we have seen a huge growth in the number of people playing Pickleball. The growth of our sport will continue and we need to be seen, we need to be heard. Joining the Club will allow us to show how many people love this sport in our community; Getting involved with the Club by leading a committee or simply volunteering some time will allow us to accomplish our goals. Please get involved! A small group of Club board members are doing the best they can but until we all come together and work as a team we will not accomplish our goals.
Join in the conversation, talk to people of influence you may know, and take every opportunity to be an active participant in the Club. Watching beautiful Pickleball facilities being built all over the country is a reminder that we should be able to have this here in our community as well. Together we can do great things!
4 Comments
by Greg Schreck
I used to play a lot of tennis before a foot surgery put that to an end. I would like to try pickleball. Do you suggest taking lessons or just going out to play? Can you reccomend a racquet as well?
Thanks.
by Paul Jones
Hey Greg, just saw your comment on our story about “Why do we have a Pickleball club?” Most of us have just gone out and figured out the game; it’s fairly easy to learn the rules and have a fun time playing with friends. The Pacific Clinic has an instructor for Pickleball and he does a great job if you want to spend a little to improve your game. As for paddles I generally tell people to buy something less expensive, $50 – $60 range if you can. As a beginner you will not really know what you want in a paddle at first. Once you play and begin to advance in your skill set you will be ready to find your next paddle. At that point I say try out as many different paddles as you can to see what feels good to you. The right paddle really depends on how you play and what feels good to hit with. Hope this is helpful!!
by Pam Anderson
I am having fun trying out this sport new to me late Summer,
by Paul Jones
Hi Pam, We are so glad you are having fun! This is such a great game with really fun people! Keep on playing, look forward to seeing you out on the courts!