Much like the action in tennis and pickleball, there have been sometimes-contentious back-and-forth interactions between players of each sport regarding playing time on the two courts at Lewes Canalfront Park.
“We have diehard tennis players and scores of pickleball players wanting to use the courts,” said tennis player Chris Beakey. “There are a lot of good people that are being put in these high-stress situations.”
To keep the peace, Lewes Mayor and City Council approved a schedule, which will be posted at the courts, that gives priority to a particular sport in alternating two-hour blocks from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Sunday operates on a first-come, first-served basis.
Either sport may be played if the courts are empty, but the courts must be vacated if a person wishing to play the priority sport arrives.
Councilwoman Bonnie Osler worked with each group to develop a schedule that’s fair for everybody. Most of the work was done by players of each sport, she said.
“All I tried to do was talk to both sides,” she said. “The folks who were trying to work this out came together with this idea.”
Mayor Ted Becker said the schedule is a short-term solution for the courts.
“This is a good first step toward working out the friction that has emerged between the two sports,” he said.
Use of the courts will be a topic at the parks and recreation commission’s Monday, July 27 meeting. Barry Dunkin, the commissioner in charge of recreation, playgrounds and athletic courts, said the debacle highlights a need for more pickleball courts in the area. He said the Canalfront Park courts were built before pickleball was created.
“Pickleball is really retrofitting themselves into a tennis court,” he said. “It’s not ideal.”
Kathy Casey, president of First State Pickleball Club, said the need for a facility is apparent. She said there are likely more than 1,000 people who regularly play pickleball in Sussex County. First State is interested in entering into a land-lease agreement in the area, where First State would take on fundraising and planning.
Great Marsh Park off New Road is a location that’s been suggested. The site is already home to the Lewes Unleashed dog park and the Lewes Community Garden. Members of Lewes council agreed it could possibly work, but more work must be done before it can be seriously considered.
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Lewes pickleball, tennis players try to work out differences - CapeGazette.com
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