Serving Up History and Pickleball on a Wednesday Walk

Our Piedmont Recreation Department’s Walking on Wednesdays group had a good turnout of about 40 walkers and four K-9 best friends at the Exedra last Wednesday for our weekly walk.

The City of Piedmont re-opened the Linda Pickleball courts in early August after resurfacing and marking them exclusively for pickleball. The courts are closed on Wednesdays so we could inspect the courts without interrupting anyone’s play. Piedmont Recreation Department Supervisor Liam Kelly was going to meet us at the courts and talk about the project, so the pickleball courts were our morning’s destination.

We took a scenic route to the courts that started with going down Magnolia Avenue past the new aquatics center. That morning the Post reported the pools were expected to be filled with water the coming Tuesday for “commissioning.” This testing could be as short as six weeks, but longer if there are issues. The exterior of the center has been completed, landscaping was being done, and people should be swimming soon.

We continued down Magnolia and went up the seldom traveled MacKinnon Place cul-de-sac. We went to its top where a hidden 110 foot set of about 48 steep stairs took us down to Arbor Drive. We noticed a number of wooden heart designs that had been hung on the southern magnolias in the circle. We thought they were a kids’ Covid project that has remained with us. We stayed on Arbor, going around the Arbor Circle up to Oakland Avenue. We crossed Oakland and went down it to Linda Avenue. Up Linda is the Pickleball courts’ entrance where Liam K was patiently waiting for us.

Liam unlocked the gate, and we went in for a closer look. K-9 best friends had to stay outside, or be in their best friends’ arms, because they are not allowed on the courts. Liam asked us if we could remember what the space had previously been used for. I remember playing softball on it as an elementary school student in the late 1950s. Liam said the site had also been basketball courts and most recently a pair of undersized tennis courts.

Liam explained that the project to transform the tennis courts into the new four pickleball courts took some time. The need to resurface the courts was identified in 2018 and was the project was initially funded to be completed in 2023.

However, during this time the popularity of pickleball exploded. Trials were conducted and temporary courts were set up at different locations, but the demand for pickleball playing time and space was greater than what was available. How this demand could be met became a controversial issue. Recreational space in Piedmont is very limited, and especially for new uses. The Piedmont Recreation Commission studied the issue and made a report with a recommendation to the City Council that the Linda Tennis Courts be converted into pickleball courts. It was believed that this was the best utilization of the space. This led to a lawsuit from neighbors who cited concerns about the noise associated with pickleball play and the impact on nearby residents, some of which have homes that are as close as 30 feet away.

Accommodations and sound mitigation efforts have been made. The courts are open from 9 AM to 6 PM weekdays, 9AM to 3 PM on Sundays, and closed on Wednesdays. There are no lights. Low noise balls are provided by the Recreation Department in a large bin and there is a list of low noise rackets at the courts. There are no reservations for using the courts, people just come, and there are no fees for anyone to use them.

The Piedmont Public Works Department began the $60,000 project to reconstruct, resurface, and restripe the Linda Pickleball Courts in April and closed them during construction. The project was originally expected to take two months, but there were delays in receiving court equipment. In addition, two trees whose roots were causing uneven court surfaces had to be removed. The courts’ transformation was a challenge, but the result is an impressive, new Piedmont recreational facility.

We had questions for Liam about pickleball’s name and its history. It was suggested that the game creator’s dog was named “Pickle.” However, some later research revealed that in the summer of 1965, U.S. Congressman Joel Pritchard and businessman Bill Bell were on vacation on Bainbridge Island, Washington. They wanted a way to entertain their bored families and found that their badminton equipment was incomplete. This led them to improvise with ping pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. They lowered the badminton net and discovered the game was more fun with the lower net. This was the start of pickleball. Pritchard's wife is said to have coined the name "pickleball," a reference to the "pickle boat" in crew races, which is a boat with a collection of mismatched rowers.

After a group photo on the courts with Liam, we thanked him for the visit. We took different routes to get back to the Exedra. Piedmont historian Meghan Bennett wasn’t able to be on this walk, but she was waiting for us in front of her recently remodeled home on Grand Avenue, and some of us went by to see her. Then we climbed up Oakland Avenue back to the Exedra.