Author: seattle-metro-pickleball

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Come Tell Seattle Parks How Well Their Pickleball Programs Are Working for You

How is the indoor pickleball drop-in program working for you? Are the drop-in sessions happening on convenient days and at convenient times? Are there enough players showing up for you to have a game? Can you find sessions attended by players with a skill level that matches yours? Are the kitchen lines painted at the right distance from the net? Are there enough drop-in sessions?

Seattle Parks drop-in pickleball offerings peaked in 2018 and are currently about 25% below that peak. (Data based on weekly indoor drop-in offerings as of November 2nd of each year.)

How are the pickleball classes offered by Seattle Parks? Are they offered at convenient times? At convenient locations? Spanning the right skill levels? If you wanted to enroll, were you able to do so?

How easy is it for you to find out which facilities offer indoor pickleball and what their schedule is? How easy is it for you to know when schedule changes occur?

How is the outdoor pickleball program working for you? Seattle Parks reserves outdoor courts exclusively for pickleball at Delridge, Walt Hundley and Miller some weekday mornings. Did you know about those? Would you like to see more dedicated outdoor pickleball drop-in sessions sponsored by the Parks Department at other locations or at other times?

Does your neighborhood have enough semi-permanent pickleball nets for your outdoor pickleball courts?

Are the pickleball lines easy to see on your local outdoor courts?

Pickleball court lines at Brighton Playfield

Seattle Parks wants to hear your ideas on how to make their recreation facilities and programs work for you! Join the conversation with recreation leadership and share your ideas on how they can improve recreation communications, facility hours, and programs.

Seattle Parks is organizing 4 listening sessions where you can share your feedback. These sessions are not just for pickleball, but let’s make sure there is a huge pickleball turnout at all four sessions. Please pick one session to attend and bring your friends. Wear your favorite pickleball shirt.

  • Wednesday, Nov. 9 – Delridge Community Center, 6 to 7:30 pm
  • Thursday, Nov. 10 – Meadowbrook Community Center, 6 to 7:30 pm
  • Tuesday, Nov. 15 – Jefferson Community Center, 6 to 7:30 pm
  • Thursday, Nov. 17 – Bitter Lake Community Center, 6 to 7:30 pm

Families welcome. Refreshments provided.

UPDATE: A fifth session has been added:

  • Tuesday, Nov. 15 – Jefferson Community Center, 6 to 7:30 pm

    Morning listening sessions will be announced soon.

    See you there!

    Categories
    Alert

    Action Alert: Help Define the Priorities for Auburn’s Parks and Recreational Facilities

    What?

    The City of Auburn is going to update their Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) Plan. The PROS Plan includes a six-year plan and 20-year vision for Auburn’s park system. It outlines goals and objectives, implementation strategies, capital improvements, and investment programs for the City’s parks, recreation and open space system.

    If you think that Auburn will need more pickleball facilities over the next 6 to 20 years, this is your chance to say so, loudly and clearly.

    How?

    Share your insights via the Parks Department’s survey. City residents, patrons, and interested stakeholders are all invited to participate.

    Here are a few hints, regarding this survey:

    Question 4 will ask “What are the type of facilities that you most regularly use”. Do NOT select “tennis courts”. Instead select “Other” and type in “pickleball courts”. This will help the “pickleball” answers stand out from the “tennis” answers.

    Use question 8 to describe in detail the type of pickleball facilities you would like to see in Auburn over the next 6 to 20 years. If you know of existing facilities that could serve as a model, please include links to them.

    Please explain why such facilities will be needed. Coud it be that the number of pickleball players is growing exponentially, and that Parks Departments need to start planning accordingly?

    What else?

    Talk to all the pickleball players you know. Ask them to take action.

    Share this web page with all your pickleball friends.

    What next?

    This is just the beginning of a long process. At the end of the survey, type in your name and email address so Auburn can keep you in the loop for the next step.

    How important is it?

    This updated PROS plan will define the Auburn Parks Department’s new goals for the medium and long term.

    If the Parks Department’s new goals include your pickleball vision, we will be able to work together to realize these common goals over the next 20 years.

    If the Parks Department’s new goals don’t include your pickleball vision, any significant pickleball request you make will be seen as a distraction from the Parks’ real goals. You will have to wait 6 or more years for the next PROS plan revision, to give it another shot.

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    Alert

    Help Plan the Future of Redmond Pickleball (Part 2)

    Redmond Parks spent the summer listening to community ideas for future parks projects in Redmond. This feedback was meant to guide how they manage and enhance your parks, playgrounds, community centers, forests, and trails over the next ten years.

    Join Redmond Parks online or in person at City Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 5 to hear how they will update the Parks, Arts, Recreation, Culture, and Conservation (PARCC) Plan to see if this new plan will meet the needs of our growing and diverse pickleball community with new pickleball facilities, activities, programs and events.

    What?

    Redmond Community Meeting on Parks and Recreation

    When?

    Wednesday, October 5, 2022, from 6:30 PM until 8:00 PM

    Where?

    • In-person: Redmond City Hall, Council Chambers, 15670 NE 85th Street, Redmond, WA 98073, or
    • online.

    How to Register?

    Register here to attend online or in person.

    More information

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    Alert

    Help Seattle’s Miller Players Get More Courts

    What?

    The Miller players’ effort to get more pickleball courts is now at City Hall, where they have found a couple of officials who may be willing to intervene with Seattle Parks and Recreation on their behalf.

    What Can I do?

    Add your voice to theirs by emailing those officials with your support.

    This sample email is all set up for you with officials’ addresses and supporting text. Please personalize the text as much as you like, sign your name and send it off. 

    More information

    Categories
    Alert

    Ask for Pickleball Courts at Bellevue Airfield Park (Take 2)

    Bellevue is updating its Master Plan for Bellevue Airfield Park.

    A few weeks ago, we attended the first of three community meetings to tell them what park elements we would like to see at this new community park. Somehow, we all agreed that having pickleball courts would be a great idea.

    Now, a second community meeting and a new survey have been announced.

    Second Community Meeting

    When?

    This in-person community meeting will take place on Thursday, September 22 from 6:30-8 p.m.

    Where?

    At the South Bellevue Community Center located at 14509 SE Newport Way. Registration is not required.

    Who?

    You.

    You do not need to be a Bellevue resident to participate.

    Do I Have to?

    For us to have a chance to get 8 or more pickleball courts at Bellevue Airfield Park, it is crucial that the pickleball community be present at this meeting and make their voice heard.

    What?

    This second community outreach meeting will include opportunities to:

    • Recap the first community meeting discussion.
    • See the draft Bellevue Airfield Park Master Plan Update options being considered.
    • Share your ideas and input for how Parks can balance the needs and program options for the Bellevue Airfield Park.
    • Discuss your thoughts on the draft plans and future steps for the master plan update process. 

    Please attend and share your vision for a pickleball facility to be located at Bellevue Airfield Park.

    What’s next?

    If we do well at this meeting, we will get to attend a third (and possibly final) one.

    More Info

    Visit the Bellevue Airfield Park web page.

    View the event notice flyer

    Survey

    Please take a few minutes to answer Bellevue Parks’ new informational gathering survey.

    Question 5 will ask if there is anything missing from the 2012 Master Plan. Make sure to mention that it is missing a pickleball facility. Share a vivid picture of what you mean by that. Is it one pickleball court? Is it two? Is it a dozen? Are there lights? Is there a roof? If you know of an existing facility that could serve as an example, add a link to it.

    Question 8 will ask what types of active programs would interest you. Make sure to check the “Other” box and specify “pickleball“. Feel free to expand on what type of pickleball programs you would like to see such as pickleball drop-in, classes, leagues, ladders, tournaments, etc.

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    Newsletter

    Summer 2022 SMPA News

    Mariners Pickleball Night

    Come celebrate Mariners Pickleball Night with your host Seattle Metro Pickleball Association at a Mariners game! The Mariners play against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, September 10th at 6:10 pm at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

    For one night only, pickleball fans can watch the game and cheer from their own special sections when Riley Newman throws out the first pitch.

    Bring your friends and family! Come have some pickleball fun and cheer on the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Hope to see you there!

    Purchase TicKets…
    Read More…

    Seattle Outdoor Pickleball Construction Briefing and Update

    On August 11, 2022, Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) briefed and updated Seattle’s Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners on its “2021-2022 Outdoor Pickleball Study”

    Read More…

    Miller Players Advocate For 6 Pickleball Courts

    Seattle Parks insists on having two pickleball courts per tennis court at the most. On August 11, five pickleball players addressed the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners to plead their case for painting 6 pickleball courts on the two Miller tennis courts.

    Read More…

    2022 Humana Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic

    A very, very, special thank you to the 120+ volunteers who make this tournament what it is.

    Read More…

    Miller Players Petition for 6 Pickleball Courts on 2 Tennis Courts

    Over 100 players already signed the online petition. Over 25 have signed the paper version.

    Read More…

    Ask for Pickleball Courts at Bellevue Airfield Park

    Bellevue is updating its Master Plan for Bellevue Airfield Park. They want to know what park elements you would like to see at this new community park.

    Read More…

    Lines For 16 New Pickleball Courts Coming to Seattle This Summer

    The tennis courts at Rainier Beach, Gilman Playground, and Alki will get pickleball court lines this summer

    Read More…

    New Seattle Outdoor Pickleball Courts: Draft Plan

    You answered dozens of surveys from the Seattle Parks Department and some from the Seattle Parks District. You sent emails to Seattle Parks, the Seattle Parks Superintendent, the Seattle Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners, the Seattle City Council, and Seattle’s previous and current mayors. You attended in person and online meetings. It is all slowly coming to fruition as Seattle Parks works on a new plan to expand the number of outdoor locations where you can play pickleball throughout the city.

    Read More…

    Meet West Seattle’s First Paddle Organizer

    Read More…

    Find the latest news

    The latest SMPA blog posts are featured on the SMPA web site’s main page. Scroll down to the “Latest from the blog” section.

    Find all the news

    You can find all the news on the SMPA web site. Simply click on the News menu item or go here.

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    Alert

    Vote for New Sammamish Pickleball Courts

    What is going on?

    In Sammamish’s previous survey and open houses regarding these two parks you said you wanted pickleball courts.

    Now Sammamish has developed three design proposals for each park, and they are awaiting your feedback. 

    Of the three proposals for Beaton Hill Park, the first one has no pickleball courts, the second one has two dedicated pickleball courts, and the third one has four.

    None of the current designs for Big Rock Park South include pickleball courts.

    What can YOU do?

    Please vote for Beaton Hill Park concept #3, “Playful Space for Everyone” while completing this survey. You don’t need to be a resident to take the survey

    Give a score of 5 to question #12 to indicate that you favor the Beaton Hill Park concept #3 with 4 dedicated pickleball courts.

    Make sure you give a score of less than 5 to all other alternatives.

    Use question #15 to express your other wishes regarding pickleball courts at either park. If you would like more than 4 courts, or would like to see lights on the courts, write it here.

    Where can I learn more?

    Learn more about this project here.

    Categories
    News

    Seattle Outdoor Pickleball Construction Briefing and Update

    We were hoping to learn more about SPR’s current plan for outdoor pickleball during this briefing, but the presentation remained at a very high-level. If you have attended Seattle Parks’ two open houses on the subject or read our post titled New Seattle Outdoor Pickleball Courts: Draft Plan, you probably know a lot more about the subject than the Commissioners do.

    A few interesting points nonetheless:

    • SPR describes pickleball’s growth as a pickleball explosion.
    • SPR gets the social nature of pickleball, as well as its drop-in culture.
    • SPR was surprised to get over 3,000 responses to their online survey.
    • SPR thinks that a few single tennis courts that are not very much used are the best candidates to be converted into dedicated pickleball courts. Unfortunately, most such courts in Seattle are smaller than regular size tennis courts. This means that once converted into pickleball courts, these pickleball courts would have less room than you might expect behind the base lines. Watch the beginning of this video to see why having space behind the baselines is important to be able to retrieve deep shots.
    • Preliminary cost estimates for two brand new dedicated pickleball facilities of 8 to 12 courts are more than originally anticipated when planning for the upcoming Seattle Parks District budget cycle.
    • SPR reports that Seattle schools might start lining some of the tennis courts at their facilities.

    You can watch the entire presentation below. We apologize for the blue box covering some of the slides.

    The entire meeting, including the presentation above is available here. This video does not have the blue box problem of the video above, but the image is not as sharp.

    Categories
    News

    Miller Players Advocate For 6 Pickleball Courts

    As you already know, Seattle’s Miller pickleball community has petitioned the Seattle Parks Department, asking it to paint lines for six pickleball courts instead of four on the existing two tennis courts at Miller Playfield on Capitol Hill.

    The Parks Department replied that they will keep limiting the number of pickleball courts to four.

    Tonight, five pickleball players addressed the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners to plead their case. You can watch them in action in the video below.

    Thank you Lee-Lee, Yash, Phil, Michelle, Joni and everyone else who worked tirelessly to make this happen!

    Below is a copy of some of the handouts Joni gave to the commissioners.

    A pickleball court layout for Miller designed to keep two distinct area. Each area can be used for tennis or pickleball, without any conflict between the areas.
    A drawing presented by Seattle Parks to explain why they will not draw 4 pickleball courts on a single tennis court. It turns out that the tennis courts are much closer together in this drawing than in reality.

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    Alert

    Advise on the Future of Kirkland’s Parks System

    The Kirkland City Council is seeking community volunteers to serve on a Parks Funding Exploratory Committee (PFEC).

    Community feedback over the past few years has shown a strong desire to add an aquatic center and additional indoor recreation space in Kirkland. Community members also want year-round access to restrooms, a strengthened trail network, better lighting and parking at facilities, increased maintenance of parks, pickleball courts, diverse and inclusive recreation programming, and more.

    The purpose of the PFEC is to make recommendations to the City Council in Spring 2023 regarding potential parks ballot measure(s) for placement on the November 2023 ballot.

    PFEC will meet twice a month on Thursday evenings from September 2022 through February 2023. Interested community members are invited to apply to join the PFEC. The online application will be open until August 25, 2022. Committee members will be announced the first week of September.

    For more information and to apply, visit www.kirklandwa.gov/parks2023ballot