Category: News

Treat others with respect

Treat others with respect. This is part of the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association’s Code of Conduct that all members must agree to before joining the association.

Respect the local rules

Most locations have posted rules. Respect them.

For instance, if a rule says that players can continuously occupy a court for an hour, do not attempt to force them to leave their court in the name of open play.

Respect local open play protocols

Be flexible. If you join open play at a particular location, find out the local play protocols and abide by them. If people are playing games to 9 when the courts are overflowing with players, then play to 9. If people are using rally scoring, then use rally scoring. If people want winners to stay on the court, let the winners stay on the court. If people want all players to rotate out after every game, do so.

If the local customs don’t suit you, try to change them by consensus, or find another play time or location with protocols that more closely match what you are looking for.

Walk a mile in their shoes

Don’t assume that someone who sees the world differently than you is wrong, boneheaded, stupid and doesn’t like you. Your way is not the only way.

Open play is not the only way

A lot of people get introduced to pickleball via open play: they show up at a location where people rotate in and out of the courts at the end of each game. Naturally, they tend to assume at first that all pickleball play is open play. That is not the case.

Even if I and a hundred of my closest friends converge on a specific location at a specific time with the intention of sharing those courts by rotating in and out of them after each game, we might not have any more rights to access those courts than people who want to have closed (private) play and occupy a court for an hour. It all depends on the local rules, and these rules are not always clear.

There are very few courts in the greater Seattle area that have a rule that requires open play at all times. There are a few courts that require open play at specific times as part of pickleball programs sanctioned by local parks departments.

Just in case you wonder, there are a lot of reasons why people might want to take part in closed play instead of open play. A group of close friends might want to play together for an hour. A family with young children might want to play together as a family. Players might want to practice for a tournament with and against specific partners. Coaches might want to teach lessons. You might want to work on specific drills with a partner. Don’t assume that you can freely join any and all pickleball games. Ask nicely. Don’t take rejection personally.

Closed play is often the rule of the land

A lot of the dual tennis/pickleball courts in the Seattle area have rules that favor closed play over open play.

Traditionally, tennis has been played on public courts by having two or four people agree to meet on a court to play a game for 60 to 90 minutes. The tennis court usage rules have been written to make this easy: They often allow games to last for 60 to 90 minutes before players need to cede the court to the next group.

These rules designed for tennis do not easily accommodate pickleball open play, where dozens of players share the same few courts and come and go at different times. Parks Departments are slowly adapting to the demand for more pickleball open play. If you want more sanctioned open play opportunities, make sure that you let your local government know about it regularly.

Respect court reservations

People sometimes assume that public pickleball courts are open to everyone at all times.

Be aware that some Parks Departments allow for court reservations.

If some players have a reservation, let them be. If you think your Parks Department should not allow reservations, that is an issue you should raise with your Parks Department.

In summary

You might disagree with some of the points above, and that is perfectly ok. Having many different perspectives will help make the pickleball world a better place for everyone as long as we treat each other with respect.

Our very own SMPA Founder, Theresa Haynie, is one of the 4 finalists of the WISE (Women in Sports and Events) award! Voting closes on Thursday, September 22nd at 8:00PM PST.

Theresa Haynie helped found the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association to improve access and advocate for pickleball in the greater metro area. following a gold medal win at the USA Pickleball National Championships in 2019, Theresa decided to focus on promoting play for women.

The cash prize donation would go towards advancing her work of encouraging and empowering women in pickleball to help offset court rentals for early evening access to women still in the workplace.

Mariners Pickleball Night 2022 was a huge success and a triumphant way to cap a great year for pickleball in Washington State. Over 900 pickleball fans joined an almost sold-out T-Mobile Park crowd of 44,965 people, who cheered on the Mariners in a thrilling 3-1 victory over last year’s reigning World Series Champions on September 10th.

We didn’t just show up for a baseball game. Pickleball fans from Canada, eastern Washington and the Puget Sound area united for pre-game festivities on the rooftop deck, socializing with others they regularly see on the courts at a major sporting event. It certainly speaks to the elevation of pickleball in Washington.

Professional pickleball athletes Riley and Lindsey Newman signed Pickleball Night t-shirts and snapped photos with excited and smiling fans. People dinked on the rooftop pickleball court (a few even tried for full games), demo-d Riley and Lindsey Newman’s signature Gamma paddles, entered the free two paddle raffle, got free coozies from our partner Pickleball Central, and signed Seattle Metro Pickleball Association’s state sport license plate petition. After all that excitement, fans took their seats and watched pickleball capture center field at T-Mobile Park when Riley Newman threw out the first pitch.

Pickleball became the official state sport in March 2022. We think our state sport deserves a state license plate. The Seattle Metro Pickleball Association officially launched the Pickleball License Plate initiative on Mariners Pickleball Night, and is excited to be joining Senator John Lovick in this effort.

Please join our effort and sign the petition.

See you at the Mariners Pickleball Night 2023!

9/9/2022 5:15 pm Update

Mariners just sent the Gameday Guide by email. They will open the gate 2 HOURS before game at 4:10 p.m. We will have more time on the rooftop!

Traffic advisory: All southbound traffic on Interstate 5 will be reduced to the left lanes and the West Seattle Bridge will be closed. Expecting lots of traffic so leave early and see you at the T-Mobile Park tomorrow!

https://www.mlb.com/mariners/ballpark/gate-bag-policy-faq

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Update on Mariners Pickleball Night on September 10th, Mariners vs. Atlanta Braves. The Seattle Metro Pickleball Association’s Pickleball Night pre-game event is being held from 4:10 pm to 5:45 pm. Gates open at 4:10 pm. Raffle must be entered by 5:30 pm and the drawing will take place at 5:40 pm. The Rooftop Deck event ends at 5:45 so everyone has time to get to their seats before Riley’s first pitch!

Seventy-five main level Pickleball Night seats in section 115 were added the morning of September 7th after selling out over Labor Day weekend. Per Alexa Olague, Account Executive with the Seattle Mariners, this is the last batch of main level seats being released for Pickleball Night. Main level seats are $30.

View level tickets are still available. These $20 seats are just to the right of home plate and are a short walk directly from the Rooftop Deck where the pre-game pickleball event is being held. These seats have a view overlooking home plate and are located in sections 327 and 328.

The Seattle Mariners have 99% playoff odds and the stadium is expected to sell out. The last day to purchase tickets is September 9th. Call Mariners Account Executive Alexa Olague at (206) 346-4506 if you have any ticket questions. If you plan on driving, don’t forget to reserve a parking spot on mobile device apps like Spot Hero.

Don’t miss out on the magic of the special evening the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association has planned. In addition to a pre-game meet and greet with pickleball pro athletes Riley and Lindsey Newman, the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association is hosting a two paddle raffle, a four-person dinking court and is partnering with Pickleball Central, who has a few special give-a-ways of their own. Did we mention the Rooftop Deck has breathtaking Puget Sound and Seattle skyline views? After the pre-game festivities, walk down to your seats to watch top professional pickleball athlete Riley Newman throw out the group first pitch.

Pickleball License Plate!

The Seattle Metro Association has one more special event planned that evening. We are launching the pickleball license plate bill initiative! We need 3,500 signatures to help make this happen. Come sign our petition at the SMPA booth.

The Seattle Metro Pickleball Association would like to give a special shout out to Senator John Lovick for being the legislator supporting this effort!

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!