Pickleball now an option at Riverside Park tennis courts
Racquet sports enthusiasts in Swift Current now have another alternative to choose from besides the traditional fare.
The City of Swift Current will be converting two of the six tennis courts at Riverside Park to pickleball courts.
“Pickle ball is kind of a form of badminton / tennis, except you use a whiffle ball and kind of a ping pong paddle. The game is then kind of badminton and tennis rules,” explained Nicole Spenst, Recreation and Scheduling Superintendent for the City of Swift Current Parks and Rec Department.
One pickleball court will be located in the set of four tennis courts and another in the lighted area of two courts at Riverside Park.
“One currently has just temporary lines on it but by the end of July we will have two for sure full-blown pickleball courts,” explained Spenst.
The sport differs from tennis in that the whiffle ball travels about a third of the speed of a tennis ball.
“Seniors love it because it is a little bit slower form of a game of tennis. A lot of youth, we know some youth are starting to play it indoors too in the offseason.”
Peno believes that Regina may have pickleball courts while other Saskatchewan communities are beginning to explore adding the growing sport.
“We have had requests starting about a year to a year and a half ago from some individuals who had been down in the States and seen the game there and kind of fell in love with the game,” explained Spenst. “So we have been working with our contractor who puts down lines, and it is something that they have been doing in other communities.”
“There has definitely been a perceived need so that is why we can more forward,” she added.
She said the additional of the pickleball lines will not result in less availability for the tennis courts.
“You can still play tennis on these courts. It is basically like you are going to a gym and you see double lines, one set for pickleball and the other set for tennis.”
There will be a tennis clinic in the city on June 22 and the city is hoping to do one for pickleball in the future.
“Our goal is that once we get the permanent lines in for pickleball then we would want to do sort of an introductory clinic at the same time.”
The department will monitor the use of the courts and listen to community feedback regarding any other changes or additions to recreational facilities.
“As our demographics continue to change in our community, we continue to listen to requests and what those needs are for recreational opportunities. If it is something that we can do reasonably within our budget then it is usually something that we will try and meet as soon as possible so everyone can have the opportunity for some free recreational opportunities in our community,” said Spenst.
“If it does take more of a budget then we would be working with the community to either raise the funds or it would be a longer process to go through budget.”