Courtesy and court etiquette clearly don’t apply to pickleball players.
One morning last week, while finishing a tennis game at the Parksville Community Park tennis courts shortly after 8:30 a.m., we were rudely and repeatedly interrupted by a woman walking right in front of me while in the middle of a match. When called about her behaviour, she informed us that the courts were reserved — something of which I was unaware. There was no polite mention to that effect prior to her interruption or conciliatory information of that fact.
I do not play tennis regularly and there are probably many more pickleball players than tennis players in this community. However, this is a community park and the tennis courts should not be reserved every day from Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. to the exclusive use of one group. Moreover, this is a group that also plays at the other multi-use courts in the park — not accessible to tennis players — and which doesn’t start playing until 9 a.m.
Tennis etiquette requires that players only play for an additional half hour when other players are waiting to take a turn at a match. Why does this not apply to pickleball players? Why do they have the courts reserved for five consecutive hours at the best times on the best days of the week?
I cannot stop wondering how the city has allowed this to happen. In my opinion, the fair thing to do is to allow for a reservation only two or three days a week starting at 8:30 a.m. If nobody is using the courts on other days, pickleball players can come and set up their nets and play away.
Veronica TorregrosaParksville