ARD board OKs pickleball court in Meadow Vista

The Auburn Recreation District is no longer in a pickle when it comes to providing playing courts for a game that has recently gained popularity in the greater Auburn area.ARD directors unanimously approved the conversion of one of the two tennis courts at Meadow Vista Park into one pickleball court with little opposition Thursday night.Chairman Jimmy Carroll was absent.Pickleball, a sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis, has begun to grow in popularity and dozens of players can be seen on any given Wednesday or Saturday playing on temporary courts at Meadow Vista Park.Players drive from as far as Auburn and Placerville to participate in the twice-weekly games."In the space that two people can play tennis, we can put 16 people in to play pickleball because we play in the opposite direction," Meadow Vista resident Mary Schubauer said. "And at 66-years-old, to be able to pick up a new sport is really exciting."Only one tennis player spoke in opposition to the location of the pickleball courts.Meadow Vista resident Christel Denzler plays tennis regularly at the Meadow Vista courts and urged the board to find players another court."As tennis players, we realize we are a small group, but we only have two courts and with one marked up for pickleball, we would only have one," Denzler said. "I am not against pickleball, but I think we should be able to keep two courts in Meadow Vista and build a separate pickleball court."Pickleball players have been playing on temporary courts on Wednesdays and Saturdays. "Pickleball is a great game for everybody, but especially seniors," Meadow Vista resident Ingrid Koenig told the Journal earlier this month. "You don't have to run as far and you are not jarring your knees as much as you would playing tennis."Koenig and her husband, Chic Koenig, have been playing pickleball for the past six years, and have traveled to play in the World Senior Games in Utah."We would love to see permanent courts here because we are starting to see more and more people joining in," Ingrid Koenig said. "And a lot of tennis players don't like playing on the (upper) court because it was constructed on a slope, and players have to run uphill to get to the net. We play in the opposite direction, so it doesn't bother us."ARD director Scott Holbrook said the court was constructed in the early '90s and was not put in properly - resulting in its sloped angle.Holbrook said ARD has estimated the cost of fixing the existing court at $40,000 and the price to put in pickleball courts would cost the district roughly $2,000, including labor.Director Curt Smith asked about a public court in the Winchester development.Directors agreed that the court is difficult to find and suggested to staff that signage be put up at Meadow Vista Park and near Winchester directing tennis players to the court."I would like to see the district put in some effort to let people know about the Winchester court," Smith said. "If the court (at Meadow Vista Park) is busy, however ill-advised or out of the way, I would like to see us do something to tell people where it is."ARD District Administrator Kahl Muscott said construction of the permanent courts should begin in the next couple of months.Jenna Nielsen can be reached at jennan@goldcountrymedia.com.