Pickleball: Made with Love in Washington

In 2022, the Washington State Legislature passed SB 5615, officially declaring pickleball the Washington State Sport. Codified at RCW 1.20.200, the law states simply: 

The sport of pickleball is hereby designated as the official sport of the state of Washington. 

Of humble origins, a few dads on Bainbridge Island cobbled together the game of pickleball using existing sports equipment in 1965. As articulated by the legislature in SB 5615: 

[T]he sport of pickleball was created in 1965 on Bainbridge Island by Joel McFee Pritchard (…) along with two of his friends, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum. These men created the game (…) after they "persuaded" their abnormally hyper children to go outside to play a few games of badminton, but there was no badminton equipment to be found. Instead, [they] did some brainstorming and created a new game using ping-pong paddles, a net, and a neighbor's plastic wiffle ball. The rules that they created (…) are still used today by the USA Pickleball Association. 

The legislature finds that pickleball is a game that can be played by anyone (...) and has expanded far beyond Washington to become a nationally and internationally beloved game; over four million people play pickleball in the United States and there are currently 67 member countries in the International Federation of Pickleball. Soon pickleball will even be televised by Fox Sports. The legislature intends to honor and recognize the Washingtonians who created, popularized, and continue to enjoy this sport by designating pickleball the official sport of the state of Washington.

Nearly 60 years after its introduction, the sport of pickleball looks a lot less humble. It’s had a meteoric rise in popularity and has been the nation’s fastest growing sport for the last three years — with 8.9 million players as of 2022 (see this compilation of pickleball analytics for more fun stats).

What to Do with All These “Picklers” (Pickleball Players)?

Parks departments have been busy trying to accommodate the seemingly endless appetite for pickleball. More users require more facilities, and local governments have attempted to meet demand by creating more multi-use courts (i.e., painting pickleball lines on existing tennis courts), converting existing tennis courts to pickleball courts, and adding new pickleball facilities at public parks and properties. The City of Seattle has engaged consultants to assist with pickleball planning throughout its parks. 

Last year, the Enumclaw Pickleball Association proposed a public-private partnership with the City of Buckley where the private association would pay for construction of covered pickleball courts, and the city would operate and maintain them. The proposal generated ample public interest, but my understanding is the partnership did not move forward.

Turf Wars: Who Gets to Play? 

Of course, with more park users come more tensions — especially when players are sharing the same courts. You may have heard about the so-called “turf wars” between tennis and pickleball players — with tennis players lamenting their loss of access to once much quieter courts (literally and figuratively), expressing frustration over all the extra lines on the court, and perhaps weighing in on the relative merits of the two sports. Meanwhile, pickleball players are eager to utilize any surface that will accommodate their play. 

To tackle the challenges that arise with multi-use courts, some jurisdictions restrict the courts to certain users at designated times. The City of Camas implemented a pilot program where tennis players have access to the multi-use courts during roughly half the park hours and pickleball players have access the other half. Other cities specify that court use is 'first come, first served' but limit the time players may play if there is a wait. See Mill Creek Pickleball. Many parks departments reserve some courts for tennis while maintaining other multi-use courts for both. See, e.g., Issaquah and Shoreline. 

What About the Noise??

By now, most people likely recognize the quick and sporadic "pop-pop-pop" or "thwack" sound of pickleball being played, often accompanied by some friendly banter and music from a portable speaker during a lively 'open play' session. For some this is the sound of both community and fun; for others, it is a serious nuisance. The loud and relatively high-pitched noise created by the hard plastic wiffle-like ball hitting the racquet has generated volumes of disputes — including within neighborhoods and at city halls. 

Again, for local governments, this is a problem to be managed. Most cities and counties have existing noise regulations. Some aggrieved residents will seek enforcement of these codes against pickleball facilities — sometimes hiring experts to show a violation of the decibel limits set in local code. MRSC’s Noise Control webpage offers more information on noise regulation.

Other jurisdictions are tackling the pickleball noise issue head-on. This fall, the city of Centennial, Colorado, passed regulations that, among other things, establish a distance requirement for new private pickleball courts from residentially zoned property. In addition to a no-build buffer area, permanent courts that are established within a certain distance of residentially zoned property must complete a Noise Impact Assessment. Pre-existing courts are exempted, but play is limited to hours between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., per Ordinance No. 2023-O-10. I did not find any similar regulations or proposed rules in Washington State. 

For park planners, potential solutions to the noise concerns lie in the design of the facilities, the equipment used, the placement and spacing of the courts, and hours of operation. The racquets, balls, court surfaces, and fencing can all be engineered to create a quieter playing experience. This short podcast from Productive Parks (which has been transcribed) includes a number of strategies to address pickleball noise and emphasizes the importance of planning ahead.

Ask MRSC…About Pickleball? 

I was curious whether MRSC has seen an uptick in inquiries from local governments related to pickleball considering the increased popularity of the sport. While pickleball is no rival to subjects like the Public Records Act (PRA) or Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), we do have a small but diverse range of questions related to pickleball in our archives. Below are a few examples of inquiries received (surprisingly, none about noise).

Can volunteers pay for materials and construct a pickleball court on county property, or would public works contracting rules need to be followed? 

Installation of a sports facility on county property would typically meet the definition of “public work” under RCW 39.04.010. However, RCW 35.21.278 provides a process under which a local government entity (including city, county or port district) may contract with a service organization for park improvements using volunteer labor.

That statute contains some requirements and restrictions that must be met, so it will be up to the participating government entities and community groups to determine if it is an available option in your case. MRSC has more information on community service group contracts on its Competitive Bidding Exemptions webpage.

We would like to offer a women's only pickleball court time. Can we do that as a public agency? Would we also need to allow equal court time for just a men's group?

Generally, providing single-gender programs does not violate federal or state anti-discrimination laws if the agency has a reasonable and non-discriminatory basis for doing so. Most examples we reviewed involve gender-segregated swim times. Not surprisingly, establishing these types of programs can be controversial (as this 2013 Seattle Times article about the City of Tukwila’s program demonstrates). While I was unable to find specific case law in Washington, it makes sense to me to create equal reserved times for men and women. And of course, under state regulation you should make the programs available based on the participants’ statement about their gender identity. 

Here is a 2016 copy of the Seattle Parks and Recreation Single-Gender swim policy and research from the department on the history of single-gender swimming. You may want to check with Seattle or Tukwila regarding current programs and whether they’ve applied it to sports other than swimming. I’d also suggest checking with Washington Recreation & Park Association for sample policies. 

Can we use lodging tax money to build pickleball facilities?

MRSC has no authority to say "yes" or "no" for uses of lodging tax revenue; however, we can provide our best take. We think the answer is “it depends.” City and county lodging tax revenues must generally be used for tourism promotion, acquisition of tourism-related facilities, or operation of/capital expenditures associated with tourism-related facilities (RCW 67.28.1815-.1816).

A key consideration will be whether the facilities will attract tourists. Will the facilities be used to host regional tournaments or are they geared toward local players? 

MRSC's blog, Can We Spend Lodging Tax Funds on That? poses a hypothetical question on whether lodging tax dollars can be used to make improvements to a municipal golf course. The response: 

It depends. If the city can show that the golf course has a healthy number of tourists using it, then it could be an allowable use. If the municipal golf course is mainly used by locals, then most likely it would not be an eligible use of lodging tax funds. 

So, if a local government can demonstrate that the facilities will be used in a manner which would attract outside tourists, it may be an allowable use of funds. For more information, see MRSC’s Lodging Tax (Hotel-Motel Tax) webpage. 

Conclusion 

The pickleball craze is showing no sign of slowing down and will likely be an enduring pastime. Local governments will be wise to plan accordingly — helping to both facilitate the sport and take into consideration some of the impacts to neighbors and other park users.