City Tries To Keep Tennis, Pickleball Players Happy

Published 11/01/2023 · Updated 11/01/2023

This is a little more contentious than at first glance.

The usual MO for pickleball facilities is to paint lines on a public tennis court. This, of course, drives tennis players (of which your agent was one for 45 years) nuts. It’s a real distraction if you are a serious player.

And, of course, tennis players resent losing court time to pickleball players … though tennis isn’t as popular as it was decades ago when the courts were constructed.

There’s very little way to keep both tennis and pickleball players happy sharing a court.

So the only advice your agent can give public servant Dan Chenier is good luck. And oh yes, when you release the strategy … leave town … these people don’t take any prisoners.

Ken Gray

This is a release from the City of Ottawa:

M E M O / N O T E D E S E R V I C E

To / Destinataire Mayor and Members of Council File/N° de fichier: RCFS-GM-0012-2023

From / Expéditeur Dan Chenier, General Manager

Recreation, Cultural and Facility

Services Department

Subject / Objet

Outdoor Tennis and Pickleball Public Engagement

Date: October 26, 2023

The purpose of this memo is to provide an update to Members of Council on the Recreation, Cultural and Facility Services department’s development of an outdoor tennis and pickleball strategy.

We are inviting Ottawa residents to share their experience or ideas with outdoor tennis and pickleball courts through a survey available on Engage Ottawa. The survey will be open to everyone and will remain open until December 31, 2023. Input received will help with the creation of a strategy that will serve as a reference guide for management, oversight and development of public and municipal club-operated outdoor tennis and pickleball courts.

Ottawans Must Take Back Their City Gov’t: QUOTABLE

The project team will also be undertaking virtual consultations with the general public and targeted stakeholder groups. Further details are to come and will be available on Engage Ottawa. We encourage groups and individuals who would like to participate in consultations to reach out to the project team at tennis_pickleball@ottawa.ca.

The City will also be partnering with the Ottawa Sport Council, a leading voice in the community for amateur sport, who will support the engagement process for this strategy.

We encourage you to promote this opportunity to as many residents and groups as possible. Residents with questions or comments can contact the Outdoor Tennis and Pickleball Strategy team at tennis_pickleball@ottawa.ca.

Thank you.

Original signed by

Dan Chenier

Digital illustration on front by AI generator Bing Image Creator.

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