Stratford seniors sign petition in hope of keeping pickleball timeslots at recreation centre

Over one hundred people have signed a petition asking the town not to reduce the amount of time the gym is available to play pickleball at the Stratford Recreation Centre.

Players who use the facility recently received an email from the town’s recreation department informing them it would be “downsizing” pickleball programming because there is a new private pickleball facility being constructed in the area and the town wants to use the gym for other recreational activities.

It’s a move that has many who play pickleball, particularly seniors, in the community concerned.

“They have all these seniors showing up for good quality socialization and recreation,” said pickleball player Vince Ryan. “I think changing it now because a new business opened in town is a very poor decision.”

Some of the people who use the recreation centre have been playing pickleball there for close to a decade. Many of the players say it gives people an affordable option to stay socially and physically active, while  a membership at the new facility is too expensive for some and they feel the environment may be too ‘serious’ and competitive.

The new facility, called the Atlantic Pickleball Club, has a senior membership offered on its website that costs $39 dollars a month, whereas the recreation centre offers a four month membership for roughly the same price.

Anabelle Payne, a member of the Stratford Pickleball Club, said it’s not the first time the club has faced potential downsizing. She said it’s not that senior players disagree with the opening of a new pickleball facility, they just don’t want it to cause any changes at the one they have. 

"It's great for younger people who are competitive," Payne said, "But this is for us, we are not competitive when it comes to playing pickleball."

Along with the petition, the players plan to give a presentation to Stratford council.

"It's good for senior citizens," Payne said, "It's good for us to get out, it's good for us to communicate with each other, it's good for us to do exercise."

"We're very grateful for what they have done for us when, you know, establishing pickleball here. But we would like to stay and in our later years, this is probably one of the nicest things to get us all together."

In an email to CBC News, the Town of Stratford said no decision about reducing pickleball timeslots at the recreation centre has been made yet. It goes on to say that “as a public facility, our goal is to ensure that all residents have equitable access to our spaces and programs” and the town has received increased requests from other recreational groups looking for indoor gym space to use. 

The town is reviewing its gym schedules to create “balance across multiple activities and groups.” The town said the matter will be discussed at a future recreation, culture and events committee meeting and a recommendation will be made to town council about how to manage the schedule, the statement said. 

Players like Karen Conrad, who has been playing the sport for eight years, aren’t interested in playing at the new facility.