Editor:
Sechelt council’s recent decision to remove one of only two public tennis courts in the Sechelt area is a short-sighted reaction to recent proposals made by pickleball players. Facilities available for pickleball have been temporarily reduced due to COVID, but when access resumes in the near future there will be a multitude of places to play pickleball while leaving only a single public tennis court in Sechelt for the long term. Canadian surveys show that people who frequently play tennis outnumber the total number of pickleball players by a huge margin, and we need more tennis courts, not less. Tennis is growing especially among younger generations, helped along by Canada’s success on the world stage.
Pickleball players have a right to play too but it should not be at the expense of tennis players. A far better decision would be to leave the two courts as tennis only, and for the district to assist the pickleball players to find additional funding and another suitable location for their sport. Both sports should be pushing for more facilities to meet the ever increasing demands and council needs the foresight to support the needs of all its citizens.
Warren Wall, Roberts Creek
