With interest in pickleball exploding, the Yukon Pickleball Association has asked for the city’s assistance in getting some quality local courts developed.
The group has more than 200 members, president Jim Gilpin told Tuesday evening’s standing committees meeting.
Players are restricted to morning access only at Tennis Yukon’s facility at the Mt. McIntyre Recreation Centre, he told members of city council.
“It is fairly chilly in the mornings too,” he said.
As well, “working age members can only access the courts on weekends,” Gilpin said.
The association considered 12 potential sites for a facility, based on such criteria as access to parking and minimizing noise impacts on the surrounding area.
City parks staff “found reasons for not approving those 12 sites,” Gilpin said. Staff feel pickleball players should share facilities with Tennis Yukon, he added.
The association has also discussed possible locations with the Yukon and federal governments, he added.
“There has been no action taken by either government,” he said.
One of the 12 sites was near the corner of University Drive and Range Road.
That had to be dropped after the association learned in the summer of 2022 that the Yukon government plans to build the new Ecole Whitehorse Elementary School in that area.
Another Sumanik Drive-area location had to be dropped after the local ski society expressed interest in the area for possible trail development as it pursued its strategic plan.
The best potential site is city-owned parkland across Robert Service Way from the campground, he added, though some trees would have to be removed.
Gilpin said he was unsure how much compacting would have to be done to prepare a suitable base for pickleball players.
The association is asking the city to pave the way for a geotechnical survey to gauge whether it makes sense to pursue funding for the possible development of six courts.
“It is a sport that is not going away,” he told members of council.
