Pickleball courts in North Saanich that were expected to be closed may stay open after all, but with a major caveat: only soft balls allowed — something pickleball enthusiasts say is unlikely to fly with players.
North Saanich council was looking to close the courts at Wain Park due to noise complaints from neighbours, and build courts elsewhere.
At a December meeting, councillors directed staff to consider the design and cost of courts in Cy Hampson Park, Blue Heron Park and Hospital Hill.
But many area residents were fiercely opposed to the creation of pickleball courts in Cy Hampson Park, saying it would disturb the peace in the well-loved spot and reduce space for dogs in the fenced park.
Residents came out in droves to a council meeting Monday to voice that opposition. A 20-minute public participation period was extended to allow all interested speakers to address council.
Councillors responded by walking back their original direction, and instead asking staff to look into banning the use of standard pickleball balls in favour of softer balls that would reduce noise.
Council also asked staff to look into a regional pickleball strategy with Sidney and Central Saanich.
Mayor Peter Jones said staff will explore options to monitor and enforce the use of soft balls.
The Wain Road courts will stay, he said, if a rule mandating soft balls is enacted and pickleball players obey the rule. However, if players don’t abide by the rule and noise complaints continue, council might once again consider closing the courts.
Jones said he has heard from pickleball players that they want to play with standard balls because they’re used at the tournament level, but most players don’t participate in tournaments.
“Even with a soft ball, you’re still out there exercising … so it doesn’t change their playing pleasure, I would assume,” Jones said.
But Brad Watson, president of the Saanich Peninsula Pickleball Association, called the idea of playing with soft balls “laughable,” likening it to a golfer using a wiffle ball.
“No one will play with that. The courts will stay empty. And there’s absolutely no way to enforce it without locking the courts 24/7,” he said.
Watson said foam balls are sometimes used for practising against a wall inside a home, but not for an actual game.
He wants to see the district install acoustic fencing to mitigate the sound from the court, instead.
Connie McCann, president of the Victoria Regional Pickleball Association, said a soft ball changes the game significantly, because the ball doesn’t move as quickly as a standard ball. “It’s totally unacceptable,” she said.
Courts in Carnarvon Park in Oak Bay faced similar noise complaints from neighbours several years ago.
But when Oak Bay tried mandating the use of foam balls, that didn’t work, said Simon Vickers, tennis and pickleball supervisor for Recreation Oak Bay. “It changes the game of pickleball so much that the pickleball players don’t want to play.”
Oak Bay ended up moving the courts inside an enclosed lacrosse box and adding sound barriers on fencing around the court to reduce the impact on neighbours, he said.
The same treatment would likely dampen the noise for neighbours of North Saanich’s courts, said Vickers, adding an Oak Bay company recently also designed a quieter paddle that reduces noise by 50 per cent but doesn’t change the game.
Mandating the use of quieter paddles could be a solution in North Saanich that doesn’t change the sport, he said.
Neighbours who live near the current North Saanich courts declined an interview request, saying they fear backlash.
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