ST. PAUL – Members of the public can now play pickleball at the tennis courts in Kinsmen Park, thanks to a collaboration between the St. Paul Pickleball Club and the St. Paul Tennis Club.
Sharon Richardson, member and registrar of the St. Paul Pickleball Club, says the club plays indoors at the Francophone School Board Center (Conseil Scolaire Centre-Est) in winter months. Then during the summer months, they head outdoors where the tennis club lets the pickleball club play at the Kinsmen Park.
“We had a net system that we had to set up and take down each time we played,” explains Richardson. This set-up meant someone had to be a member of the pickleball club to play the sport on the courts, and they also had to set up their own portable nets each time.
But with the clubs coming together to buy four semi-permanent pickleball nets, this will allow the public to use the courts for pickleball whenever they want - outside of club hours - provided they bring their own paddles and balls.
Danny Gadowski, president of the St. Paul Pickleball Club, says the club holds regular play sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 p.m., and in the morning on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Playing during club hours requires membership, but the first session is free for newcomers.
Gadowski says the club is grateful to the tennis club for its partnership.
“It’s amazing that since we’ve got these nets, the courts have been used so much more frequently,” he says.
Dave Shankowski, president of the tennis club, says the partnership between the two clubs is a great opportunity for the betterment of the community.
“This is a win-win situation for us [the tennis club], for the pickleball club, and for the community,” he says.
Shankowski says he knows there are people in the community wanting to play pickleball on a court, and now they can, even if they are not a member of the pickleball club.
The partnership with the pickleball club also aligns with the tennis club’s mandate of providing access to the courts for the public.
Shankowski encourages those interested to sign up with either the tennis club or the pickleball club to reap the benefits of playing either sport. With the tennis club, Shankowski says they provide free tennis lessons in the summer to club members.
The annual membership fee for the tennis club is $30 for students, $40 for adults, and $70 for a family. “We haven’t changed our fees for 15 years. We want to keep it affordable,” says Shankowski.
Both clubs also encourage the community to stop by the courts to try out either tennis or pickleball. Both sports are great for staying active.
Richardson says the Town of St. Paul has “world class” tennis and pickleball courts, “and people should take advantage of that.”
“Small towns like this usually don’t have courts like these. And this is thanks to the tennis club, who has put in a lot of fundraising and hours and years of their time to create these kinds of courts for us,” she says.
For those with a more competitive spirit, the pickleball club is hosting a tournament on June 22 and 23.
As for the tennis club, their summer lessons will begin in June, and summer camps will be held in July, along with other events.
For more information about the pickleball club visit their website accessible through pickleballcanada.org.
