Pam McWhorter
Throughout the summer, Marty Braden’s volunteer team of pickleball court fixer–uppers have been actively maintaining the old courts and adding the “bling” to our new North Courts. When the snowbirds come back, they will find that our community has 36 courts at two different locations within our gates. Courts 1–20 are located at the Central Courts. Courts 21–36 are located at the North Courts, which is our new location.
Where and when did we begin? The following is an abridged recap of the story, according to a Post article written by Charla McGue.
In 2005, Grover and Cathy Lombard moved here from Seattle. Shortly after their arrival, Grover started promoting pickleball on the e-group. Then Grover and a friend, Lou Ann Ashburn, went to Robson Communities to request they build some pickleball courts within the community. Robson’s response was “start a club, create a Board of Directors, write some bylaws, and have 30 to 40 members. The Pickleball Club held its first meeting on Jan. 24, 2007.
The first pickleball courts 1–8 were opened on Nov. 18, 2008! The rest is history giving credence to the adage, “build it and they will come!”
It will be exciting to see how our new courts will be incorporated into our club events when we are operating at full capacity during our pleasant winter months. By the way, our club has more than 1,700 members now!