The competition for court space between tennis players and players of pickleball, the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., will be the topic starting at 1 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 8, in the next event in the Montgomery Parks’ Virtual Speaker Series. The online discussion, which is free to join and open to all, will feature a panel of experts discussing the challenges of meeting the rapidly growing demand for pickleball in local park systems, comparing the situation in Montgomery County with other areas of the country.
Registration to join the discussion is available at Register. What a pickle! Balancing pickleball and tennis in parks. A Zoom link will be sent to registrants the day before the session.
Pickleball’s popularity continues to grow rapidly in Montgomery County and across nation. The low-impact sport is played on a portion of a tennis court or on smaller dedicated courts with a tennis-like net. Players use paddles slightly larger than ping pong paddles to hit a plastic whiffle ball over the net.
The sport is easy for people of all ages to learn, but often becomes very competitive among experienced players.
In 2019, Montgomery Parks concluded a multi-year study to assess how and where the agency can meet the demand for pickleball. Many of the recommendations have been implemented since then, and Montgomery Parks now has nearly 100 pickleball courts with many more planned.
Using input from residents, pickleball players and tennis players, Montgomery Parks is looking for ways to add more opportunities for outdoor pickleball play while mitigating potential negative impacts to nearby residents.
The speakers in the Sept. 8 panel discussion will be:
- Alex Kerman. As the director of business operations and research for the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, he leads SFIA’s signature research efforts including the Physical Activity Council survey, which measures sports participation rates in the United States. He also directs SFIA’s Start-Up Challenge, an event that highlights the latest innovations in the sports and fitness; and the Soccer Industry Council of America and the Pickleball Council.
- David Robinson. He has worked in the tennis industry for 43 years. He is a certified teaching pro of tennis and pickleball and is currently the director of racquet sports for the Little Falls Swim and Racquet Club in Bethesda. He is vice president of the board of directors for the U.S. Professional Tennis Association—Mid Atlantic. He also served as the tennis and pickleball representative on the Montgomery Parks Sport Court Working group in 2018-19 that included the agency’s 2019 Pickleball Study.
- Carl Schmits. He is the USA Pickleball Association’s managing director of Equipment Standards & Facilities Development. In this role, he and his team are responsible for the definition, design and implementation of specifications, standards and testing protocols. Mr. Schmits is USA Pickleball’s primary liaison with the manufacturers and independent certification lab on all testing matters. He oversees and manages USA Pickleball’s equipment compliance department.
- Stacie West. She is a principal parks planner for Denver Parks and Recreation, where she works on citywide plans and policies to ensure the continued stewardship of the Denver parks and parkways system. Prior to moving to Denver in 2021, she worked in Washington, D.C., for a public-private partnership to plan, design and build a network of new parks and public spaces in the NoMa Business Improvement District. She was a community planner for the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation.
