Leeds and the Thousand Islands Township imposes ‘pay to play’ pickleball – Kingston | 24CA News
A pickleball membership in Lansdowne, Ont., is rallying to try to save their group.
Members are beginning to depart now that the township is beginning to cost a charge for reserving courts.
These courts have been served up at no cost to pickleball gamers for years.
But now, the Lansdowne Pickleball Club is looking out of bounds after the municipality is altering up the association, saying the pickleballers should pay to order time to play.
“We haven’t paid, and we will not pay. People have said we will not pay, we will go elsewhere before we will pay, and it will be the demise of our club,” mentioned Jeff Singleton, the membership organizer.
The township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands applied the change after council voted in new insurance policies on how they run their services.
Their foremost concern was legal responsibility and insurance coverage, main them to categorise the pickleball membership an ‘official sports organization.’
“The pickleball group in Lansdowne feel like they are not a sports organization. They’re a drop-in, loosely-run kind of group. Our insurer is concerned based on the number of court bookings they have, and the number of pickleball players,” mentioned Stephen Donachey, CAO of Leeds and the Thousand Islands Township.
The Lansdowne Pickleball Club has over 100 members, however that quantity is dwindling.
Now that the charges have been imposed, some members have left to play in different close by cities and extra members are anticipated to comply with go well with.
“I probably would look elsewhere. If that’s a protest, I’m not sure. I just don’t quite understand,” mentioned Cliff Redman, a participant within the membership.
The township’s CAO mentioned that pickleball can nonetheless occur at no cost if the courts are open, they simply can’t ebook them forward
“If you show up and they’re not booked, they’re free to play on. By booking them through the township portal for booking facilities and courts, you’re guaranteed. If it’s available in a time slot, you book it, you’re guaranteed, but it costs you the rental fee for an hour,” mentioned Donachey.
So whereas pickleball in Lansdowne isn’t lifeless but, there might be a worth to pay in the event that they plan to play.
If extra individuals depart, one of many greatest golf equipment within the space might be in its remaining set.
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