EPRD institutes reservation system two mornings a week
Starting Feb. 19, the four Wulf pickleball courts each must be reserved for 55-minute sessions on Mondays from 6:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Wednesdays from 6:30 to 11:30 a.m. Drop-in play will continue as usual on all other days at Wulf.
EPRD recreation supervisor Jeff Sweet made the announcement today. The information and a link to the reservations system is posted on the EPRD pickleball page, but reservations are not yet open since they can only be made six days in advance.
One player will reserve a court and invite at least three others to play on it. Each court reservation will be for 55 minutes with a $10 reservation fee per court. The new reservation system is scheduled to be in effect from Feb. 19 to March 12 and March 26 to May 21.
“The goal is create a better experience for players with more playing time and less waiting,” said Jeff Sweet, EPRD recreation supervisor. “The reserving player may invite whomever they choose to play on their court and each player must have facility admission.” The flyer below contains more details.
“We understand that this is a big change and players will have to adjust,” Jeff said. “We encourage everyone to review the flyer and contact staff if they have questions. Our staff put a lot of time and effort into designing and implementing the new system and we think it will really improve the player experience.”
We all know Wulf is bulging at its pickleball seams, but Brian Tucker, EPRD director of Operations, provided the numbers to back up our perceptions: “We’ve seen use increase over the past three years—from 6,558 players in 2022, 10,245 in 2023 and last year we had 14,040 pickleball drop-ins at Wulf.”
Those numbers don’t just jam the gym, they crowd the parking lot too.
“Mondays and Wednesdays are two of our busiest days within the recreation center and that includes a lot of programming outside of just pickleball,’” Brian said. “We know patrons become frustrated when they can’t find parking spaces and this affects programs throughout the building, which is partially why we’re offering this opportunity. In addition, we see the amount of paddles stacked and hear from pickleball players the concern of limited time on the court during their level of scheduled play.”
Brian said the reservation option is becoming more popular in busy facilities. It allows for those that want to maximize their playing time or want to choose who they want to play with, while still allowing the drop-in option five days a week.
No drop-in at Wulf this weekend
EPRD will be hosting special events at Wulf on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Feb. 1-3, 2/1, so no drop-in activities will be available in the gym those dates, including pickleball, basketball and volleyball. A reminder will be posted at the gym door.
The current Wulf gym schedule has been extended through Feb. 18.
Kim Hodenfield, left, and Corinne Jackson participated in the Pickleball Palooza at Evergreen High School in December to raise money for the boys lacrosse team. “It was a wonderful way to support our community and play with friends,” Corinne said.