Over the past few years, pickleball has been on the rise across the country with more people learning, playing and talking about the sport. According to Trevor Cannon, the president of the Roaring Fork Pickleball Association (RFPA) — a local group that has seen a 500% growth in membership since 2014 — Carbondale is no exception.
“I don’t believe pickleball is just a fad,” Cannon told The Sopris Sun. “When I joined the club, I was probably one of the youngest members … I was 53. Now, [there are] at least 100 members under 40 or 45.”
This growth and demand from the community is what prompted the group to advocate for three additional courts at North Face Park.
“We were just overflowing all of the time,” said Cannon. “I don’t think we’re building something that’s going to be obsolete in 5-10 years.”
In 2019, RFPA worked to have six pickleball courts built. Now, five years later, they’re working with the town to add another three, as well as a shade structure for players.
At its Jan. 23 meeting, the Carbondale board of trustees approved an update to the 2019 Memorandum of Understanding with RFPA. See this week’s Carbondale Report on page 16 for more on the updated MOU. The next step is getting a Request for Proposal (RFP) approved. Cannon said once the RFPs are released, the town will manage a bidding process to determine who will take on the project.
RFPA will provide all of the necessary funds for the additional courts, with an estimated budget of $300,000. Cannon said the group only started the fundraising process back in October and is already almost at $200,000. He expects that RFPA will meet their goal by the time spring rolls around, whether from corporate sponsors or individual donors.
“We’re just fingers crossed that we can get them built this year,” said Cannon. “We’re probably a few months behind where we thought we were going to be. I originally thought we’d be breaking ground and playing on them by June, but I think that’s a stretch now. I think it will be in the fall, most likely.”
A community
The added courts will be a win for the pickleball aficionados of the community, as well as those who have yet to discover the allure of the sport.
“The thing that I’ve noticed the most is … people from all different walks of life, different ages, totally different belief systems getting out there and playing together,” Cannon shared. “They’re laughing, having fun and shaking hands or tapping paddles at the end of a game.”
Another ambition Cannon has as RFPA’s president is to reach more members of the Latino community through the sport. Through his volunteer role with a local English tutoring organization, English in Action, he hopes to bring even more new faces onto the pickleball courts.
“There’s certainly members of the Latino community that play, it’s just a matter of getting them involved on another level,” Cannon expressed.
It’s clear RFPA is not exclusive, but is interested in sharing the sport as well as the court with anyone who is interested. Cannon described RFPA as a friendly, welcoming group that enjoys introducing people of all ages and experiences to the game.
“It’s such a great sport … and a community builder. I have 500 friends I didn’t know I had,” Cannon laughed. “A lot of us, as we get older our friend circles get smaller. This is a way to expand it, and I think that’s really valuable.”For more about RFPA, visit www.roaringforkpickleball.org