Area pickleball clubs will be at the mercy of Mother Nature this summer as Thornbury’s Beaver Valley Community Centre (BVCC) is set to remain closed to private rentals.
“We were not recommending additional staff at the community centre this year,” said director of community service for the Town of the Blue Mountains (TBM), Ryan Gibbons.
He explained that, if and when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted this summer, opening the BVCC with proper COVID-19 safety protocols to private rentals would require a number of additional staff members and budgetary asks.
In addition, allowing private rentals would complicate the town’s commitment to Beaver Valley Outreach (BVO), which runs its day camp at BVCC.
According to Gibbons, BVO’s day camp has received confirmation from the Grey Bruce Public Health Unit that it can continue to operate at the BVCC without additional town staff present.
“They [BVO] look after all their own coordination and disinfection and do not require town staff at the facility for that particular program. All other programs would require town staff to be in the facility,” Gibbons said.
Gibbons noted that the facility is mainly used in the summer months by the area's pickleball clubs as the BVCC offers two indoor, air-conditioned courts.
“We know that the variants of COVID-19 may lengthen the lockdown, but my group – Blue Mountains Pickleball – need to use the BVCC in the summer due to inclement weather,” said Rosemarie Wickens, organizer for the Blue Mountains Pickleball group.
Paul Clements, president of the Thornbury Pickleball Club agreed, adding that the indoor facility is nice to have as playing around outside can be a challenge due to the weather.
“It will be a disappointment for our members, however in this current environment, the priority right now for the facility is to operate a day camp for the children of essential workers,” said Clements.
“Pickleball is a fantastic sport. It provides exercise, competition and camaraderie among participants. Fortunately, we live in a great area that provides lots of alternatives for our active members but I know that our normal pickleball routines will be missed,” he continued.
TBM is currently in the process of constructing four outdoor pickleball courts at its Tomahawk recreation complex.
“We are definitely waiting with fingers crossed that the new outdoor courts being built at Tomahawk will be ready in late June or early July,” Wickens said.
According to Gibbons, the outdoor courts at Tomahawk are scheduled to open in June.
“I have spoken with Ryan [Gibbons] as to how these courts will be managed and feel that all current user groups of BVCC will get enough court time plus provide time for more people to get introduced to the sport,” Clements continued. “If having to play outdoors this summer is the worst thing that we have to contend with, we are fortunate.”
Town staff are also considering staging a few temporary pickleball courts within municipal parking lots.
“It was something that they made do with last year, and we certainly would make that available again this year,” Gibbons added.
Clements said that the parking lot courts that were created last year “had their limitations” but were well-received and fully utilized by the club.
“Members volunteered to act as a "host" for the week and set up, take down the nets every day and generally made sure everyone was enjoying themselves. It has been made an option again this year if restrictions are lifted for gatherings and there is a delay in opening the new courts,” Clements explained.
Gibbons added that staff resources would be considered for special community events at the BVCC, such as Lobsterfest or vaccination clinics.
“We have discussed internally with the manager of the BVCC to be able to address any of those types of requests that come in,” Gibbons said.
