London-based tabloid picks up story on Annandale pickleball conflict
The pickleball conflict at Kendale Woods Park in Annandale has gotten press coverage in the Washington Post, WUSA9, DC News Now, FFXnow – and even the British tabloid, the Daily Mail – since Annandale Today first reported the story on May 15.
Those stories describe how the pickleball players staged a sit-in preventing the Park Authority from removing the pickleball lines and converting the two courts to tennis only.
In response to that action, the Park Authority locked the fence, stationed a guard on the court, and put up a no-trespassing sign saying violators could be charged up to $2,500 and jailed for up to 12 months.
Park Authority Executive Director Jai Cole, who was introduced at a Park Board meeting as a “pickleball hater,” removed pickleball lines from the courts because of a complaint from one household. The complainers have refused any attempt at a compromise.
The pickleball players fought to save their sport by circulating a petition, writing to Park Authority and county leaders, and filing an injunction.
Related story: Park Authority removes pickleball from Annandale park
After the Park Authority restriped the courts for tennis only, they confiscated a pickleball net that belongs to one of the players.
The pickleball players appreciate the coverage in the Daily Mail, although that story got a few things wrong.
For one thing, they refer to the community in “northeast Virginia” as a “ritzy suburb.” Broyhill Crest is a nice neighborhood but isn’t exactly ritzy.
The article also says “four furious female players” staged a sit-in “after the town hired security to prevent them from using their local tennis courts.” Actually, there were more than four people, and the Park Authority hired security after that event.
Pickleball player Sarah Wysocki also faults the Washington Post and other news outlets for failing to mention that the Park Authority didn’t follow its own guidelines and policy in making the decision to remove the courts. “That’s at the heart of this battle,” she says.
Related story: Park Authority shuts down pickleball despite an injunction filed by residents
On July 4, the pickleball players cornered Mason Supervisor Andres Jimenez at the local pool next to the courts where he was invited to judge the kid’s bike and scooter-decorating contest.
They urged him to confront the Park Authority about the issue, something he had declined to do previously saying the Board of Supervisors doesn’t oversee the Park Authority.
This time, Jimenez agreed to set up a meeting with the pickleball players, although it hasn’t been scheduled yet.
People keep wanting to make this a tennis vs. pickleball issue, acting as if the pickleball players overthrew the tennis players at this location. This has never been a pickleball vs. tennis battle.
It’s been more of a match. Instead of dropping deuces on eachother, we should serve love, love. No need to string together something out of bounds. You get the point.
Broyhill Crest is definitely ritzy for most people in the world. It’s true that there are a lot of much fancier (and pricier) neighborhoods in NoVa, and that makes it hard to keep perspective, but…most people on earth don’t live as comfortably as we do in NoVa.
Your comment about the relative “ritzyness” of Broyhill Crest compared to the rest of the world is probably true. However, by the same logic, most of the poorest people in the United States would also be considered “rich” compared to over half of the world’s population. As you mentioned……it’s all of matter of perspective.
Gotta love the ritzy glam of Annandale! Nothing says high class like weekly shootings and schools with below average ratings. I suppose it’s all relative.
News is that our news is in the news. Soon, a Lifetime movie: Oprah Winfrey as Jai Cole, Matt Damon as Jeff McKay, Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson as Andres Jimenez. J Lo as the security guard.
I would watch this anytime.
It appears the FCPA is a dictatorship with no rules for Jai Cole. Everyone passes the buck saying not my deal I’m not touching it. This situation has gone on too long just paint the pickleball lines back on the courts and call it a day.
Why ya got to be a hater Jai? Come on now, no need to hate on pickleball and their little wiffle balls, they ain’t hurtin nobody or nothing. Tell delicate ears to suck a pickle might help relieve their discomfort. Ya know what they say a pickle a day…
Wysocki should run for office. Maybe Biden will step down and she can take his place. If that’s too lofty maybe Jimenez will hand his position over to her. Either way she has my vote.
Seriously. If noise is an issue for one family, how can they stand to live around the public pool? Twenty basketball players on two half courts with the ball careening off the steel backboard?
We all grew up with these noises and tune them out automatically. Pickleball is a new noise. Plus not many people use tennis courts anymore. Some people have to regard under utilized parks as belonging to them not the community.
Totally agree. Not many people in this area play tennis any more, and the courts remain empty. Plus, it’s a healthy way for seniors and others to stay active and healthy. Pickleball players pay taxes too.
The amount of scrutiny pickleball has gotten makes no sense especially coming from people who don’t play, I myself never got in to pickleball but the amount of time I’ve been there, not once have I seen anyone just play tennis I feel that this shouldn’t be a issue at all!!!
When there are bigger issues around the Annandale community like high crime rates and killings which has been higher this year then last year, there’s no need to for our tax dollars to go to a security guard who’s taking care of a tennis court sounds very absurd.
This is still going on. Easy solution- give the neighborhood back their courts. Get rid of Jai Cole and contact Lifetime to get the movie deal going. Then we all go back to living laege in ritzy Annandale. Bling 🤑 bling 🤑 bam 💥 bam 💥
Ah, pickleball—what started as a friendly game of dinks and volleys has now turned into a full-blown soap opera! Cole needs a reality check. Or better yet, a new job—word on the street PNR loves you and is ready to offer you a position with handsome signing bonus!
Jai Cole why did you let your power hungry ways get the best of you. Your name is now known and not in a good way- unless you’re part of the miserable group of Pickleball Noise Relief! Oh the noise- my set of ears is more important than the rest of the community but no need to worry Jai has my back, all it takes is one and Cole is the one. Hopefully, not for long someone dumb enough to publicly say it’s unethical to make even one person listen to the dreaded and oh so terrible pickleball noise doesn’t belong in her position. Bye Jai don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Mason Supervisor Andres Jimenez Is wrong, the Board of Supervisors both created the park authority (as a means of managing the parks so they don’t have to), and all members of the park authority board are appointed by the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors has oversight authority of the Park Authority, and Mason Supervisor Andres Jimenez COULD step in and demand an explanation from the Park authority for not following their own rules as well as requesting a meeting with himself, the Park Authority, the pickle ball players. If he was smart he would also invite the folks who made the complaint. The “dodge” of responsibility to represent citizens by Mason Supervisor Andres Jimenez should be remembered and considered before voting to re-elect ting him.
I was wondering how long it would be, after decades of grousing about Penny Gross (for reasons both right and wrong), someone would start groaning about her successor, regardless of who it was.
Can we never be at least content with someone, can we never say, “at least it’s not ___”? We live in a dynamic world; nothing and no one is ever perfect. Besides that, it seems to me the biggest problem about this whole pickleball battle is, as the Brits have proven, what an oversized fuss people have made about it. Yet you and others want to make it even bigger and drag it out even longer?
No thank you.
Personally, I’m sick of people complaining about people complaining. But I shouldn’t complain, because America was built by yes men who kept their mouths shut. Also I’m grateful to be in Annandale instead of Mogadishu or Baghdad.
I read the Wash Post article which, when compared to all the ink written on Annandale Today, did not do any favors to the issue. Comparing the two it was as if I was reading about two different struggles………….
The post article lacked all the relevant information. Stick with Annandale today.