Pickleball players fight pending court closure
A group of Annandale residents who play pickleball at Kendale Woods Park in Annandale are fighting back against the Park Authority’s decision to revert the courts to tennis-only. This is being done primarily in response to complaints about noise.
The repainting and restriping work is scheduled to begin on June 3.
The residents have written to county officials begging them to reconsider. Sarah Wysocki, who’s been playing pickleball at the courts in the Broyhill Crest neighborhood for about five years, launched a petition and plans to speak at the Park Board Meeting on May 22.
“I have seen first-hand how the pickleball courts at Kendale Woods Park bring our community together,” Wysocki says. “People of all ages, backgrounds, and athletic abilities gather here to play, laugh, exercise and support each other. Our community has spoken. We want to keep these courts.”
According to Wysocki, everyone who sent an email to Mason Supervisor Andres Jimenez “received the same canned response.”
“Fairfax County boasts a vibrant pickleball community, yet faces the challenge of maintaining a balance between meeting the demand for pickleball courts and ensuring the well-being of residents in nearby neighborhoods,” Jimenez wrote.
Noise complaints
“Across the nation and locally, there has been a rise in legal actions stemming from noise complaints related to pickleball. It is the hope for the Park Authority to enhance, rather than disrupt, the quality of life in every community where our facilities are situated,” Jimenez continued.
According to Jimenez, “The pickleball courts at Kendale Woods Park are positioned uncomfortably close to neighboring residences, ranging from 47 to 103 feet away. A sound study conducted by an independent entity in 2023 revealed that pickleball courts should ideally be situated at least 250 feet away from residential properties.”
Jimenez noted the Park Authority is planning to establish two additional dedicated pickleball courts at Mason District Park and that there are 16 pickleball courts at seven parks within a five-mile radius of Kendale Woods.
Wysocki says Jimenez’ response “doesn’t address the nuances of this particular situation.” While the Park Authority cites noise complaints from neighbors, “I have personally spoken to every single person whose house backs up to these courts and ALL are in favor of keeping these courts. These are my neighbors, I live on Kendale Road.”
Related story: Kendale Woods pickleball courts to close
“This isn’t about getting more courts in Annandale, this is about keeping a valuable community resource,” she says.
For Wysocki and the other players, it’s important to have a pickleball court in their neighborhood, not five miles away. For busy mothers, she says, it would be too time-consuming to drive 20 minutes to Mason District Park.
“Pickleball is more competitive and there are bigger crowds at parks,” Wysocki says. “For us, it’s more of a support network.”
The pickleball players urge the county to at least hold a public hearing before deciding whether to shut down the courts.
Wysocki and her neighbors also reached out to Park Authority spokesperson Ben Boxer, asking for a pause on the conversion. They have not heard back yet.
An anti-pickleball campaign
Another neighbor who plays pickleball at the Kendale Woods courts, Anthony Katchusky, suggests the complaints come from an out-of-state group called Pickleball Noise Relief, whose goal is to shut down pickleball court conversions across the nation.
That group’s Facebook page has several posts from people complaining about noise from the Kendale Wood pickleball courts, but none of them live in the area.
The noise from pickleball is like “fireworks going off 14 hours a day, says Nalini Lasiewicz, of La Cañada Flintridge, Calif., who co-founded Pickleball Noise Relief with Bob Mastroianni of Cape Cod, Mass.
It’s a high-frequency popping noise that is not like the ambient noise of a freeway or ocean, Lasiewicz says. She describes a neighbor who lives close to eight pickleball courts and is exposed to 30,000 of these “impulse noises a day,” and, as a result, suffers from depression and high blood pressure.
After Lasiewicz’ community converted a tennis court to pickleball, her neighbors hired an acoustic engineer who found “this noise does not belong within 100 feet of residents.” They lost their appeal. “You can’t imagine your city is doing something to hurt you just because people want to play a game.”
Pickleball Noise Relief offers advice to people across the country fighting against pickleball. Lasiewicz suggests pickleball opponents reach out to tennis players, install cameras, and petition public officials.
Lasiewicz created a map with 260 “pickleball hotspots” around the country, where there have been complaints about noise. In addition to Kendale Woods Park, the group has received complaints from Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Reston, Vienna, and Ashburn.
She describes their efforts as a “support group” for pickleball opponents who don’t have the time or money to file a lawsuit. Mastroianni, a sound technician, visits hot spots on the East Coast. He knocks on doors of residents who live near pickleball courts and helps them file complaints. They’re both working on a model noise ordinance.
It’s not just the balls bouncing on the court that annoys people, Lasiewicz says. Pickleball draws “a big group of spectators whooping and hollering. Now there’s 50 to 70 people right behind your home, with people peeing in the bushes.”
Creating community
The courts at Kendale Woods aren’t in use all the time. Wysocki plays with a group of other mothers every Friday afternoon. They will probably play more in the summer when their kids are at the Broyhill Crest Pool, which is next to the courts. Another group, mostly retirees, play pickleball there a few times a week.
“It’s very rare to see tennis players,” Wysocki says. Sometimes, she doesn’t see anyone playing tennis for days.
According to Wysocki, no one on the two streets nearest the courts have a problem with pickleball. There is one neighbor, however, who has complained about dogs and kids in the past, whom she suspects is responsible for getting the pickleball courts shut down.
“If she came to us, we would work with them,” Wysocki says, perhaps by buying noise-canceling headphones.
“These courts do mean something to our community,” she says. “Pickleball is more than just a game for us. It’s an integral part of our community fabric. We need more spaces where people can gather and connect.”
I can’t imagine having the time and energy to complain about people playing pickleball. Don’t buy a house that abuts sports playing fields and courts if you don’t want to hear people.
I hope they continue to play pickleball even after this is restriped. How absurd.
One or two people complaining should not be able to get anything like this shut down.
The group working to shut down park amenities that do not live in the community is ridiculous and the FCPA should be on site to talk to the neighbors, not emailers from Hawaii. Yes, Hawaii. I recently saw a post on their page about a user who lives in Hawaii celebrating that her “hot spot” was slated to be closed, which was located on the mainland US. They want more tennis courts, so they target closing pickleball. One post of a Wakefield page recently noted that a user became aware of them trying to get courts closed at Wakefield. Leave us alone for crying out loud.
A distant campaign to shutdown local pickleball courts is really ridiculous. The impact of these decisions are felt at a neighborhood level but someone out of the area won’t know the difference one way or another. I guess if your life’s mission is stop fun from happening each court that’s taken away is another notch in your belt of misery.
If you want to sign the petition to save these courts here’s the link: https://chng.it/RWMZD97BrP
The complaints are absolutely ridiculous. Tennis isn’t silent either. There are sounds every time the ball is served and hit, squealing shoes, and of course the classic exertion related grunting.
The biggest difference is probably that fewer people in these neighborhoods were playing tennis regularly and people that did are just butt hurt now that they have to share the space.
Unlike tennis, anyone can easily pick up an affordable paddle and jump into a round of pickle ball together without much practice and have fun. I like tennis too but I do not have the time to keep my body in tennis shape and pickle ball is a fun great alternative. Taking away such a loved and easily accessed community spot centered around being active would be a real shame.
The headline is inaccurate. It would be more accurate to say, “Community fights pending court closure.” There are many people involved who don’t even play pickleball.
The bottom line is simple: The court is in a county park. The court is being closed by the county because people are using it. People are using a park. Someone that lives near the park doesn’t want people using the park.
That’s unrepresentative, to put it mildly. Jimenez and others can fix it, or they can continue the Penny Gross way: Ignore the constituents when convenient because it’s impossible to lose an election.
I sent a note to the FCPA and Supervisor Jimenez nine days ago, suggesting that the funds for this needless restriping would be better spent repairing the Justice courts used by the HS team and community. I never got a reply, so I followed up today. FCPA said they intend to move ahead. FCPA obviously is not responding to the overwhelming sentiment that they should leave the Kendale courts alone.
If someone took the time to talk to neighbors and no one cares, and tennis is also noisy, and outside groups are weighing in, and Jimenez isn’t returning calls, and none of this makes sense, then it stands to reason that Jimenez probably owes Californians some favors.
Elected officials are supposed to represent the needs and wants of their constituents. This clearly isn’t happening in this situation. The divisive behavior surrounding the ‘Pickleball Noise Relief’ is emblematic of why our country is so divided. The Kendale Woods Park pickleball courts could be a model of how to share a space with tennis and pickleball—they’ve been doing so for years without issues. Yet, this pickleball noise relief group wants people to think otherwise. Additionally, Andres Jimenez is a major disappointment he’s the reason why lifelong Democrats would turn into Republicans. Lastly, FCPA seems to have its own agenda that has nothing to do with the wants or needs of the community members.
Well, seems our politicians are practicing ‘Pickleball Puzzles’ instead of serving the people! And those pickleball noise relief folk must have pickle juice for blood—always sour and in a ‘pickle’ about something. Apparently frequently in a pickle over pickleball noise. Maybe they need a pickletini to lighten up! After all, living next to the rhythmic pop of paddles is just a part of the beautiful symphony of life!
But serious how miserable do you have to be to make your life’s work being a joy kill. Why would the park authority not listen to the wants of the community when doing so saves them money, it doesn’t make sense. And Andres Jimenez what a waste of an elected official, how easy would it be for him to actually listen to the people who voted for him- he’s in for a one and done term.
Watching the diverse group of pickleballers at Kendale Woods Court is a highlight of my daily walks. The energy on those courts is contagious, and it’s fantastic to see players of all backgrounds and skill levels come together. Some of them look like they could give the pros a run for their money! It’s civilized, healthy fun at its finest, and it’s a true testament to the inclusive and vibrant spirit of our community.
Keep the Kendale Woods courts!
guess we’ll have to find somewhere else to play our bandwagon sport that none of us played or cared about until a few years ago when it started trending on social media
These pickleball courts are not in constant use. They are small, neighborhood community courts surrounded by trees. Spending money to take something away that neighborhood residents enjoy because of a remote group that happens to dislike pickleball makes no sense.
sending them positive vibes to keep the courts open!
This is a test of Jimenez’s leadership. Candidly I find him an empty suit. Let’s see if I am wrong. If he can’t handle this, he has no place in politics and should go back to his nonprofit career. He had a listening tour recently. To whom did he listen? Constituents? He’s not listening now. Was the listening tour a ruse?
The community can solve this problem. After Fairfax parks paints the court, get a can of your own paint and paint it back for pickle ball. Problem solved.
The pickleball community isn’t aggrieved enough to be immune from prosecution.
I did a FOIA for a list of complaints about these courts. It turns out the Park Authority does not have that information. They want me to pay them $126.53 to generate a list. Do the complaints really exist? If there aren’t complaints, why are they closing the courts? If there are complaints, why don’t they know anything about them? Are they just rigidly using the criteria from their study and making up the complaints?
You are absolutely correct here in that they the BOS commissions studies from pricy consultants on darn near everything, and they pick and choose very selectively which advice to implement. The consultant says that a pickleball court should be 250 feet away from all residents – of course, must get right on that!
Hello Mark Sommerfield – I would suggest that you try a FOIA request for the decision document and it’s background information the Park Authority used to make its decision, and request a fee waiver – there really should not be a fee because they should already have the records. Hopefully those files will show or refer to the complaints.
Our Virginia FOIA law a good law because it says it is there to “ promote an increased awareness by all persons of governmental activities and afford every opportunity to citizens to witness the operations of government.” And our Annandale Today investigative reporting also helps with this!
Love the spirit of recreational pickleball and the wide range of physical abilities that can play together in a doubles match. But it is a loud sport and I can see the concern of a homeowner on the impact to their property value. Cost to the county should include noise abatement and tax relief to homeowners — and a one time payment at time of sale for existing owners to account for loss in value attributed to noise. As an avid I’d also be for a “flip the script” scenario where players perform yard work, pay for landscaping, give home owners baked goods, etc.to acknowledge their tolerance of temporary noise and the value of enduring permanent community spirit.
Maybe I am just dumb, but if I bought a house that backed up to a playground, a basketball court and a tennis/ pickleball court, not to mention a large community pool, I’d be well aware there might be some noise. Duh!
While we have to acknowledge that pickleball noise is noisy, without a study of noise levels at this specific site, the noise profile of pickleball relative to the other sounds from the nearby pool and park, and without documentation of actual residents’ complaints, the FCPA decision to close the courts seems misguided. Better solutions than closing could be identified, such as limiting pickleball hours, using the newly developed quieter paddles and balls, or use of noise barriers in the direction of the closest house.
My house sits behind the pickle ball courts court on kendale woods!!! The noise is horrifying! The people that are playing in my backyard do not care that I live here and pay taxes! You want to talk about community? Really how about asking me how the noise is affecting me! You are all insane and do not care about anything but yourselves!
Actually Yadranka, I would love to talk to you and understand this. I would love to work out a mitigation plan with you. Can we meet and chat about this topic?