Leeds and the Thousand Islands Township imposes ‘pay to play’ pickleball

A pickleball club in Lansdowne, Ont., is rallying to try and save their organization.

Members are starting to leave now that the township is starting to charge a fee for booking courts.

These courts have been served up for free to pickleball players for years.

But now, the Lansdowne Pickleball Club is calling out of bounds after the municipality is changing up the arrangement, saying the pickleballers will have to pay to reserve time to play.

“We haven’t paid, and we will not pay. People have said we will not pay, we will go elsewhere before we will pay, and it will be the demise of our club,” said Jeff Singleton, the club organizer.

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The township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands implemented the change after council voted in new policies on how they run their facilities.

Their main concern was liability and insurance, leading them to classify the pickleball club an ‘official sports organization.’

“The pickleball group in Lansdowne feel like they are not a sports organization. They’re a drop-in, loosely-run kind of group. Our insurer is concerned based on the number of court bookings they have, and the number of pickleball players,” said Stephen Donachey, CAO of Leeds and the Thousand Islands Township.

The Lansdowne Pickleball Club has over 100 members, but that number is dwindling.

Now that the fees have been imposed, some members have left to play in other nearby towns and more members are expected to follow suit.

“I probably would look elsewhere. If that’s a protest, I’m not sure. I just don’t quite understand,” said Cliff Redman, a player in the club.

The township’s CAO said that pickleball can still happen for free if the courts are open, they just can’t book them ahead

“If you show up and they’re not booked, they’re free to play on. By booking them through the township portal for booking facilities and courts, you’re guaranteed. If it’s available in a time slot, you book it, you’re guaranteed, but it costs you the rental fee for an hour,” said Donachey.

So while pickleball in Lansdowne isn’t dead yet, there will be a price to pay if they plan to play.

If more people leave, one of the biggest clubs in the area could be in its final set.