New Pickleball Courts will be available at the Albany Boys and Girls Club!!!!!  In a joint effort between the City of Albany and the Boys and Girls Club the new gym facility will have 3 permanently lined pickleball courts.   We should be able to start playing there as early as May 1.

The new facility will be really impressive.  In addition to the gym area, there will be an ice rink, 2 soccor field areas, a running track, meeting facilities and some administrative offices.  Look forward to seeing the final product.

Here’s what we have learned so far:

• There will be 3 permanent courts, i.e. painted lines (no more taping!). We will continue to use our portable nets.
• We will have access to these courts in the mornings from 7 or 8am to 1pm and in the evenings from 7pm to 9 or 10pm. (We’re not sure yet what days these hours apply.)
• If building completion goes according to schedule, we should be able to begin play on these new courts on May 1.

These extra time slots will give us the capability to hold not only social play but also some league type play if we want and allows play in evenings for those that can’t make daytime slots.  We will also have some added visibility (not in the back gyms) and this could allow us to promote and grow pickleball in Albany in some new ways.  We should be thinking about ways to get kids and also younger adults involved as this is the key to the future of pickleball.

Some details we’ll have to work on include:

• Whether or not–and how–to set up some league play or different levels of play
• How to coordinate indoor play with outdoor play once we’re able to move outside to the courts at Hackleman Park

We look forward to your comments on times of play so we can lock in suitable hours in the new facility.  Of course you can still drop into the Hackleman courts at any time.