Pickle ball regulars in one ritzy suburb have staged a protest after the town hired security to prevent them using their local tennis courts.
Fairfax County Park Authority workers dismantled pickle ball nets in the middle of a match at Kendale Woods Park in Annandale, north-east Virginia – but four furious female players refused to leave the court.
The county attempted to close the courts down for maintenance on June 14 while relining and signing the courts for tennis-only – while citing noise complaints – in a move to exclude pickle ball players.
But the four stubborn women – and one dog – recently staged a sit-in in the hopes of reversing the decision.
‘It’s kind of a slap in the face to the neighbors to not be able to use the courts the way we want to use them and how we paid for it,’ Marjery Gehan told WUSA9.
Gehan said she filed an injunction requesting an open conversation about the court move before any changes were made. But Fairfax County Park Authority told WUSA9 ‘there was no injunction.’
Enraged residents said county workers removed their nets and scrubbed away their stenciled pickle ball lines, while hiring security to patrol what was once a calm, idyllic leisure ground.
‘We stopped the original power washers from going in there,’ Monica Gonzales, 54, told the Washington Post.
‘But it was very peaceful. No negative words were exchanged,’ she added.
But other neighbors disagree, claiming noise coming from the courts has been disturbing their daily lives.
‘I can hear the playing in the master bedroom with windows closed. My dog doesn’t want to stay in the backyard when there is playing,’ one resident wrote on local news website Annandale Today.
‘I feel insulted every time people try to dismiss the problem,’ they said. ‘I cannot move the property.’
Meanwhile, players have hit back saying they don’t make much noise. They even went as far as conducting their own decibel-level checks with their phones and checking they complied with county guidelines on tolerable noise levels.
‘We don’t want to dismiss the person who finds this noise bothersome,’ middle school teacher and local resident Sarah Wysocki, 44, told the Washington Post.
‘It’s how can we work with you to find a compromise? But to be told that there is no compromise and that this is what it is and basing this decision off one person? That’s a very slippery slope.’
‘It’s not us versus them,’ Wysocki said, adding that the aim is to find a compromise and come up with a peaceful resolution’.
She added though that pickle ball players would not comply with the current instructions to leave the court.
‘Telling us to go to one of 16 other courts?’ Wysocki said, ‘I mean, why would we go to another court when our pool is right there? Our homes are right here.’
‘After careful consideration, the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) has made the decision to move forward with relining and signing the courts at Kendale Woods Park for tennis only, beginning Friday, June 14th,’ the Park Authority said in a statement.
‘This deliberation comes after welcomed and informative conversations with you, members of the neighborhood surrounding Kendale Woods Park, and with residents directly adjacent to the park who are impacted.
‘While we appreciate and share your sentiments for Kendale Woods Park, this decision is true to FCPA’s mission to enrich the quality of life for all members of Fairfax County.
‘FCPA is appreciative of receiving your understanding and encourage you to make use of the 16 pickleball courts located within five miles of Kendale Woods Park.
‘We understand this is not the decision you were hoping for, but FCPA is committed to finding other opportunities for pickleball in the immediate area, including the installation of two dedicated pickleball courts a mile away at Mason District Park in 2025.’