Wednesday, Nov 16, Elly Laliberte with KOMU came to the YMCA to interview Eric Boyd about the outdoor pickleball courts petition. In addition to interviewing Eric, she also had a chance to interview one of our newest additions to the club, Kelly Hodson about her pickleball experiene and thoughts on the petition.

Pickleball club starts petition to bring outdoor courts to Fulton

Elly Laliberte, KOMU 8 Reporter Nov 20, 2023

FULTON − The Fulton Pickleball Club has started a petition, with a goal of 200 signatures, to get an outdoor court in the city.

The club plans to bring the petition to a Fulton Parks and Recreation meeting in December. According to the club, the petition will show Parks and Rec that there is a high enough demand for an outdoor court.

Pickleball is played on a badminton-sized court with a 34-inch net. According to the USA Pickleball, it is played with a perforated plastic ball and larger ping-pong like paddles. Like tennis, it can be played by teams of two or one on one.

Right now, areas to play in Fulton are spread out and don’t accommodate enough people. Club Vice President Eric Boyd, who also started the petition, said they’ve had to cut down numbers for tournaments because they don’t have the space.

“Fulton has two buildings that pickleball can be played at the largest is here at the Y. We have six courts here, the Fulton Rec Plex has two courts and then we have two outdoor courts on a basketball court that is not in the best up-keep,” Boyd said.

The two indoor courts require a membership to play and are the only spaces large enough to host any tournament.

Kelly Hodson started playing pickleball in August and said she signed the petition to help the cause.

“I signed the petition because I believe that outdoor activity throughout the year is healthy, it’s a lot of fun and it’s just a way to interact with society and bring families together and be outdoors,” Hodson said.

Boyd said the new space is needed to keep up with the growing sport. The sport has grown nearly 15% from 2020 to 2021, reaching 4.8 million players nationwide, according to a 2023 report from USA Pickleball.

Boyd said pickleball is unique because anyone can play.

“[It] accommodates all age ranges, all physical abilities. No other sport can you see a teenager and a senior citizen court competing on the same level," he said.

There are currently three outdoor pickleball courts in Columbia. Boyd said he would love to bring some of this to Fulton.

“We already host the Show Me State Games in Columbia, imagine if Fulton could have a little piece of that as well, he said.

Clay Rose, a Columbia pickleball player, said outdoor courts promote the sport to new players.

“More people can get out and try to play, not try to get into a tournament where they don’t think they’re good enough or something of that nature,” he said. “I think it’s good opportunity to get out and try it for the first time.”

According Fulton Parks and Recreation, after the petition is brought forth, discussions can begin to see if the addition would be viable for the city.