Woodfin – The increasingly popular sport of pickleball has come to the Town of Woodfin on a test trial to see if the sport will attract pickleball players. The pilot test is taking place at the town’s pocket park known as Geneva Maney Park at 4 Midwood Drive.
The temporary striping of the two new courts took place on Saturday (July 23rd) under the supervision of Michael McDermott, a certified pickleball instructor, who was enlisted to oversee the court’s layout.
The park’s paved area has been used for several sports over the years, including a basketball court and a skateboard park, but the Woodfin Parks Committee hopes that pickleball will help the park get more use. There is still playground equipment for kids to play on, and now, with the addition of two pickleball courts and the competition to use courts that are pulling double duty for other sports like basketball and tennis, hopes are that the small park will attract more users. The committee hopes to bring players from Woodfin and the surrounding area to the park and to make the park a permanent court for the game.
“Formerly known as South Woodfin Park, Geneva Maney Park is named in honor of long-serving Alderman Geneva Maney. Ms. Maney was heavily involved in the Woodfin Community for a number of years, serving on the Woodfin Community Center Board,” says Woodfin’s website.
For those not familiar with the game of pickleball, the game is played similarly to tennis but on a much small court (44′ long by 20′ wide) and with different rules and scores go by one point and can be played to 11, 15 or 21. Like tennis, it can be played as doubles or singles. It’s played with a paddle instead of a racket and the tennis ball is replaced by a hard rubber wiffle-like ball.
Coral Darby and Anne Kaltreider of the Woodfin Parks Committee are excited about this pilot program and hope area pickleball players will take advantage of this opportunity. They say they will so have more information on the new courts along with a way to schedule time up on the Town of Woodfin’s website.
Meanwhile, people wanting to learn more about the game can go to Asheville Pickleball Meetup Group, https://www.meetup.com/the-asheville-pickleball-meetup-group/, and the Asheville Pickleball Academy, https://www.meetup.com/the-asheville-pickleball-academy/.