New Outdoor Court Rules Will Greatly Reduce Access To Tennis

USTA Hawaii Pacific’s position statement regarding the Rules as proposed by the City Department of Parks and Recreation:

New Outdoor Court Rules Would Greatly Reduce Access to Tennis

While we agree with some of the City’s proposed rules for Outdoor Courts, we do not agree with rules 19-13-13, f, 2 and 19-13-13, b. In fact, we oppose both of these proposed rules.

In addition, we do not support the City’s plan to convert tennis courts to pickleball courts. In fact, we oppose the conversion of tennis courts to pickleball courts.

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the National Governing Body for tennis. Its mission is to develop and promote the growth of tennis. The USTA Hawaii Pacific Inc. (USTA HPI) is a charitable non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and develop the growth of tennis in Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Marianas. 

The City and County of Honolulu, Department of Parks and Recreation is proposing the adoption of Title 19, Chapter 13, which are new rules and regulations for outdoor courts. 

A.           The USTA HPI is opposed to rule 19-13-13, f, 2 which states that “tennis instructional classes - courts may be reserved only at a park facility with 8 or more courts”. 

Rationale:

1. The current rules allow for tennis instructional classes at a park facility with 4 or more courts. There are currently 14 park facilities that offer tennis instructional classes. The proposed rule would reduce that number from 14 to 5 or a reduction of approximately 65 %. 

2. The majority of participants are youth so the proposed rule would have a disparate impact on youth and greatly reduce their access to tennis. 

3. According to the Tennis Industry Association, the health benefits of youth tennis include: better grades, less risky behavior, strategic problem solving, 81% will attend college, more physically active and higher self-esteem. 

4. The proposed rule allows pickleball instruction at park facilities with 4 or more courts. Why is there a disparity between the rules for tennis and pickleball?

5. People with lower socio-economic status have less access to getting into tennis. Financial disparity is consistently identified as a barrier that prevents multicultural people from playing tennis.

  1. The USTA HPI is opposed to rule 19-13-13, b which states that “permits for instructional classes are limited to the hours of 11 a.m. through 7:00 p.m. on weekdays and from 11:00 am to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays, excluding federal, state and city holidays.”

Rationale:

1. The current rule allows for tennis instructional classes to be permitted at any time subject to the approval of the individual park director. Each park is different, and the park director knows best how to meet the demand for tennis instructional classes and individual recreational play.

2. The proposed rule would reduce the number of tennis instructional classes, similar to rule 19-13-13, f, 2. This rule would further limit access to tennis for youth and adults. 

  1. The USTA HPI is opposed to converting tennis courts to pickleball courts as stated in the City’s press release of March 1, 2023, which states: “Currently, DPR maintains 173 pickleball courts at 90 park locations. Of these courts, only 17 are solely designated for pickleball, of which 10 have permanent nets. Based on current planning, DPR is converting 19 existing courts and adding courts at 16 parks to make approximately 65 new dedicated pickleball courts with lines and nets.”

Rationale:

1. The USTA HPI recognizes the health and social benefits of pickleball and is not opposed to pickleball.

2. Converting tennis courts to pickleball courts is a short term, band aid approach which continues to upset the tennis community.

3. The number of tennis players in Hawaii far outweighs the number of pickleball players in Hawaii and tennis grew 33% in the past 3 years.

4. While using underutilized outdoor courts may be a short-term solution, we do not agree with the park sites that the city is planning to convert. We wonder what surveys and data were compiled to develop the planned expansion of pickleball courts. For example, Kilauea District Park is listed as an underutilized park, but in fact it is one of the most active tennis facilities in Honolulu with a lot of individual recreational play and a strong demand for tennis instructional classes.

5. A long term, more sustainable approach would be to build more pickleball courts. Other progressive cities across the country are adopting this approach. For example, Tampa, Florida has a similar situation to Honolulu, and they just built 44 new pickleball courts. 

Know the Facts - Participation Statistics in the United States:

  • Tennis has gained 5.9 million players since 2019 for a total of 23.6 million players in 2022 (Tennis Industry Association participation report)

  • Pickleball has a total of 8.9 million players in 2022 (Sports and Fitness Association participation report)

  • More than 70% of tennis play occurs on public facilities. As a result, tennis has experienced diverse player participation growth of 30% across all race-ethnicity groups. 

Know the Facts - Participation Statistics in Hawaii:

  • 6% to 10% of the population of Hawaii play tennis according to the latest Tennis Industry Association participation report. This equates to between 84,000 to 144,000 tennis players in Hawaii. 

Recommendations:

  1. Remove 19-13-13, f, 2 from the proposed rules and leave it “as is”

  2. Remove 19-13-13, b from the proposed rules and leave it “as is”

  3. Develop a long term, sustainable strategic plan for outdoor courts and build more pickleball courts as part of the plan

  4. Consult with the USTA HPI and the Oahu Pickleball Association to work together to develop mutually beneficial plans.

This article appeared in the Honolulu Star Advertiser, on page A13, April 6,2023

The city Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) is proposing new rules for outdoor courts that would greatly reduce access to tennis. The department also is planning to add approximately 65 new dedicated pickleball courts by taking away tennis, basketball and volleyball courts, which would further reduce access to tennis. The current rules allow for tennis instructional classes at a park facility with four or more courts. The proposed rule change would allow tennis instructional classes only at park facilities with eight or more courts. There are currently 14 park facilities that offer tennis instructional classes and the proposed rules would reduce that number to five, or a reduction of approximately 65%. The majority of participants are youths, so the proposed rule would have a disparate impact on youth and people who are unable to afford tennis instruction at private clubs and schools. The proposed rule would allow pickleball instructional classes at park facilities with four or more courts. Why is there a different standard and a different rule for tennis and pickleball?

The United States Tennis Association Hawaii Pacific (USTA) is opposed to this rule because it limits access to tennis, especially for youth and those unable to afford private tennis lessons. On March 1, the Department of Parks and Recreation announced through a memo to pickleball organizers that the city will be adding more pickleball courts. Nathan Serota, who handles public relations for the parks department, said that based on current planning, DPR is converting 19 existing courts, and adding courts at 16 parks to make approximately 65 new dedicated pickleball courts complete with lines and net. This includes taking away tennis, basketball and volleyball courts at 16 parks. The USTA is opposed to the plan to convert tennis courts to pickleball courts because it limits access to tennis and it creates unhealthy competition for outdoor courts.

The USTA is not opposed to pickleball. Pickleball has similar benefits to tennis, including exercise, fun and social engagement. The USTA would like to see new pickleball courts with permanent nets and permanent lines spread across Honolulu. Taking away tennis courts and converting them to pickleball courts is not the answer, and it pits tennis players against pickleball players. Progressive cities throughout the country are building new pickleball courts. According to the April 2023 issue of Racquet Sports Industry: “Cities and racquet club operators across the country will spend over $100 million in the next few years to build pickleball courts in public parks, private clubs and other venues to meet the huge growth of the sport and keep the peace among racquet sports players.”

Some facts about tennis and pickleball: Tennis has grown 33% in the last three years and has gained 5.9 million players since 2019. There are currently 24 million tennis players in the United States. Here in Hawaii, between 6% to 10% of the population plays tennis, according to the latest Tennis Industry Association survey. This means that 84,000 to 144,000 people in Hawaii play tennis. Pickleball is growing at fast rates.

There are currently 8.9 million people in the United States who play pickleball. This number doubled from 4.9 million in 2021. A more long-term, sustainable solution is for the City and County of Honolulu to build new pickleball courts.

written by:

Ron Romano: Executive Director

USTA Hawaii Pacific, Inc.

Joanne Conching