The Weiser Elks, a prominent community organization, have generously donated funds to add Pickleball court lines to the Weiser Tennis Courts. This donation will enable the citizens of Weiser to enjoy an additional recreational activity.
Weiser Recreation Director, Ken Anderson, shared “We had a lot of requests from the public to see if we could come up with something for Pickleball. A lot of people are interested in taking it up.” Pickleball is a fast-paced, low-impact sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis. It can be enjoyed by people of all ages and fitness levels, making it inclusive and accessible to the entire community.
Anderson said as a department they discussed options and decided to sit down with the Elks to write a grant to the Elks on the national level for funding to add Pickleball lines to the existing tennis courts. The city owns the tennis courts, but a private group fundraised to have the courts resurfaced so before applying for the grant Anderson said he spoke with the group and they were fine with adding the Pickleball lines to the court.
With this grant money the two west courts closest to the basketball court will now be enhanced with new court lines, enabling individuals to partake in this new sport. Anderson also shared that they would be using the same company for the new addition as they used for the resurfacing and that the grant money will also cover the cost to repair a few places where the tennis courts have bubbled up. The two courts will still be able to be used for tennis, they will just have the added lines for the use of Pickleball. “What we will do is change the color of the lines for the pickleball courts so it is not the same color as the lines for tennis, so that you will be able to tell the difference,” stated Anderson.
The Recreation Department does not currently have a date for when the courts will be added, but hope it will be done later this fall. Anderson shared how grateful the Recreation Department is for the Weiser Elks stating, “They have been really good to work with. Through the years we have applied for grants and they have donated money for football helmets, diamond dust, sponsored baseball and softball teams, they have just been a really big recreation supporter. We absolutely appreciate everything they have done for us.”
