Sunbury has new pickleball courts – but not everyone is happy about it.
Hume council painted pickleball lines on six netball courts at Clarke Oval, creating free-to-use pickleball courts in Sunbury.
While Sunbury Pickleball Club is calling the move a “gamechanger”, Sunbury Lions head netball coach Kim Bailey doesn’t agree.
She said the added lines were “really confusing” and “slippery” for players.
She was also concerned about the wear and tear on the courts, which she said are already in need of an upgrade.
[The courts are] a heavily used facility and the concern comes to the ongoing maintenance it will now need,” she said.
“I thought the bigger picture might have been to flexi-pave the courts, which will be a better surface for both pickleball and netball.”
Ms Bailey was also critical of council’s communication with the Sunbury Lions prior to adding the pickleball lines.
“I confirmed with my president and he said it was a general conversation [with council], there was no confirmation at all that the lines were going down and our committee was quite concerned with the lack of consultation,” she said.
Ms Bailey said she wasn’t made aware the courts would be used for pickleball until photos started circulating online.
“It’s been reported that we were consulted quite extensively, but as the head netball coach, I wasn’t consulted,” she said.
“We’d like to know it was happening rather than just getting a picture to see that the lines have been drawn.”
In a Facebook post on 23 February, Sunbury councillor Jarrod Bell said council had engaged with the Sunbury Lions and Netball Victoria prior to painting the courts.
Council’s city services and living director Kristen Cherry also said the club was consulted prior to the line marking during council’s meeting on the same night, following a public question on the issue.
Sunbury Pickleball Club president Tim Gadler said his club was committed to sharing the courts and working around Sunbury Lions’ schedule.
“Getting these six courts means we can (play) flexibly now,” he said.
“We’re not taking over, we’re working with [the Lions], so whatever days or nights they need to use those courts, that is fine, we’re working around them.”
