Dispute Arises Over Access to Harwich Pickleball Courts

 HARWICH – Managing the recreation department’s pickleball courts is not always an easy task as the sport continues to grow and demands on facilities intensify. A recent dispute highlights the conflict over access.

The department has a dozen outdoor courts in Brooks Park and indoor courts are available in the 204 Sisson cultural center. But accessing the courts can be a challenging experience, according to Barbara Rizzo, a non-resident taxpayer who, along with family, had what she termed an intimidating and harassing experience when seeking to play pickleball in Brooks Park on Aug. 18. Rizzo related that experience in a letter, which the commission discussed in its Aug. 27 meeting. 

“Let me start by saying this was not the first bad experience this year but it escalated to a point where we felt harassed, intimidated, bullied and threatened by members of the Harwich Pickleball group,” Rizzo wrote.

Rizzo wrote that she and her pickleball partners arrived at 8:30 a.m. and went to the two courts set aside for “open play” for the general public. Member players were on the courts, even though the 10 courts set aside for member players were not full. According to the letter, the group was told they could play one game and then would have to get off the public courts, or they could go to the empty member courts and play as many games as they wanted.

“Although we thought that was strange and not in accordance with the rules, we went and played on the furthest court to be left alone,” Rizzo wrote. 

The recreation department pickleball regulations establish a fee-based membership program for residents and legacy participants from other communities who used the courts before the regulations were established, allowing members only access to the 10 courts from 8 a.m. to noon, seven days a week. The Harwich Pickleball Association reserves the 10 courts for the four-hour period, and several courts a couple of afternoons per week. 

If players are waiting, the rules allow access to the court for one game to 11 points and require the court to then be relinquished for the next group that has signed up on the white board.   

During the middle of the second game, Rizzo said a man was giving them an intimidating stare, and at the end of the game he told them to get off the court. At that time there were two courts open and two members were playing singles, which is a violation of the member rules, according to Rizzo.

Rizzo was not present at the commission’s meeting and the letter provided The Chronicle had her contact information redacted. She could not be reached for comment.

Recreation and Youth Commission Chair John Mahan said he is concerned about complaints of bullying and intimidation and “it can’t be tolerated on any of our courts.”

“It’s outrageous if it is true,” added commission member David Nixon. “This person should have called the police. If something really happened here it should be investigated.”  

Commission member Vahan Khacadoorian wanted to know whether the directive to leave the court came from someone in authority.

“Another member saw them playing more than one game and started getting on them for playing more than one game at a time,” said Recreation Director Eric Beebe. “So that’s when the conflict arose. Do we have to be more stringent on these two courts? If you are here for the public courts and they are full, you wait.”

Commission member Leah Mercurio asked whether, with courts open, this group could have continued to play until members sought use of the courts.  

Commission member Phyllis Thomason said it’s one game on, then get off the court. It is common courtesy, she added; don’t just stay on the court, sign up again.

Tom Bryant said he was one of the people who spoke with Rizzo and referred her to the sign relating to the regulation on playing one game to 11 and then coming off the court and signing up again. He said Rizzo questioned the need to come off the court, adding they should be able to play as long as they want on the member court.

Bryant said the Harwich Pickleball Association members are accommodating and do not turn anyone away.

“It got blown up a little bit,” he said. “I pride myself and my customer service skills. She got a little heated and I kept my cool. I went out of my way so they could play. But she wanted to play as many games as she wanted.”

A second association member who was serving as the monitor on that day also observed the foursome playing another game on the courts reserved by the association and entered into the debate. 

Rizzo wrote that when she asked the man who he was “he got in my personal space and threatened me, saying he would have us removed. In hindsight, I wish I had called the police as it was that awful of an experience and the threat was real.”

Commission member Frank Crowley asked about the use of monitors to keep the games flowing. He said the association provides its own monitors during its reserved period each day. There was a brief discussion on whether the recreation department needs a monitor for the open courts. 

 Mahan said there was a misunderstanding between two different people. He said there have been no complaints all year, and the commission should not make a mountain out of a molehill. He made it clear that the 12 courts in the park operated by the recreation department are public courts.

Commissioners agreed that additional consideration should be given to who has access to courts when not in use, even those reserved by the association, as well as whether association members have the right to access the two open play courts designated for the general public. The commission voted to table the discussion until its Sept. 24 meeting.

The commission also heard proposals from Steve Setian, a member of the association, regarding establishing a monitor for the open play courts and relocating the courts to better suit the flow of players using all the courts. His recommendation was to relocate the open courts from the present courts to newly resurfaced courts, adjacent to the tennis courts. He said those courts are near the parking lot and non-members and visitors often gravitate to those courts.  

“One of the main concerns is groups of non-members not leaving after playing one game,” Setian wrote in an email to the recreation department. “This has led to uncomfortable situations for all our monitors, especially the female monitors. As it is not our obligation to monitor the ‘open’ courts, we do our best to help facilitate the movement of players. The best way to resolve this would be to have the town pay a monitor for these two courts.” 

The commission also tabled discussion on the issues until the Sept. 24 session.