Pickleball is growing rapidly in popularity around Hawaii Island as more people are introduced to the fun, dynamic sport.
At least three times a week, the Hilo Armory is bustling with pickleball games and players of all ages and skill levels.
Momi Lyman helps manage the playing time for doubles games at the Armory because there are too many players for the three courts inside.
“We have seen some exponential growth in the amount of people coming to play with us every week,” Lyman said. “We’ve had some younger people join this year, which is great. There are opportunities for anyone to learn the sport, but there aren’t enough courts in Hilo.”
People in Hawaii County can play pickleball on dedicated courts, but many players also utilize tennis and basketball courts.
Utilizing basketball and tennis courts, groups play at the Hilo Armory, UH-Hilo, Waiakea High School, the Panaewa Recreational Complex and the Edith Kanaka‘ole Multi-Purpose Stadium.
Since many of those courts must be shared with schools, clubs and others, it makes it difficult to teach pickelball to beginners or host tournaments, Lyman said.
“There are courts, but just not enough, considering the growth. The county has said they want to implement more pickleball courts,” Lyman said. “Some indoors and outdoors would be great because of the rain we get here. Any more will help meet the needs for people who are still learning and those who want to do more.”
The Parks and Recreation Department is trying to address the lack of pickleball courts as the demand grows, while not impeding on any other sport.
“Over the last two years, we’ve gone from a few people playing in the community to daily requests for new facilities,” said Parks and Rec Director Maurice Messina. “We’ve made policy changes to our department beginning last year that requires every new tennis court or basketball court that we resurface or build to also include pickleball lines.”
While there aren’t plans to build new courts at the moment, Parks and Rec has made funding requests for pickleball-related supplies, such as temporary lines that can be placed on tennis or basketball courts.
“Last year, we bought 10 sets of temporary lines, and we plan to get more for our facilities,” Messina said. “We are also actively looking for our underutilized courts to see if they can be converted to pickleball courts. However, there can be conflict between pickleball, tennis and basketball.”
After finishing an improvement project at Kahuku Park in Ocean View, Parks and Rec added pickleball lines to an existing basketball court, so both sports can utilize the space. The same thing will be done to the tennis courts at the Papa‘aloa Gym.
“We’re doing the best we can with a limited budget for 300 park facilities, while also being careful about not disenfranchising another sport,” Messina said. “Just like other new sports that come to us, we want to make sure to adjust as best we can to meet needs of community.”
Connie Yoshiyama facilitates pickleball play at Panaewa Park for the Kamana Senior Center, and was told by the county that she cannot use tape to make lines for pickleball. While half the park’s gym has pickleball lines, the other half does not since the extra lines can confuse keiki playing other sports.
“We need more space than half the gym, so we’ve been using string to make boundaries since we can’t use tape,” Yoshiyama said. “It’s quite time-consuming when we’re trying to play as much as we can.”
On the west side of the island, pickleball players also have a lack of public courts, although the Big Island Rogue Pickleball Hui has found a home in the courts at Holua Racquet and Paddle in Kailua-Kona.
Holua is the largest tennis and pickleball facility in Hawaii and has 20 dedicated courts.
“Our hui has grown so much, we have 225 members. In 2022, we had over 1,000 different people play with us over the year,” said Lea Carey, president of Big Island Rogue Pickleball. “We are a group, but we also let nonmembers play as well. We’re able to do that with the space we have at Holua, so we feel very lucky to play here.”
The hui hosts open play from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, round-robins at 8:30 a.m. on Saturdays, and beginner play from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m on Sundays.
“The round-robin gives everyone a chance to really compete, since you are in groups of similar skillsets,” Carey said. “During open play, we play against people of varying abilities, so you spend that time trying to match each other’s levels to make the game more fun.”
Carey is excited about the way pickleball is growing and being adopted worldwide. After Carey played the sport with a man from Lebanon for a few months, he invested in building a pickleball club in his home country.
“One thing I love talking about is the fact that you don’t have to worry about your ego during pickleball. You just have fun,” Carey said. “We always try to get better on the court, but there is no judgment. Nobody cares if you’re really good. It’s been an amazing way to make lifelong friends.”
More information on Big Island Rogue Pickleball Hui can be found at bigislandroguepickleballhui.com.
The Hilo Armory hosts open pickleball games as well as a couple private groups throughout the week. Those interested can find more information on the Armory’s schedule by calling the Recreation Director Gail Rosehill at (808) 961-8734.
Those interested in reserving a spot for pickleball play, or other sports, can contact the county recreation office at (808) 961-8740.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.