There is a significant gap between pickleball facilities of neighboring communities and Menlo Park. The attachment features additional detail in an easily digested format but the following describes Portola Valley and Palo Alto in particular.
Tiny fiscally challenged Portola Valley (PV) has excellent pickleball facilities, events, clinics and programs. Last year the town invested in four high quality mostly permanent nets and ensured that four courts are always available for pb play. This year four more high quality nets have been ordered and the plan is to resurface and paint permanent pb courts. My wife and I are members of both the PV and Palo Alto pb clubs (PAPC). I am fortunate to play for one of the five PV teams. My wife would love to play on a team but there are too many people at her level already.
“Did you know that San Mateo County declared loneliness to be a state of emergency?” This was how my conversation with the former president of PAPC started last December. She went on to say that 2024 was a year of outreach for the club. Many presentations highlighting community benefits were given to various organizations similar to this video Pickleballs Role in Solving Key Community Issues:
“On the surface pickleball is a fun, fast-growing sport. But if you look more closely what youll find is it is a carrier of happiness and joy that can be used to target key social infrastructure issues like loneliness, mental health, uniting community members across age, culture and socioeconomic boundaries.”
In this presentation, Palo Alto Pickleball Club member Ron Gentile addresses the Palo Alto Parks and Recreation Commission, talking about the success the club has had infusing happiness and joy at the Mitchell Park pickleball courts. The outline of the talk is:
Rons own journey getting involved in pickleball and seeing this magic firsthand
Brief history of pickleball and how its design has lead to helping communities
Innovations in paddle and ball technology to address the "sound" issue
Why pickleball has become so incredibly popular
Details of the Palo Alto Pickleball Club and how it gives back to the community
How pickleball unites the community across age, cultural, and socioeconomic bounders
How pickleball helps with the loneliness epidemic
How pickleball helps with the mental health crisis
How pickleball helps with the obesity epidemic
“In summary, per $ or per square foot, the happiness and joy created by pickleball delivered by the Palo Alto Pickleball club at Mitchell Park is unmatched, and is a great tool for the city of Palo Alto to use to help the community”.
This year the focus of PAPC is expanding the number of courts at Mitchell Park. Please let this year be the year that Menlo Park improves and expands the pb facilities at Nealon Park.
Best,
Nate
