Dear Editor:
The Walkerton tennis courts, closed last season for resurfacing and to convert one of the courts into pickleball courts, look great.
I would suggest checking them out, but it’s not that simple. The Walkerton courts have always been accessible to the public, free-of-charge.
Now, if you want to play tennis, you must scan a QR code with a cell phone, go online, create an account with the municipality, enter your personal information to register, pay an annual fee and then receive an email with the combination to the locked gate.
That should be more than enough to deter local youngsters from trying the sport, as well as preventing visitors and casual players from hitting a few balls.
The annual fee ($50) isn’t necessarily unreasonable, but it absolutely is a deal-breaker for a couple of 9-year-olds, or visitors in town for the weekend.
To be clear, that $50 gets you through the gate and nothing else. No league play, no youth program, no lessons, no tournaments – recreational or competitive, not even a piece of plywood hanging on the fence to practice against. For a partial season – the courts sat locked, without nets, for nearly two months after tennis was being played by our friends in Hanover, Kincardine and Goderich.
One would think the goal is to provide recreational opportunities for residents and promote a healthy lifestyle. However, a locked gate suggests the real goal is to locally kill the sport of tennis by stopping youngsters and casual users from playing.
PS: I’m sure no pickleball user would share the access code with their peers. It’s a fool-proof system, a combination lock.
Josh Howald, Riversdale
