PEIOver one hundred people have signed a petition asking the town not to reduce the amount of time the gym is available to play pickleball at the Stratford Recreation Centre.Players received email saying town plans to ‘downsize’ its pickleball programJenna Banfield · CBC News · Posted: Nov 14, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Pickleball players concerned about losing their court time in StratfordSome seniors in Stratford worry their pickleball time at the town’s gym will be cut back — and they’ve signed a petition asking council to keep their time slots. A new private facility is set to open in the coming months. CBC’s Laura Meader has the details. Over one hundred people have signed a petition asking the town not to reduce the amount of time the gym is available to play pickleball at the Stratford Recreation Centre.Players who use the facility recently received an email from the town’s recreation department informing them it would be “downsizing” pickleball programming because there is a new private pickleball facility being constructed in the area and the town wants to use the gym for other recreational activities.It’s a move that has many who play pickleball, particularly seniors, in the community concerned.“They have all these seniors showing up for good quality socialization and recreation,” said pickleball player Vince Ryan. “I think changing it now because a new business opened in town is a very poor decision.”Some of the people who use the recreation centre have been playing pickleball there for close to a decade. Many of the players say it gives people an affordable option to stay socially and physically active, while a membership at the new facility is too expensive for some and they feel the environment may be too ‘serious’ and competitive.The new facility, called the Atlantic Pickleball Club, has a senior membership offered on its website that costs $39 dollars a month, whereas the recreation centre offers a four month membership for roughly the same price.The Atlantic Pickleball Club is a new private facility being constructed in the area. In an email to players who regularly use the Stratford Recreation Centre, the town says they plan to downsize pickleball programming to make room for other activities since people will soon have another place to play. (Laura Meader/CBC)Anabelle Payne, a member of the Stratford Pickleball Club, said it’s not the first time the club has faced potential downsizing. She said it’s not that senior players disagree with the opening of a new pickleball facility, they just don’t want it to cause any changes at the one they have. “It’s great for younger people who are competitive,” Payne said, “But this is for us, we are not competitive when it comes to playing pickleball.”Along with the petition, the players plan to give a presentation to Stratford council.”It’s good for senior citizens,” Payne said, “It’s good for us to get out, it’s good for us to communicate with each other, it’s good for us to do exercise.””We’re very grateful for what they have done for us when, you know, establishing pickleball here. But we would like to stay and in our later years, this is probably one of the nicest things to get us all together.”Anabelle Payne says seniors have been playing pickleball in the community for roughly 10 years. She says some plan to give a presentation at present at an upcoming town council meeting in hopes of keeping their timeslots. (Laura Meader/CBC)In an email to CBC News, the Town of Stratford said no decision about reducing pickleball timeslots at the recreation centre has been made yet. It goes on to say that “as a public facility, our goal is to ensure that all residents have equitable access to our spaces and programs” and the town has received increased requests from other recreational groups looking for indoor gym space to use. The town is reviewing its gym schedules to create “balance across multiple activities and groups.” The town said the matter will be discussed at a future recreation, culture and events committee meeting and a recommendation will be made to town council about how to manage the schedule, the statement said. ‘We’re community-oriented’Players like Karen Conrad, who has been playing the sport for eight years, aren’t interested in playing at the new facility.”We’re just coming to play and have fun and exercise. It’s more than what any of us need.”Scott Harris, the acting president of the Atlantic Pickleball Club, said he feels the nine new courts being built at the new facility will have something to offer seniors in the pickleball community. He adds that although there will be tournaments, it can simply be just a social activity as well.Scott Harris says the majority of players who come to the facility will likely be seniors, adding that although there will be more competitive tournaments, people can still just come just for fun and to socialize. (Laura Meader/CBC)”We’re community-oriented and we want to build a facility, a club and more so a hub that everybody feels welcomed in,” he said. “We wouldn’t build this without having that in mind because we know right now that that is the majority of the population of pickleball players.””It’s really important that players, or non-players, understand that we know that yes, we gotta pay the bills, but at the same time we want to make it accessible to everyone.”Harris said he hopes to open the new Atlantic Pickleball Club in February and there is a possibility that prices may come down once the gym has been open for a while. ABOUT THE AUTHORJenna Banfield is an associate producer for CBC Prince Edward Island. She can be reached at jenna.banfield@cbc.caWith files from Laura Meader
Stratford seniors sign petition in hope of keeping pickleball timeslots at recreation centre
