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Selectmen approve pilot to darken pickleball lines on two courts amid shared-use push
Summary
After a resident presentation on court use and safety, the board approved a pilot to repaint the yellow pickleball lines black on courts 3 and 4 and instructed Parks & Rec to run a trial morning scheduling system; the town will reassess before resurfacing.
Grant Hatch, a Wolfeboro resident and organizer for local players, urged the board to try shared use and to reduce visual clutter by changing pickleball line colors on shared tennis courts. He presented a conservative usage estimate showing pickleball users heavily outnumber tennis players and warned that accepting a USTA grant could restrict changes until 2031.
Hatch described a Parks & Rec-approved trial queue system (color-coded paddle tabs by skill level) for morning play and offered visuals showing how black lines can reduce distraction for tennis players compared with the current yellow markings. Brent Bauer, a local court contractor, offered to paint temporary black lines at no cost and cautioned against using tape that might leave residue on the surface.
Board members debated priorities: some said scheduling should be handled by Parks & Rec, others said line colors and policy changes are selectboard-level decisions. Christine (Parks & Rec) said the trial could start as soon as paddle racks arrive and that Parks & Rec will monitor and provide feedback. The selectmen voted to paint courts 3 and 4 black as a pilot and to run the Parks & Rec morning queue trial (8 a.m.–noon) until the courts are resurfaced; the town will then reassess whether to accept the USTA grant or make permanent changes.
The board asked staff to check resurfacing timing (likely by mid-July depending on weather) and to provide cost information if the town were to paint lines itself. The contractor’s offer to paint temporarily removed the need for immediate town funds. The board framed the decision as a pilot rather than a permanent policy change.
