Pickleball Magazine 2-5 WD | Page 50

Bobby Riggs Tennis Club ORGANIC GROWTH WHERE THE MOUNTAINS REACH THE SEA O n the outskirts of San Diego, in Encinitas, California, pickleball has firmly rooted itself at the Bobby Riggs Tennis Club in a way that club owner Steve Dawson can only describe as “organic.” Dawson bought the historic club in June of 2013, when he said the opportunity presented itself after a whole skyful of stars aligned just right for him. “A bunch of things fell into place with management and tennis teaching and networking, and I was really happy they did,” he explains. “At the time, we had very little commitment to pickleball. We didn’t have any members who played the sport and I had never heard of it.” Soon after he took over, a group of 15 to 20 people approached him, asking if they could tape down lines on the tennis courts. Being a new business owner looking to accommodate new members, Dawson agreed to give the pickleball players time to play on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. “They would come out, tape up the courts, play their matches and then take the tape away when they were done so we could have tennis the next morning,” he says. “They’d come back in the afternoon and tape up again.” Since those early days, Dawson notes that pickleball at the Bobby Riggs Tennis Club has grown “100 times over,” and the club now not only boasts four dedicated pickleball courts in addition to six tennis courts, but is also a destination club for national events like the SoCal Classic and pickleball camps. “Today, we get about 1,500 players instead of 15, but it progressed in stages,” he says. “It took about two and a half years to grow like this and it’s still growing and growing.” After Dawson saw how serious the players were about the game, he decided to put down dual-purpose lines on the tennis courts to give them something more permanent. The only work they had to do to play was to change out the nets. Next, he opened up Wednesday nights, adding to the weekend afternoon playing times already in place. “Because they no longer had to tape their own lines, it tripled in growth at that time,” Dawson recalls. “Last May, we resurfaced our tennis courts and we decided that it was time to put in permanent courts, so we’ll see what happens.” Demographically, the Bobby Riggs Tennis Club now has pickleball players ranging in age from 17 to 70. On weekday mornings, the average player age is early to mid-50s, with a range from teenagers on up on the courts in the evenings and on weekends. This fall, Dawson plans on adding a high school and 10-and-under programs to the club offerings. 48 TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 888.308.3720 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG.COM