Nantucket Discusses Island-Wide Ban on Pickleball Courts

The New York Times suggests that "The most grating and disruptive sound in the entire athletic ecosystem right now may be the staccato pop-pop-pop emanating from America's rapidly multiplying pickleball courts."

"The sound has brought on a nationwide scourge of frayed nerves and unneighborly clashes," according to the paper.

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The only pickleball courts I am familiar with are indoor courts in Fairhaven and Dartmouth, and to my knowledge they have not done anything to disturb the peace. The outdoor courts appear to be driving America towards fisticuffs – and the courtroom.

The problem is so acute that some communities, including the island town of Nantucket, are considering an all-out ban on the game.

The Nantucket Currant reported the town's planning board has discussed a proposal for "an island-wide prohibition on pickleball courts." A potential ban could be presented to the 2025 Annual Town Meeting as a warrant article. Some board members aren't sure the issue would get that far.

Boston's WCVB reported, "The proposal was weighed during a select board meeting," on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.

"If approved, the change would impact all zoning districts," according to WCVB. "The driving factor is the noise from the sport."

Planning Board Chair Dave Iverson told the Currant, "This isn't a ban, it's about regulating them. The article needs to be refined."

Iverson said the proposal is "half-baked" and is only in informal discussions.

Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two players (singles) or four players (doubles) use a smooth-faced paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a 34-inch-high net until one side is unable to return the ball or commit a rule infraction.

The Times quoted 82-year-old John Mancini of Wellesley, Massachusetts, whose property abuts public pickleball courts: "It's like having a pistol range in your backyard."