MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. — A free day of pickleball kicks off Saturday, a compromise to show that the city of Manhattan Beach and pickleball enthusiasts are working together.

The city installed fees May 1 for the Manhattan Heights courts, which had otherwise been free. Monthly fees are now $10 for seniors, $15 for other residents and $25 for non-residents.

What You Need To Know

  • Manhattan Beach will have a free day of pickleball at the Manhattan Heights courts on Saturday, June 4

  • The free event follows new court fees the city implemented May 1

  • A group of pickleball enthusiasts wants the city to make some hours free but is willing for private reservations to remain fee-based

  • The event Saturday will run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and is located at 1600 Manhattan Beach Blvd.

Upset players, some of them octogenarians with flip phones, worried about how they might sign up for the courts on a sometimes temperamental city website. 

Giselle Appert, 58, a self-proclaimed pickleball addict, wrote to the city, pleading with them to keep at least some hours free.

“When I met with the city guy he said, ‘This is emotional,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, it is, so let’s deal with it from an emotional place,’” she said.

Appert organized a day of open pickleball play just before the fees became active. She said it drew about 100 people. It was to show the city, she said, that the pickleball community was strong, vibrant and had a voice.

It got a dialogue going, and now the city is co-hosting the free day of pickleball, which runs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Appert said they’re even bringing donuts.

Pickleball has similarities to tennis but is played on a court about a quarter of the size of a regulation tennis court with a net that is about knee-high. A fast-growing sport, it’s popular with seniors who can remain competitive with younger players.

Pickleball, she said, is a primary source of socialization for most players, especially open pickleball hours. Open pickleball is like pickup basketball, where interested players show up with no idea who they’ll play with but certain they’ll get in somewhere. The city has these open pickleball hours, meaning they can’t be reserved for individual games, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, with hours that may vary the other two days of the week.

Appert has proposed those hours be returned to free hours, so players can show up to see their friends without worrying about the cost.

“The city is working with us,” she said.

The courts are located at 1600 Manhattan Beach Blvd.