POUGHKEEPSIE – The City of Poughkeepsie has installed two new pickleball courts at Pulaski Park. The courts are expected to draw a lot of players to the park, according to the city’s Superintendent of Parks and Recreation, Brian Laffin.
Laffin credited the city’s DPW workers for doing a tremendous amount of work to construct the courts for the game that has grown in popularity exponentially in the last few years. “The DPW crew went above and beyond to bring the courts to fruition,” he said while noting that the crew was also instrumental in getting the new soccer mini-pitches ready for use. The courts and mini-pitches were unveiled on Wednesday.
Pickleball, invented in 1965, was relatively unknown until recent years when the game experienced a resurgence of interest resulting in leagues forming across the nation. Pickleball courts are being installed in many parks throughout Dutchess County, including three that were unveiled in Staatsburg in 2021.
Pickleball shares many of the same elements as tennis, badminton, and ping-pong, according to USA Pickleball. Players use paddles and a hardened plastic ball with holes in it, similar to Wiffle-style balls on a badminton-size court with a modified tennis net. “These new courts, part of Mayor Rolison’s commitment to major improvements at all city parks, will reduce the stress on our tennis courts throughout the city, by giving Pickleball players a set of courts dedicated to their sport,” Laffin explained.
