PLAY

WHEN and WHERE to Play:

(Updated 6/1/2024) Official Club Open Play hours are Monday//Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday and Sunday – 8:30am to 12:30pm on the tennis courts in Ridgway Athletic Park at the corner of Chipeta Drive and County Road 23. M,W, and Friday are more competitive play and T, Thu, and Sunday are more social rec play.  Play at any other time is considered private invited play.  When the tennis courts are full, overflow play is on the basketball courts to the east of the tennis courts.  See Guidelines and Rules section for additional court policies.  The RPC owns and maintains all the equipment (temporary nets, balls, loaner paddles).  Drop-in visitors may play during the above times for a fee of $5 per drop-in and signing a player release waiver form (download below), note, it may be more cost effective to join as a member for $30/yr.  just go to the Join Us section and sign up immediately and become a part of the Ridgway community year after year.  We hope you enjoy your visit and ask that you help us get dedicated courts built in Ridgway and donate here.  

Player Release Waiver Form:  Please download and bring it will you the first time you join us on the courts:

RPC Membership and release form 2023.pdf

ETIQUETTE:

Here are the top etiquette rules for playing pickleball – rules that you won’t find in any official pickleball tournament handbook or rulebook:

When somebody inadvertently hits a ball onto your court from an adjacent court, don’t scream BALL BALL BALL, just say BALL and the person’s name that its rolling toward.

When retrieving a ball from an adjacent court, make eye contact with someone from that court and then directly toss or hit them the ball. Don’t just hit the ball back into their court without looking. 

Don’t cross the court behind a match until play has stopped. It’s not only rude, but it can be very dangerous as well.

If you are obviously the weakest player on the court, thank the other players for playing with you after the game. However, don’t take advantage of their graciousness by staying on the court for an indefinite period of time. More than a game or two will undoubtedly wear out your welcome.

If you are asked to play with a group that is obviously of a lower skill level than you, graciously accept and play a game or two with them. They will likely appreciate your graciousness and understand that you want to get back to similarly-skilled players after the game.

If you are obviously the strongest person in your foursome, tone down the competitiveness and hit your opponents’ balls that they can return. Work on a new skill – perhaps it’s a great time for work on that third shot drop shot.

If you and your partner can’t determine if the ball was in or out – or if you disagree with your partner on a line call – the benefit of the doubt goes to your opponent. Wait! That’s actually an “official” rule!

When you complete a game, all players should come to the net and tap paddles and thank each other for playing the game, regardless of the outcome! Be social and have fun.

Ridgway Pickleball Club is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization. Ridgway, CO 81432  Contact us: ridgwaypickleball@gmail.com