China rec committee talks about possible pickle ball court

by Mary Grow

Pickleball, anyone?

Reacting to local requests, China Recreation Committee members discussed the possibility of adding a pickleball court to the town’s recreational facilities at their Feb. 23 meeting.

Pickleball requires a paved court. Committee Chairman Martha Wentworth’s first idea was to convert a corner of one of the two ballfields near the China schools that the committee oversees.

Raigan York protested that soccer uses every inch of the ballfields, and often school fields as well.

Wentworth then proposed the currently-wooded area along the north side of the school property. She intends to investigate further.

York said there are two sizes of pickleball court, 30-by-60-feet or 34-by-64-feet.

Addition of an outdoor basketball court was mentioned as another possibility.

In other business Feb. 23, committee members unanimously approved a so-far-informal request from officials of Central Church, on Route 3, to use a ballfield for an Easter egg drop the afternoon of Saturday, April 9.

Wentworth said she understands that several hundred Easter eggs will be scattered on the ground, with another 200 “special eggs,” some containing prizes, dropped from a helicopter. She intends to get more information.

Planning for the upcoming sports season, committee members talked about browntail moth control, field maintenance, portable toilets and making sure users clean up the snack shack.

Wentworth said the recreation committee could use one more member. Interested residents are invited to contact the town office.

Committee members postponed detailed discussion of their proposed 2022-23 budget to their next meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 23.