In Cody, pickleball players regularly take over much of the large gym at the rec center, creating seven courts and playing throughout the morning.

In Powell, unfortunately, players are left with no choice but to go to Cody or another town to play. Obviously, Powell isn’t Cody and doesn’t have quite the level of resources, but players aren’t asking for anything on the level of the Paul Stock Recreation and Aquatic Center.

They just want some space to play during the winter months, and hopefully anyone with space available is spending some time to figure out what could be done to accommodate them.

Pickleball has become a hit with seniors and is a healthy way to get out of the house on short winter days to exercise body and mind. It was originally developed, according to the official Pickleball USA page, by three fathers in Washington as a way to be able to play with everyone in the family. The median age of players is 38, meaning it really is a game for everyone.

Pickleball is also the nation’s fastest growing sport with nearly 5 million players, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. There are currently more than 10,000 sport specific courts in the country and participation has increased over 11% per year for the past five years.

So, if it’s a popular and growing sport everyone can play, it should be something to support.

In the long-term, Northwest College has expressed a willingness to allow the use of the old gym in the Johnson Fitness Center for pickleball, as there’s interest in a campus league as well.

But it’s looking like there’s a good chance the college’s new facility being built near the soccer fields, planned to act as the temporary dining hall until the new student center is finished, won’t be ready in time for the spring semester and thus will be occupied until summer.

In the meantime, is there anyone out there with the space needed and the ability to give our Powell pickleball players a place to play?

The multi-purpose building at the Park County Fairgrounds has been a prime target of pickleballers, who said they are working to get on the agenda of a commissioners meeting.

Commissioners should hear them out and think not just of the implications for county government, but the implications for a growing sport and the many enthusiastic players in Powell if they have nowhere in Powell to play this winter.