“The nearest pickleball courts to play were in Mount Ogden and some redone tennis courts in Bountiful that were in bad shape,” Kaysville resident Tammy Wursten said. 

Wursten and her husband had learned about pickleball while on a vacation in St. George, and although they were avid tennis players at the time, they immediately fell in love with the new sport, and were anxious to play and teach it to others back in Kaysville. Since they didn’t want to always have to drive to Ogden or Bountiful to play, they decided to do something about it and request that the city build some courts.

“We went to Kaysville City and asked if they would build an indoor pickleball court,” Wursten said. “No one there had ever heard of pickleball, but they were willing to tape the lines on an indoor court inside the bay of the old fire station that was used for other sports. They wanted to see if anyone would even want to play before building anything permanent.” 

With a temporary court in place, the Wurstens donated two nets, volunteered to teach people how to play, and even started some leagues. As it became evident that there was a demand for the sport over time, the Wurstens once again requested to have the city build some courts. But the city refused again, this time due to lack of funds. Wursten suggested that if the community could raise half the funds to show local support and reduce the financial burden on the city, that the city could then match it and build the courts. The city agreed.  

As they began fundraising for the courts, Wursten became an official ambassador of the USA Pickleball Association. Within months, the community had pitched in $150,000, and the city matched the total donations. Those funds made it possible to build eight courts in 2017, and they were so popular that it was clear even more courts were needed. Wursten once again went to the city to request that they build four more courts, and after being told there were not any funds, she rallied the community yet again and raised another $100,000 to build three more courts.

“We ended up raising $250,000 as a community and had a great committee that helped and we had great donors,” Wursten said. “Now all 11 courts are full, which is fine, because you don’t have to wait very long to get on a court, because the culture of pickleball is you play a game and if the courts are full, you come off, and the people that are waiting go on. There’s paddle racks to put your paddles on, and as soon as there’s an open court you go play again.”

Today, if you live in Kaysville or Fruit Heights, you have a much shorter drive to play pickleball. If you haven’t had a chance to see or play at the pickleball courts, they are located on the northwest side of Barnes Park behind Egan Auto at 320 N. Flint St.