Ruth Ellis, Washington DC Pickleball Ambassador.
Rendering of some of the six pickleball courts which DDOT recently authorized for the Virginia Avenue spur under the freeway as part of the Garfield Park/Canal Park Connector Project. Source: DDOT
Finding Community in Pickleball – More than a Sport
by Larry Janezich
Posted, August 3, 2025
A sense of community doesn’t just happen – it comes from the contributions of individuals and social/civic organizations to their community.
Washington DC Pickleball (WDCP) https://www.washingtondcpickleball.org/ is a community enriching endeavor that adherents find personally rewarding as well as a vehicle for creating and developing a network that unites its players across a broad swath of the city’s social fabric.
In an interview with Ruth Ellis, Ambassador for WDCP, one word that keeps popping up is “community,” referring not only to the shared interest among players, but also to the reality that they are part of something larger than themselves.
According to the website, “WDCP is a volunteer-led nonprofit that provides on-site equipment, balls, social events, promotional and charitable programs, and pickleball advocacy throughout Washington, DC.” The organization advocates for, increases awareness of, and encourages active involvement in the sport.
As a WDCP Ambassador, Ellis and others have testified before the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) oversight hearing to push for city resources to further the organization’s intertwined vision and sports related goals.
To illustrate the community benefits, she cites the organization’s community programming, including the success of the DC Jail Program. Inspired by a Washington Post article https://wapo.st/3INlJdH about Roger BelAir bringing pickleball into prisons, WDCP proposed doing the same thing at DC Jail. The DC Department of Corrections was enthusiastic about the proposal and weekly play began at the jail in April 2024.
Ellis says, “The pickleball program is no cost to the jail so there’s no economic impact at all….The vast majority (of players) are going to be re-entering our civic life and our civic space and I think it’s safe to say everybody wants them to come home in a way that’s safe and positive and healthy for them and for their families and for their community and for the city.”
Buoyed by positive feedback on the program at DC Jail, Ellis says regarding the oversight hearings, “Testifying shows our commitment to the community – not just for ourselves, but for the broader community and what I’m trying to do now is to expand pickleball into the youth community because the youth community is having some problems that are having a severe impact on the city. Pickleball is a great way to connect and show how you can treat other people with respect while you’re competing with them.”
As a new sport and one that is exploding in popularity, pickleball does not have as many resources as tennis. Ellis says, “We don’t have a permanent net location so every time we go out to play pickleball we have to first of all find a place where we can play go out there, set up nets – do everything ourselves. I mean everything we do is volunteer.”
She says she is trying to fill that gap a little bit – “…which has been challenging – I’ve offered a series free coaching lessons at Anacostia Park. We’ve had an event there on July 4th three years in a row and we have 60 to 80 people coming out to play pickleball. About half of them are from DC east of the river and we had a big group that came from Prince Georges County.”
WDCP’s 2024 Red White & Pickleball July 4th event at Anacostia Park. Photo: Ruth Ellis
Also, in partnership with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the National Capital Area, DCPB hosted a sibling match event at Anacostia Park in October 2024. Every participant learned to play pickleball in a 90-minute coaching session.
Ellis says, “There’s nowhere else in the city where we could do this” but she adds, that next year the National Park Service will put in pickleball courts in the park.
In answer to what kind of assistance from the city she seeks, she said, “DC DPR does not currently have any youth pickleball programming and “We don’t have courts – we don’t have time in the DPR’s recreational schedule.”
She envisions more sports programming in collaboration with the city…”I’d like to partner with the city and help support programming for pickleball. We want pickleball to be more of a regular sport than it is. Tennis players don’t have to fight to get a court built in their community – they just build tennis courts – and we want the same thing for pickleball.”
Ellis sees signs of hope and progress – DDOT has issued permits for construction of six permanent pickleball courts as part of the Garfield Park Connector Project. All funds to pay for the court construction will come from WDCP’s fund raising efforts and the player community. The Capitol Riverfront BID will hold the permit and manage the funds for Garfield courts. WDCP will manage day to day operations including setting hours, permitting, and events, with sign off from the Capitol Riverfront Parks Foundation to ensure courts are sufficiently publically accessible. The project is weather dependent so the projected completion date could be as early as fall of 2025 or as late as spring, 2026.
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 