December 12, 2024 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

Letter to the Editor Santa Monica Mirror: In Response to Mr. Schwich’s Letter of November 1, 2022

Mr. Schwich, an employee of the United States Tennis Association, made many serious and disingenuous allegations in his letter to the editor on Nov 1 disparaging both City Councilmember Lana Negrete and in his words the “torch-bearing band of merry clowns” aka the Santa Monica pickleball community. 

Ouch. I’ll not respond with similar name calling or false accusations, but rather with data. Currently, there are 23 public tennis courts in Santa Monica. 19 are for tennis only. 0 are for pickleball only. 4 courts, those at Memorial Park, have been designated as shareable. This breaks down as follows: 8823 hours a month of available court time on city courts; currently, the Santa Monica Pickleball Club (SMPC) pays the city for approximately 670 hours a month of court time. This works out to less than 8% of the city’s public tennis courts being utilized for pickleball. We fail to see how 8% qualifies as being given “the keys to the city and unilaterally determining how to operate the city’s … tennis courts.” During our 8% of court time, players are often stacked 8 deep per court waiting for a chance to play. Who has the keys to the city?

I would ask the public; what is a fair division of court time between tennis and pickleball? Should it be divided 50/50? I think the average person would think that is fair. Or do you think the allocation should be lopsided with a 60/40 split? If your answer is yes, what is the rationale for the uneven allocation? Surely you don’t think a 70/30 allocation of court time is fair, do you? Answer that question for yourself, then I hope you are appalled by the fact that currently it’s 92/8. If Memorial Park is allocated as 100% pickleball, the division then becomes 81/19. Is 81/19 fair? That’s all we’re asking for, 19%. And once the city builds dedicated pickleball courts, tennis can reclaim Memorial Park. This sharing of 19% of the available resources is a temporary fix. Isn’t that fair? 

I’m compelled to point out that nowhere in Mr. Schwich’s letter, does he mention how every pickleball player who spoke at last Tuesday’s council meeting emphasized that we are looking for fair and equitable court allocation practices which do not “disrupt” the current tennis programs, but rather better maximized court utilization. Meanwhile, every tennis instructor who spoke felt entitled to the public city courts simply due to the “existing tennis infrastructure” and “how it’s always been done mentality.” We are asking the city to find a fair solution. Lana Negrete is working to find a fair solution. Please don’t drag her name through the mud just because she’s looking for change.

The SMPC, a non-profit organization, was founded to enable pickleball to reserve courts at Memorial Park for free open play. Allowing SMPC to reserve court time was not a nefarious act by the city, but rather simply following their own rules. Permits are handed out in a prescribed manner detailed in the Tennis Instructor Guidelines by the Santa Monica Community Recreation Division; priority order is: City of SM Tennis Programs, SM Public Schools, SMC & SM Private Schools, SM Non-profit Organizations, SM Instructors, Non-SM Instructors, Non SM Public Schools, Non SM Colleges & Private Schools, Non SM Non-Profit Organizations. So yes, Mr. Schwich, SMPC gets permit priority over tennis instructors utilizing city courts for their own monetary gain. This permit priority has been in effect for years and in no way warrants your accusation that City Council members are “in bed with the pickleball contingent.”

Marine Park courts are underutilized; many times they are vacant or only being used by instructors for profit. Ms. Negrete is asking the city to investigate the situation. Perhaps, SMC could hold their daytime tennis lessons at Marine Park instead of Memorial Park? That seems like an easy win-win for both tennis and pickleball. Both Marine and Memorial Park are within walking distance of SMC. Mr. Schwich, please don’t vilify a city employee for doing the right thing!

Mr. Schwich, while the intent of your letter is to create discord and disingenuously drag a candidate through mud right before the election, we are looking for fair, equitable solutions to the current court allocation issue. We believe your letter actually supports what SMPC is asking for, permanent dedicated pickleball courts. Additionally, your letter reinforces what pickleball is, a community. You insinuate that our free open play is a bad thing, “players…can show up to the courts and play for free;” but isn’t that what public courts are for? Free play? 

One could argue that tennis instructors take away valuable public court time. Your letter refers to the “card carrying” tennis players that are affected by pickleball at Memorial Park. But in reality, they are not affected since they never were allowed to make reservations at Memorial Park; they make reservations at the 6 courts at Reed Park and the 6 courts at Ocean View Park. Those who are affected, however, are the private instructors who now don’t have as much access to the courts at Memorial Park to teach their for-profit lessons.

Also, you misrepresents the SMPC community as one “whose intent is to have fun while disrupting the entire tennis ecosystem and the community as a whole in Santa Monica.” While correct that our intent is to have fun; I reiterate that our requests to the council on Tuesday were all about working together and not disrupting tennis. You were there Mr. Schwich, you heard us, and yet you chose to misrepresent our intent because it doesn’t fit with your narrative of “torch-bearing” pickleball players gladhanding city council members and taking over.

Councilmember Negrete is being proactive and asking the city to investigate an issue. Mr. Schwich clearly wants the reader to believe that she is doing something nefarious by proposing an agenda item to look into building permanent pickleball courts and to look into fair court allocation practices. The only nefarious action is Mr. Schwich’s ill-intended letter which attempts to paint a picture far outside of reality and in doing so sway an election. The letter complains about a lack of planning, yet that’s exactly what Councilmember Negrete is attempting to do; create a tangible, actionable plan.

I do agree with Mr. Schwich that a world-class pickleball center should be built, but until that time comes, please Mr. Schwich, learn to share!

Very truly yours,
Lynn Soodik, a longtime resident of Santa Monica and a board member of the SMPC.

in Opinion
<>Related Posts

SM.a.r.t Column: Climbing The Vertical Learning Curve

December 8, 2024

December 8, 2024

The city is facing a financial crisis, the roots of which stretch back decades but have been made worse by...

SM.a.r.t Column: It’s Time To Inspect Balconies

November 24, 2024

November 24, 2024

About nine years ago, a fifth-floor balcony in a Berkeley apartment building collapsed, tragically killing several students gathered on it...

S.M.a.r.t Column: Your City is Broke

November 18, 2024

November 18, 2024

On December 10, the new City council will be seated fresh from their dominant win in the recent elections. There...

SM.a.r.t Column: Moving Ahead to the Future

November 10, 2024

November 10, 2024

As we write this, the election results are still trickling in. We’ll leave the deep analysis to others, but the...

Opinion: Fact Check: Why Vote Yes on Measure QS

November 1, 2024

November 1, 2024

Despite living in a famously progressive region, Santa Monicans are not immune from the same political misinformation and disinformation that...

SM.a.r.t Column: Lack of Oversight and No Accountability

October 31, 2024

October 31, 2024

S.M.a.r.t. periodically invites guest columnists to write opinion articles on topics of particular interests to our readers. Below is an...

SM.a.r.t Column: “Help! I’ve Fallen, and I …!!”, Cries Santa Monica!

October 25, 2024

October 25, 2024

Maybe fallen, but slipping for sure from being a desirable beachfront community that served all equally, the local residents who...

SM.a.r.t. Column: Vote

October 13, 2024

October 13, 2024

In a polarized country or City every vote counts. Regardless of which side of any issue or candidate you support,...

SM.a.r.t Column: Fact-Checking Election-Season Windbaggery

October 6, 2024

October 6, 2024

Claim: The state is requiring Santa Monica to build 9,000 apartments.Answer: Partially true, partially false. Santa Monica has a pretty...

SM.a.r.t. Column: Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Can Help Save Lives and Revitalize Santa Monica’s Economy

September 29, 2024

September 29, 2024

We wholeheartedly endorse the candidates below for Santa Monica City Council. Their leading campaign platform is for increased safety in...

SM.a.r.t Column: Crime in Santa Monica: A Growing Concern and the Need for Prioritizing Public Safety

September 22, 2024

September 22, 2024

By Michael Jolly Over the past six months, Santa Monica has experienced a concerning rise in crime, sparking heated discussions...

SM.a.r.t Column: Ten New Commandments

September 15, 2024

September 15, 2024

Starting last week,  the elementary school students of Louisiana will all face mandatory postings of the biblical Ten Commandments in...

SM.a.r.t Column: Santa Monica’s Next City Council

September 8, 2024

September 8, 2024

In the next general election, this November 5th, Santa Monica residents will be asked to vote their choices among an...

SM.a.r.t Column: Part II: The Affordability Crisis: Unmasking California’s RHNA Process and Its Role in Gentrification

September 2, 2024

September 2, 2024

Affordability: An Income and Available Asset Gap Issue, Not a Supply Issue (Last week’s article revealed how state mandates became...

SM.a.r.t Column: Part 1: The Affordability Crisis: Unmasking California’s RHNA Process and Its Role in Gentrification

August 26, 2024

August 26, 2024

In the world of economic policy, good intentions often pave the way to unintended consequences. Nowhere is this more evident...