‘I guess it’s a compromise.”
Ed Teranishi has mixed feelings about a proposal that might, in part, safeguard the future of his beloved racquetball in Richmond.
The Richmond News reported last month how Teranishi and a small army of fellow racquetball enthusiasts feared for the sport due to plans to increase fitness space at South Arm Community Centre, at the expense of one of the city’s two remaining racquetball courts and a squash court.
Nothing had been decided by the South Arm Community Association, which runs programs at the centre, or the City of Richmond, which owns the building.
But with claims that the sport’s popularity has been on the slide for years, along with the increased demand for fitness facilities, the prospects for racquetball in Richmond looked grim.
However, at a recent city council parks and recreation meeting, David Ince, the city’s community recreation services manager, noted that staff are examining options to install a removable wall in the centre to simultaneously accommodate squash and racquetball use.
Essentially, the plan would allow for more fitness space, as well as two racquetball and two squash courts to still be available if and when the new wall is moved.
Noting that the idea came as “a result of feedback from players,” Ince added that the city is planning to partner with the association to advocate for federal funding for the potential upgrade.
Pointing out that it was a delegation of racquetball players that came up with the removable wall idea, Teranishi told the News that the new plan “should help,” if it goes ahead.
“I guess it’s the lesser of two evils. We either do this or we lose one of the courts altogether,” he said.
“I guess it’s a kind of compromise. Let’s hope the federal funding comes through, otherwise…”
Rob Dodman, South Arm Community Association president, said some community centre staff visited a similar facility in Burnaby to check out its retractable wall. Dodman also told how the vendor who supplies the walls paid a visit to South Arm to ascertain if it was even feasible to install one there.
“We are still looking at how this might work into the overall plan,” said Dodman.
“And we’re still waiting for funding for the whole project (fitness space expansion).
“We will be talking to our committee and board about this in a week or two, then we’ll engage the larger community.”
The idea of a retractable wall is a “win-win” added Dodman.
“We get the floor space and the courts can do double duty.”
Last month, the News told how a 25-strong crowd play racquetball at the centre’s two courts up to four times a week. However, according to the city, demand for the 66-year-old sport, very similar to squash, has waned over the last few years.
