ASBA Announces Pickleball Courts: A Construction & Maintenance Manual

The American Sports Builders Association (ASBA), the national organization for builders and suppliers of materials for athletic facilities, has announced the release of its newest publication, Pickleball Courts: A Construction & Maintenance Manual. The manual, written jointly by ASBA and the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA), is currently available in both hard copy and digital form.

The 108-page manual details the design, construction and maintenance of courts for pickleball, which is one of the fastest-growing sports in the U.S., with more than 2.5 million participants, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.

The publication includes chapters on planning a court or facility, building courts, fencing and lighting, accessories and amenities, care and maintenance, and courts and facilities for adaptive/wheelchair pickleball. Throughout the manual are detailed construction drawings. There are also sources for more information and a glossary of terms. It is the first technical construction manual for the sport.

The publication is available for $29.95 from the ASBA website. The link to order the publication is here.

The new Pickleball Courts manual is already being hailed as a major step forward for the sport, and for the two organizations that worked together to produce it.

“This manual is an essential tool for those who plan, build and maintain courts and facilities,” said Fred Stringfellow, the executive director of the ASBA. “But beyond that, organizations, clubs, schools, park & rec districts, resorts, pickleball enthusiasts and many others will want to have this reference on hand, as they continue to enjoy the sport and improve and expand their facilities.”

“We’re excited to see the pickleball construction manual come out,” added Justin Maloof, the executive director of the USAPA. “It’s been great working with the certified court builders of the ASBA to put this guide together. We expect this manual to help pickleball continue to grow around the country and around the world, bringing a fun, social, easy-to-learn sport to participants of all ages and skill levels, and allowing them to stay healthy and active.”

The book was written by a joint editorial board comprised of representatives of both the USAPA and ASBA, including athletes, officials, court contractors, surface manufacturers and suppliers of equipment for pickleball courts.

The sport is played on a court that is 44 feet long and 20 feet wide, approximately the dimensions of a badminton court, using a slightly modified tennis net. The sport uses a solid paddle and a seamless, perforated plastic ball about the size of a baseball.

Pickleball combines many elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, and can be played indoors or outdoors. According to the USAPA, there are more than 17,000 indoor and outdoor pickleball courts in the U.S., at nearly 5,000 sites in all 50 states.

The ASBA is a non-profit association helping designers, builders, owners, operators and users understand quality sports facility construction. The ASBA sponsors informative meetings, publishes newsletters, books and technical construction guidelines for both tennis courts and running tracks, as well as sports fields, indoor facilities and a variety of recreational venues, and keeps its members aware of the latest developments in the industry. It also offers voluntary certification programs in tennis court, running track and sports field construction.

Available at no charge is a listing of all publications offered by the Association, as well as the ASBA’s Membership Directory. For information on the ASBA, as well as on its publications, activities and upcoming meetings, please contact the Association at 9 Newport Drive, Suite 200, Forest Hill, Maryland, 21050. The toll-free phone number is 866-501-ASBA, the local number is 410-730-9595, and the fax number is 410-730-8833. The ASBA also may be reached electronically via its website: www.sportsbuilders.org, or via e-mail at info@sportsbuilders.org.