Don’t you touch the handles on each exercise piece of equipment? You do. So how is that allowed and not pickleball?

:bigbow:

I think you miss the point - I for one like pickleball and play 5-6 times a week for my cardio requirement. I don't like biking, and I cannot jog because of my knee. If you look at the dimensions of the court, the 4 players can maintain a 6-foot separation pretty easily if desired. One can also wear a mask. It is outdoors where the threat is less than say shopping for food. yes, you touch the ball but so what you just wash your hands like you would for any other activity like food shopping, getting gas, etc. IMO the pluses outweigh the negatives.

I’ll let you in on a secret. People can (and do) play Pickleball all day at PEAR Park near Lake Harris S of Leesburg. I’m also a player but choose to stay away, instead choosing to walk the trails alone also at PEAR Park to get my exercise.

What would the waiver say? "I take full resposibility if I pass the virus on to others while playing."

A couple of factual points here: (1) The Developer does not own the pickleball courts, We do (through the Community Development Districts) except in the new areas. The CDDs purchase recreation facilities from the Developer generally as new areas mature. (2) We all have (are supposed to have) signed general waivers absolving the Rec department, CCD, and Developer as applicable, from liability as a result of use of any and all rec facilities. No additional waivers are needed.

This has nothing to do with germs — this is a pandemic —better a little overkill than not enough — take a walk, or a run —

Exactly!
Put a sign up stating ‘play at your own risk”

Pickleball
 

Pickleball could reopen if all were forced to wear gloves & keep the distance.
However, you ave to realize everyone touches the ball so gloves could help here.

This statement tells me you are absolutely clueless that you are endangering OTHERS. I understand you don't care if YOU contract the disease but you are clueless that you can infect OTHERS and not be aware of it.

Touching the ball is just like you touching a door knob when you're out shopping. Yes it may be contaminated, but you disinfect before and after usage and you don't touch your face. Mitigation of risk is totally possible.

How about a large bowl of soapy water on the side of the pickle ball courts ... with another large bowl of clean water next to it ... keep washing your hands as you come off the court and have enough brains to avoid touching your own face while on the courts.

There has to be a way to keep The Villages activities open ... the problem is simply the people who insist on congregating forcing the developers to shut us down. You can't fix "stupid".

No need for gloves. The gloves are just like a second layer of skin. Gloves can still pass on the virus with everything you touch, including your face.

Keep this in mind............wearing gloves can be detrimental in many circumstances because people do not know the proper way to remove gloves from their hands. They will take off the gloves improperly, contaminate their hands and then not wash their hands thinking they are safe.

You said it yourself. Too many people are not following the social distancing rules and other guidelines. Not to mention that not many people are wearing the proper face masks. These are the folks that are forcing everyone's hand to isolate. Until we get widespread testing available, we need to treat everyone as though they have the virus. Remember that 20% to 50% (depending on which study you read) are infected but show no symptoms. They in turn can infect others if they're not wearing a mask or touch something that you then touch.

I'm pretty sure that hand to ball, ball to hand, hand to face is not anywhere close to the top 10 ways people have contracted this virus. If you are going to take it that far, I suppose you would also argue that one could touch their golf ball to put it on a tee, then hit it several times with a metal stick until it ultimately rolls up against a piece of PVC pipe, then the next golfer comes along and their ball also hits that PVC pipe, and in their excitement, they pick up their ball and use their hand to wipe the sweat from their brow, only to transfer virus left on the PVC pipe by the previous golf ball that the other golfer was using. Yet, somehow, golf has managed to remain open all this time. Sound absurd? It should - but now you know how many of the rest of us feel when you argue that playing pickleball or softball or tennis or bocce, or the list goes on, is a high risk activity because of common balls. That stuff was shut due to social proximity, primarily, and much of it could easily be brought back if people would just observe and practice a little common sense.

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." - Ben Franklin