A pickleball skirmish that’s in motion in Colorado Springs is not being played on a court, but both contingents are hoping to score the match point.

After 13 years of operation, the nonprofit Pikes Peak Pickleball Association has had a good run and now is done, the seven-seat governing board decided in May. That’s when members voted unanimously to dissolve the group by Dec. 31.

“Our mission has been met,” said Joe Johnson, who’s been the association’s president for the past eight years.

As the end of the organization bears down, the decision by its leaders to fold has led to a schism among members, with opponents undertaking what Johnson describes as a social media smear campaign.

Among the complaints were that the board acted secretively and wouldn’t respond to members’ concerns.

“It was to the point of my getting threats, people wanting to come to my house,” Johnson said.

There’s also an online petition with 126 signatures to “Save the PPPA,” and recently some members filed a complaint with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office claiming the disbanding is illegal.

 “They’ve tried every avenue they could. We’re doing everything legal and proper –- and we have the authority to do it,” Johnson said.

Many objecting to the direction said they thought they should have been able to vote on the issue.

Johnson says the articles of incorporation that were set in 2012 give the board the power to determine such matters.

“We are not a voting membership, and that decision was made well before I came on,” he said. “I scratch my head on why they’re so upset it’s going away, rather than relish the legacy of what we’ve done.”

For a time, members did have the right to vote on leadership, points out a rebuttal letter from members in response to the board’s notice of dissolution.

Bylaws were revised in recent years to eliminate that and enable the board to appoint leaders, according to the letter from members.

“This unilateral change silenced the voice of members and removed the democratic process that sustained the organization for over a decade,” the letter states.

Nullification of a recent election that had one candidate for president “further undermined confidence in board decision-making,” the letter asserts.

New group forming

In a grassroots effort, about 30 members are creating a new group called the Pikes Peak Pickleball Alliance.

They recently submitted paperwork to the state to apply for 501 (c)(3) nonprofit status, said Nancy Steffy, founding president of the Pikes Peak Pickleball Association. She said she’s slated to become president of the Pikes Peak Pickleball Alliance when it receives approval to form.

“The whole association was very dear to me, and when I heard it was dissolving, I was upset and wanted them to turn it over to the new group we formed, but they wouldn’t,” Steffy said. “We couldn’t get any meetings with them. For whatever reason, they didn’t want to give it to us.”

Leaders initially looked at passing on the reins of the organization, but at that time, “no one wanted to take it over,” Johnson said. And now, he said, “After our analysis, we know there’s no need for it anymore.”   

Steffy disagrees, saying she believes there’s enough local support to rebuild a nonprofit focused on promoting pickleball.

“There’s a big need for it in Colorado Springs to accommodate the people who maybe can’t afford to pay to play,” she said. “We want to work with the city and county parks where the major courts are and give lessons and help the pickleball community grow and continue.”

Multiple members have stepped forward and volunteered to take over, reads the rebuttal letter.

“Stating there is no interest in leadership is therefore disingenuous.,” the letter says. “The real issue seems to be that the current board does not wish to relinquish control to new leadership, even when willing volunteers exist.”

While the system for games is continuing until the end of this year, with the all-volunteer association coordinating play for members, along with round robins and tournaments, most players are just finding other avenues to satisfy their desire to learn and compete, Johnson said.

“They go to indoor spots and play with friends or families and use the model we put in place and form their own round robins.”

Pickleball is everywhere

Even though pickleball was invented in 1965 in the late Congressman Joel Pritchard’s backyard in Washington state, not many people in Colorado Springs knew what pickleball was when the Pikes Peak Pickleball Association was founded in 2012, Johnson said.

So the fledgling organization set as its mission to educate the community about the sport and raise enough money to contribute financially to help Colorado Springs and El Paso County build and maintain pickleball courts at city and county parks.

“We literally walked into the city’s offices with a paddle and a ball and said this is what the sport is,” Johnson said.

The association struck agreements with city and county staff that in return for donations for court construction and upkeep, their members could get free court time.

Nowadays, it’s hard to pass by a park anywhere without seeing a pickleball court with a lot of volleying going on.

What had been a niche pastime is becoming accepted by the masses. For the fourth consecutive year, pickleball was the fastest growing sport in the United States in 2024, according to USA Pickleball.

Nearly 20 million Americans participated in the sport last year, which represented about a 46% increase over 2023, and a 311% increase from 2021, statistics show.

Among its accomplishments, the Pikes Peak Pickleball Association created what Johnson says became a national model for how a private nonprofit can work with local government to advance the sport.

In all, the organization has contributed to the development of or planning for 55 courts in the area.

A $120,000 donation to El Paso County assisted with building 12 pickleball courts at Bear Creek Regional Park. The county will receive another $100,000 from the association as it closes, Johnson said, to convert six courts at Bear Creek for pickleball use. That will result in a total of 18 pickleball courts there.

The association also gave $250,000 to the city of Colorado Springs to help pay for 15 courts at Monument Valley Park, where many of its programs have been held, such as guided play for beginners and tournaments.

The organization will make another donation to the city’s escrow to construct 18 to 20 courts at the planned Coleman Park off Barnes Road and Powers Boulevard, Johnson said.

Over the years, free pickleball lessons also have been a signature activity, though participation has dropped from up to 30 people a weekend to one or two per weekend, Johnson said.

The region now has many pickleball venues, not just at local parks. The new Colorado Springs Senior Center, which opened in August, has two pickleball courts, with scholarships available for playing.

The Westside Community Center offers court use for a participation fee of $1, which includes paddles and balls.

Two for-profit businesses, Peak Pickleball and Springs Pickleball, offer paid indoor play at three locations.

And there’s a movement afoot to run round-robins at different sites and extend the games to public parks, Johnson said, “which would fill a gap when we dissolve.” Every participant plays against each other or each team in round robin play.

Reasons for closing ‘misleading’

Options for play have led to dwindling membership for the Pikes Peak Pickleball Association, Johnson said. A roster of 1,500 members at its height has declined to just under 700.

Participation in the Pikes Peak or Bust Tournament fell from 372 players in 2024 to 286 this year, resulting in a 28% decrease in registration fees, he said.

For at least a decade, annual dues were just $20, which allowed for free court time, including round robins at multiple courts.

“We had up to 900 people a week playing at Bear Creek or Monument Valley Park courts,” Johnson said.

In recent years, membership dues were bumped to $30 a year.

But the organization “financially isn’t really viable anymore,” Johnson said, pointing to fewer grants and sponsorships as well as membership loss.

Opponents of the shuttering disagree.

The reasoning for the closure has been “inconsistent, incomplete and in several ways misleading,” reads the rebuttal letter sent to the board. “PPPA (Pikes Peak Pickleball Association) does not need to dissolve. What it needs is honest leadership transition, restored membership voting rights and transparent communication.”

It continues: “Local players still rely on PPPA programs, courts and organizational support. An organization built by thousands of members and volunteers over 13 years cannot credibly declare itself ‘finished’ while the sport it fostered is thriving more than ever.”

Johnson said the board is preparing its response to the complaint before the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office and is confident of a ruling in its favor.

If there’s one thing everyone agrees on it’s this: Pickleball players are exceedingly passionate about the sport.

It’s the camaraderie, Steffy says.

“Because of pickleball, I know you, you and you,” she told people at a meeting to form the new alliance. “I like the people I’ve met through the years by playing — it’s such a great community — and I want that to continue in any way we can.”

Johnson, who works for U.S. Space Command, chalks up the pushback to disgruntlement.

“For a lot of people, especially older players, this is their social life. It’s an emotional attachment. If PPPA goes away, pickleball is going to go on. People will still thrive.”