High Park in Derby, KS recently opened 8 dedicated pickleball courts. These courts are a great addition to the public pickleball courts in the greater Wichita area. The courts are spacious and have lights for evening play.

I’m not sure that there is much paddle-stacking that happens here like it does at other parks like Seneca. The vibe might be more like Edgemoor where you primarily go and play with a group of friends and just rotate among yourselves rather than playing with everyone else.

The rules state that the courts are available on a first come, first served basis, which to me reads like you don’t really have to paddle-stack. There is a 30-minute play rotation. So, if there are waiting players, and you have been using a court for 30 minutes, then you must relinquish the court to waiting players. This works great when no one is waiting because then you can just keep playing until you’ve had enough. It feels a little bit clunky when multiple players want to play because I don’t know that people really keep track of their time. Some people don’t bother to look at the time and are oblivious to other players who are waiting so they don’t end up vacating the court until they’re actually done playing.

I suppose with eight pickleball courts and, with as many options as we have now in the area, maybe you never run into a situation where there are more players than courts available?

My parents live in Derby and have been played here a few times. I might have to ask them how busy it gets and how the paddle-stacking is working (if it has been needed at all). I believe they still prefer to play at Styx Creek Park in Mulvane due to the shade. There are no mature trees around the courts at High Park so there is literally no shade at all.

Have you played at High Park? What has been your experience? Got any tips for the rest of us?