Up for a Match? Pickleball & Athletic Court Accessibility

If you're providing an athletic court for your guests or employees to play pickleball, or any other wide range of sports from tennis to basketball, the facility has to be accessible for everyone, no matter if it's indoors or outdoors. It’s important to remember that even if you haven't seen someone with a disability or wheelchair use the athletic court before, that's not an excuse (yes, we have been asked this before), it has to be accessible on day one.

Let's take a look at some of the general accessibility requirements that will apply to athletic courts at any number of places, from hotels, gyms, community centers, office amenities, and multifamily residential projects. Just keep in mind that the information discussed below covers the common accessibility issues we see on site, and it’s not comprehensive for all the unique design elements and spaces that can happen on a project.

Everyone (including coaches, visitors, and players) needs to be provided with an accessible route to approach and enter the athletic court.

-The route “to” an area of sport activity (for example, the edge of the court) needs to be a stable, firm, and slip-resistant floor surface that is at least 36” minimum in clear width.

-Grass, mud, and loose rocks are not considered an acceptable floor surface for an accessible route. Artificial turf can be an accessible floor surface, but only when the pile height of the turf is no greater than 1/2” max in vertical height.

-Any gaps or openings in the floor (like grates or drains) need to be small, nothing larger than 1/2” max in width. If there are elongated openings, they need to be positioned with the long dimension perpendicular to the common path of travel.

-Any gates or doors need to provide a 32” min clear opening width when opened 90 degrees. Hardware needs to be provided on both sides of the gate/door, and on the push side, there needs to be a 10” vertical smooth surface provided along the full width of that gate/door.

-Card readers and electronic locks at the entrances are required to be provided within an accessible reach range from an adjacent clear floor space, 15” min to 48” max AFF for an unobstructed reach range.

When people are moving around both on and off the court, the last thing anyone wants is an injury caused by running into something attached to the wall. This can range from fire extinguishers, electrical boxes, digital screens, or even wall art.

-Any wall-mounted objects positioned between 27” min and 80” max AFF can not extend more than 4” horizontally into the circulation route. A circulation path is any space located on or accessed by an accessible route, as people who have visibility issues will use the vertical walls or fence to navigate around a space.

If your athletic facility has locker rooms and changing areas, here are some important requirements that must be followed and make a big difference for accessibility:

-5% of all lockers for each gender shall be accessible. Do you have different types of lockers or cubbies, for example, tall ones, short ones, day-use, long-term? Then 5% of each distinct type needs to be provided as accessible for each gender.

-Shelves and hooks within the accessible lockers have to be within reach range, that means an accessible unobstructed reach range of 15” min and 48” max AFF. There needs to be an interior locker shelf positioned at least 15” min AFF. In instances where the bottom of the locker measures less than 15”, you would have non-accessible storage.

-Signage should also be provided on the accessible locker doors (this should be the International Symbol of Accessibility), in order to differentiate the accessible lockers from the non-accessible ones.

-An accessible bench isn’t just a place to set your racket and bags; it's required to be provided within the locker/changing room. The accessible bench needs to be 42” min in length, with a depth of 20” min to 24” max and a seat height of 17” min to 19” max AFF. The bench must have back support the entire 42” length, and in wet locations, the bench needs to be slip-resistant. In addition to the bench, a clear floor space needs to be provided at the end of the bench parallel to the short axis. 2010 ADA Standards, Section 903

-Inside the locker / changing room, there also needs to be a 60” turning space for a wheelchair user to turn around. If your local code is using ANSI A117.1-2017, be aware that the turning circle is now 67” in diameter.

When you have a check-in deck or a sales counter provided at your facility, don’t forget it also needs to be accessible.

-A portion of the counter surface must extend 36” minimum in length and have a height measuring no greater than 36” above the finish floor. With the accessible portion of the counter extending the same depth as the non-accessible counter.

-If any fixed-in-place credit card readers or other check-in tablets are provided, make sure that at least one is provided within an accessible reach range at the accessible counter. If this is not possible, another option is to make sure you provide equipment that is easily movable and not fixed in place.

If these accessibility items are taken into consideration early in the design process, a lot of legal risk and design issues can be avoided later. If there are questions or comments about items discussed above, or have questions about your athletic amenities, feel free to contact us.

Did you know that MAPS offers accessibility presentations on various topics? Interested in having us present to your company or group? Let us know.