SUQUAMISH — Armed with paintbrushes and buckets, a small, dedicated team of workers led by Suquamish Community Advisory Committee member Sharon Nichols, crashed the net at the Suquamish pickleball court near Old Man House Park Thursday. The crew laid out a carpet of tarps and old sheets, preparing to give the rundown site a new coat of paint and lots of love.

Nichols, who heads the SCAC parks and open spaces sub-committee, took it upon herself to spruce up the rusted fence and repaint the pavement in an effort to improve the community.

“I came by one day and saw people out here painting,” said Suquamish resident Nancy Naugle, who dropped by to help for an hour. “Then I saw signs and fliers up asking for helpers. I came because it’s the right thing to do.”

Nichols has been urging community members to join her at work parties throughout September. At any given work time, there are anywhere from two to seven workers painting the once rusted fence. Already, the fence has been wire brushed and pressure washed. It is now getting a fresh coat of the dark green paint the sub-committee picked out.

Helping keep things green, the Suquamish Garden Club is also doing it’s part to help, Nichols said, by promising to plant several low-maintenance trees and bushes near the court.

Suquamish resident and sub-committee member Allie Barbosa came with her 4-year-old daughter Kayla to help. She also brought a history of pickleball and the official rules of the game.

“Pickleball was actually started by a guy on Bainbridge Island,” she said. “Some guy named it after his dog, Pickles, who wouldn’t leave the ball alone.”

The game was developed by two Bainbridge Island residents, Bill Bell and Joel Pritchard, who were trying to appease their bored children during the summer of 1965, she added. It grew in popularity with their families, and soon became a smash hit.

The pickleball court in Suquamish was owned by a local church until 2001, when it was sold to the county, Nichols said.

Kitsap County is providing new nets for the pickleball court along with the basketball hoops and backboards, she said.

“This is a nice place to be able to use,” Naugle said, adding that she hopes when the court is completed, residents will make the most of it.

“I hope that won’t happen,” she said of vandalism. “Maybe if they see people care, they won’t do it. We’re working hard out here, and I hope that makes a difference.”

Suquamish Elementary School PE teacher David Byers is already instructing both students and adults on the finer points of the game, Nichols said. In celebration of the improvements, she is proposing a pickleball tournament once the court is complete.

“Kids at the elementary school are being taught,” Barbosa said, adding that the pickleball court on McKinstry Street is small, and they are hoping to expand it.

The next work party will be from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 30. For more information, call Nichols at (360) 697-3504.

“It’s been just me and my husband a few times,” Nichols said, adding that was OK with her, as long as the work got done.