Canby High Tennis Courts Now Open to the Public outside School Hours

The Canby City Council’s announcement last month that it was moving forward with plans to replace the tennis courts at Maple Street Park, not with new tennis courts — as officials had originally planned — but with pickleball courts, left the city, well, in a bit of a pickle.

The local tennis community, left without a reliable public option since the decaying Maple Street courts were removed in 2019 to make way for the city’s new splash pad, cause quite a racket.

While Canby High School’s courts were, in theory, open to public use anytime they were not needed by the Canby Cougar tennis team, in practice, this was not actually the case.

The courts were locked when not in use by Canby athletics due to deter possible vandalism, and getting access required a formal request to district staff.

But that has all changed, high school officials told The Canby Current this week. Principal Greg Dinse confirmed the courts are now unlocked and available for public use outside of school hours.

Canby City Councilor Chris Bangs, who is also a social studies teacher at the high school, praised administrators for opening the facilities up to tennis players outside the student body.

“It’s pretty cool that they did that,” Bangs said of Dinse, Athletic Director Ben Winegar and Superintendent Aaron Downs. “I did not even get a chance to request that they unlock the gates; they simply agreed to do it after I investigated the procedures for an ordinary citizen to play a game of tennis there.

“I think all three of them recognized that the decision to lock them up should be revisited. I am glad the courts are open for anyone to use outside of school times.”

For more information about usage and availability, call the high school at 503-263-7200.

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