Coastside Pickleball, CUSD, Boys & Girls Club Agree Four-Court Upgrade, 2026 Tournament

Coastside Pickleball, the Cabrillo Unified School District and the Boys & Girls Club of the Coastside announced a cooperative project to upgrade four Cunha courts and to host an inaugural community pickleball tournament in 2026. The announcement follows months of community organizing and a series of public updates from CoastsidePickleball and BGCC leadership.

The most westerly Cunha court had been public around the clock before the pandemic. As Coastside Buzz noted, "The most westerly Cunha court used to be accessible by the public 24/7 by walking down a path between the Boys and Girls Club of the Coastside’s (BGCC) Event Center and Bike Works. It was closed during Covid and never reopened to the public." Local players pressed CUSD and BGCC for years to restore access.

Community organizers say they re-engaged district and BGCC leadership last spring. "Last April, Dave Houston and I took it upon ourselves to re-engage with CUSD and BGCC to reignite discussion. We were fortunate in that there was a new BGCC Director, Mark Newton and a new CUSD Superintendent, Dr. Ramon Ramirez who were both more receptive," the Coastside Buzz author mdrag wrote. An October 24, 2025 CoastsidePickleball update described an immediate operational change: "Jennifer Marsh, CBO for CUSD, born and raised in HMB and a long-time advocate to serve the community, announced the locks would be removed from the west facing court, court 1, after school and on weekends beginning Friday." That same update laid out a multi-phase vision: "The longer term plan is to renovate the other two courts and turn court 1 into 4 new courts, beautifully re-surfaced. Ultimately, there will be 6 courts to play on."

BGCC told the community it cannot manage day-to-day pickleball operations itself but offered an implementation path. "We know there is tremendous interest in using the Cunha tennis courts for pickleball. We tasked a committee to explore BGCC managing such an endeavor and decided it was more than we can manage at this moment. However, we are not simply walking away. We offer two resources for you. [...] Warmly, Jill Jacobson Executive Director, Boys & Girls Club of the Coastside jill@bgccoastsid.org" BGCC outlined steps: form an association with leadership and bylaws, purchase insurance, and rent the courts from CUSD. The open letter also listed insurance contacts Great American Insurance Group -513-369-5000 and Joe Angelini Farmer’s Insurance – 650-726-4818, and said "Currently there are 2 courts available for rental and the cost is $25 per hour, per court." Questions were directed to David Aliamus at 650-712-9710 or david@bgccoastside.org.

Operational hiccups already surfaced after Court 1 opened for non-school hours. As CoastsidePickleball noted, "After BGCC and CUSD agreed to open court 1 (westerly Cunha Ct.) for play during non-school hours, the Rec. Dept. decided not to allow access to courts 2 and 3 during the normal 12-4 Sunday open court which they hosted. There rationale was one court free, two paid, confusion." CoastsidePickleball also urged volunteers to sign up on its website to inspect courts and said organizers will "pass the hat for donations directly to BGCC" once maintenance costs are clearer.

Sources use different language about scope. Headlines describe a four-court upgrade, while the Oct. 24, 2025 community update describes converting Court 1 into four new courts plus renovating Courts 2 and 3 for an ultimate six courts total. The parties have announced the 2026 tournament, but specific dates, registration, funding details and the formal phasing and budget for the court upgrades have not yet been published by CUSD, BGCC or Coastside Pickleball.