Let’s get it back to hockey with an update on the effort to defeat pickleball and save my hometown’s outdoor dek.

The short version of a long story is that New Hanover Township will not be converting the hockey rink to pickleball courts, as initially considered last year. It was never a concrete “we are definitely doing this,” type of thing, but an exploration instead, and the folks still using the dek organized to figure out a way to save the joint instead.

We’re currently in a phase where the 11-year-old girls spearheading the effort are working with the township and presenting their plans. They spoke in front of the Board of Supervisors last Thursday and shared ideas to not only fix up the rink, but raise the money to do it. The girls, Natalie and Lilly, created a movie trailer illustrating their love and use of the dek. They talked about reinventing the space with legitimate hockey boards and floor tiles and outlined a number of ways in which they can generate money via fundraisers, grants, and sponsorships.

Natalie Van Druff and Lilly Walter

The township has been amenable to recommendations and is 100% on the same page with the girls. They’ve even committed to some safety quick fixes, which includes the repairing of asphalt cracks, a replacement of the dasher boards (to keep the ball from escaping), and fixing the gate so it no longer swings into the playing area. The board also greenlighted the girls to begin creating partnerships with sponsors and work on the fundraising aspect of the project ahead of a follow-up meeting on April 4th, which will allow for a vote on the proposed recommendations from last week’s meeting.

Among those fundraising efforts is an apparel sale. One of the designs was done by Natalie and there are a couple of offerings that will be fulfilled by Berks County’s Lucky Squirrel Printworks:

Marie Livelsberger is the Chairperson of the New Hanover Township Board of Supervisors and said this:

“The New Hanover Township Board of Supervisors is thrilled to be working together with Natalie and Lilly on the improvements to the Hockey Dek at Community Park. They have shown incredible passion, enthusiasm, and initiative not only for their sport, but with their presentation of their vision for the dek, as well as with the fundraising that is already underway. Natalie and Lilly should be proud of their hard work; they used their voices, they have been heard, and they have set an example for us all.”

As a quick aside – isn’t this how things are supposed to work? Public facility is shitty and dilapidated, so township considers alternatives. Facility users organize and say “we think we can save this, here’s how.” Township is friendly and agreeable, and thoughts and ideas are shared like grown adults (or 11-year-old girls). I’m personally shocked at how cordial the whole thing has been, not because of any preconceived Nega-montco, but simply because people can never agree on anything these days, and would prefer to just yell at each other instead, whether in person or on your Facebook community group. Look no further than Central Bucks, where some guy picked up a chair at a school board meeting like he was Hulk Hogan.

We’ll keep an eye on progress here. The girls go back to the township in April and if you’d like to help out in the meantime, check out that fundraiser.