Racquetball enthusiasts in Bath are irate after the Bath Area Family YMCA announced plans to close the only court remaining in the Midcoast and repurpose the space for youth and family programs.

The renovations will begin the week of April 21, according to YMCA Communications Director Andrew Francis. A couple of weeks ago, the YMCA sent a letter to the racquetball players and other members informing them of the renovations before sending a press release to the Bath community this week.

A rendering of what the repurposed racquetball court could look like after the renovations for a new multipurpose space for youth and families. Courtesy of Bath Area Family YMCA

“The [racquetball] court really serves as this tight-knit multigenerational community for many, many people, including a lot of senior citizens who consider the court as a lifeline for their exercise,” said racquetball player and Dresden resident Ryan Leighton.

The racquetballers wrote several letters to YMCA members expressing concern and disappointment about the plan. Leighton said the racquetball players are not against youth programing but want them to find ways to expand those programs that don’t involve removing the court.

The new, multipurpose youth and family space is expected to open in early May and serve as a dedicated afterschool hub for kids and teens to study, socialize and create art.

“It’s unfortunate that we have to look at repurposing this space,” Francis said. “If we had other alternatives, we definitely would’ve considered them and used them.”

The multipurpose space will provide STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and arts education programming, which the YMCA does not currently offer. It can also serve as a shared space for talks or evening support groups. The Bath YMCA felt it needed the resources now rather than waiting for the expanded child care center.

Leighton said the racquetball players held a tournament in late February where a little over 50 people showed up to play.

According to Leighton, the Bath YMCA  served as a community hub for dozens of players. The next closest racquetball courts are in Boothbay Harbor, Augusta and Portland.

Leighton is in his late 30s, and his mentor Richard Shea taught him to play racquetball. Shea has been playing the sport for three to four years and enjoys recruiting new players. In his letter to the Bath YMCA, Leighton suggests the sport is seeing a resurgence.

“In the last couple months, I had been part of an effort to reenergize the racquetball playing there,” Leighton said.

Francis said Bath YMCA has seen an increased demand for youth and family programing spaces, with around 60–70 kids visiting the building daily.

Racquetball players use the court at the Bath YMCA during the early-morning hours. Players that use the court are not happy with the recent announcement of its closure. Courtesy of Ryan Leighton

“From our perspective, we have many spaces and offerings for older active adults in our community in our Y and fewer spaces for youth in particular,” Francis said. The YMCA offered the racquetball players two free months of membership due to the disruption.

Leighton said he and the other racquetball players find the recent move egregious because they hadn’t received any warning of the Bath YMCA’s plans to shutter the court and felt there was no public discourse of other spaces that could meet the need for youth and family programs.

Bath resident and racquetball player Dick Hill said there are four 80-year-old players he meets up with every morning to exercise, and two 80-year-old players participated in the sport every week for the past 24 years the Bath YMCA has been open.

“The Y prides themselves as a place for providing inclusion and equity, but this decision disproportionally affects seniors and longtime members who have invested years in this space,” Leighton said.