City OK's dodgeball and bike polo on tennis courts

Tennis players, move over.

For the next 18 months, dodgeball and bike polo will be able to share the tennis courts at Cal Anderson and Judkins parks, after the Seattle Parks Board recommended a pilot program to allow all three sports on the courts.

Street hockey and in-line skating were not approved as part of the mix.

Parks spokeswoman Joelle Hammerstad said Superintendent Christopher Williams agreed with the recommendation, made Thursday night. She said the program will start immediately.

The courts - in Capitol Hill and the Central District - will be shared on a drop-in basis. "So whoever is there using the court gets to use it," Hammerstad said. "We're not scheduling them."

The decision followed months of study, in which dodgeball and bike polo players lobbied the city to officially use "low use" tennis courts.

Dodgeball has been a tradition at the Cal Anderson courts for years, despite lack of official approval. The city had originally tried to accommodate dodgeball players with a suggested indoor court, but that proved to be little fun.