Pickleball players on the recently opened public courts at Fox Chapel’s McCahill Park have some fair-play rules to follow.

Regulations include no reservations and no saving courts, which are available on a first-come-first-served basis. If other players are waiting, games should end at 11 points (waiving the customary rule of winning by two points).

Park Commission Chairman Wes Posvar said taking reservations would require a recordkeeping system and other steps that are too troublesome at this point.

“That involves a whole level of supervision and enforcement that we rather want to avoid if we could,” Posvar said. “The honor system should work well, we hope.”

Players are expected to finish their game and yield the court. People enter the queue for play by placing their paddles in a rack outside the court.

Wheeled recreational devices such as roller blades, roller skates, skateboards, hover boards, scooters and bicycles are prohibited from the playing area, as are those devices are likely to damage the surface.

Two courts were built exclusively for pickleball. The adjacent space is multipurpose, available for basketball or pickleball, with room for two pickleball courts.

The rules for the multipurpose space are similar. Basketball players can play when a pickleball game ends, and vice versa. If other players are waiting, a basketball game should end at 11 points.

Council approved the rules proposed by the park commission on June 16.

Council president Andrew Bennett said the regulations were fair, though the borough reserves the right to make changes as necessary.

Rules are available for review on the borough website and at the borough office, 401 Fox Chapel Road.

Fox Chapel Day on June 14 became the de facto opening of the courts, which were part of a major park renovation.

The $820,000 project began last fall and still had a few punch-list items to address after the community event.

Items included adding soil for more plants at the retention pond and other stormwater management efforts.

“People were out there playing basketball (and pickleball) before we officially opened the courts,” Posvar said. “The public has accepted it immediately, which is great.”

About 1,500 trees, shrubs and other perennials were planted in the park earlier this year as part of a partnership with Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

The courts were heavily used by several groups on June 18.

Among them were Gina Fitzsimmons, 18, of O’Hara, Wyatt Muller, 18, of Fox Chapel and Caleb Adams, 18, of O’Hara.

All three had graduated from Fox Chapel Area High School earlier that month.

Adams said he was having “the time of my life” playing ball with his friends. All three said their families plan on playing later this summer.

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