Photo by Joshua Yospyn.

When the National Park Service made changes to how players could use the 11 courts that line Parkway Drive near the Lincoln Memorial earlier this year, longtime court users were quick to slam them. And with all the muster one would expect of disgruntled Washingtonians, they marshaled just about every resource at their disposal: flyers, petitions, a Facebook group, rallies, and many angry calls to NPS.

That flurry worked, and NPS announced a modified set of rules today.

Under the original changes, players would have to make a two-hour reservation and pay a $30 fee to use the courts, which had been free and first come, first serve since they were built in 1980. While some players were dismayed about the fee, others were much more concerned about how the reservation system would impact a long tradition of pick-up games. They pointed out that leagues reserved nearly all of the prime after-work weekday time slots months in advance, leaving no room for anyone else.

Surprised at the reaction, NPS quickly put a halt to the newly declared rules and called for another public comment period (the previous one was just nine days and players said they weren’t adequately notified). After receiving nearly 500 comments, the park service announced some tweaks today.

Among the changes, reservations can’t be made more than a week ahead of time and one individual can’t reserve more than four courts per day. Four courts will also be kept open as “challenge courts” that can be used on a first come, first serve basis for pick-up games.

The $30 fee to reserve a court, however, stays.

NPS says it is necessary for to maintain the facilities (in years past, the players themselves have often filled in sand and done other work on neglected courts) and staffers are in the process of improving nets, poles, sand, and drainage. During the upcoming winter, they plan to add hooks to make it possible to adjust the nets’ height for women’s play. The courts will also be closed between November and March for maintenance.

“These changes come after considerable input from and dialogue with the volleyball community during the civic engagement process,” said National Mall and Memorial Parks Acting Superintendent Karen Cucurullo. “We are confident these adjustments to the reservation procedures will provide for more equitable use of the court space for league and open play alike.” Park service officials will also head down to the courts on June 23 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. to answer questions.

Starting July 6, reservations can be made under the new system at recreation.gov.

Summary of Volleyball Comments Received