Look up “pickleball” and “passion” on the internet and the results will fill the computer screen, as this “anyone-can-play” sport doesn’t just have enthusiasts and eager participants, its ranks are increasingly populated by fervent disciples and followers.

That’s why the pickleballers’ protests at last week’s town meeting on the Ocean Pines Association’s proposed budget and its increase in pickleball dues was not that surprising.

Any sport that gains an average of 10.5 million players a year over three years (from 5 million players to 36.5 million as of 2023, according to the Association of Pickleball Professionals), is going to have a large contingent of vocal advocates.

Still, the issue of dues increases, as proposed by OPA General Manager John Viola, needs to be looked at from a purely financial perspective.

While it may seem unfair to impose higher costs on the one racket sport that operates in the black, it makes more financial sense to draw income from a growing sport than it does from a declining one.

Obviously, pickleball fans feel they are being penalized — and they are in a way — but the logic applied here is that the most popular pursuit can generate the most money at less cost per individual player than the least popular pastime over the long term.

Producing the same revenue by raising fees for tennis, which apparently is losing money, would require a much heftier per-player charge, and that could spur a more rapid decline in participants and another round of raising fees.

Another way to look at the situation would be to envision establishing a toll road to help support the local streets program.  Clearly, the place to set up the toll booth would on the road that carries the highest traffic, rather than on the one that sees far less activity.

This approach won’t make the pickleball crowd happy, but it’s the only one that makes dollars and cents for racket sports overall.