In this issue:
| Membership Renewals/Pricing |
Transition to Indoor Play |
| DUPR Update |
Membership Breakdown by Rating |
Membership Renewals/Pricing
2024 memberships are now on sale (as of October 17, 2023) and will expire on December 31, 2024.
Fee Summary for 2024:
You will first pay $25 and a small processing fee to join Pickleball Canada and Pickleball Alberta, then adults will pay $52.38 ($55 with GST) to join SAPC for the 2024 membership year. Youth members have a reduced SAPC fee of $12.38 ($13 with GST).
Please note that our annual fee is non-refundable.
Transition to Indoor Play
As you have been previously been advised by e-mail, we are transitioning to indoor play and our school venues are now open. As such, It is important to reiterate some recent messaging in order to refresh your memory and to avoid the questions that inevitably arise at this time of year as we transition from outdoor to indoor play.
Alpine Nets Coming Down
The Alpine nets will be coming down next week. Our equipment will be placed in storage on Monday, October 23rd at 10:00am. While the nets remain up members are welcome to play outside while the weather permits.
Please contact Wally Peltonen if you can help on Monday - just text Wally at (780) 381-8286; the more hands to help the easier the work!
Membership Cards, Etc.
A reminder to everyone to bring their SAPC membership card to all our sessions and events. The card can be printed or displayed on a member's smartphone and will indicate the member's date of membership and current rating level. This is particularly important for new members and members who have recently achieved a new SAPC rating level. This becomes important for all members come January or February at which time everyone needs to provide proof of their 2023 membership renewal. As noted in previous Newsletters, don't forget to bring your stickers (see more about stickers below). You will also need a pair of clean, indoor athletic shoes for your indoor play. Finally, keep yourself refreshed by bringing a water bottle or two (no other beverages are permitted at our indoor venues).
Calendars
Did you know that there are calendars which show all play sessions that pertain to each level of play? You will find all of our Calendars on the SAPC website. For example if you are at the 3.5 level, just click on that Calendar (Rated 3.5 Calendar under the heading "Calendar by Rating and Training"), and you will only see the sessions that you are eligible to play in. For new members especially, please note that the school venues are drop in sessions requiring 1 sticker and the Red Willow sessions are for pre-registered play requiring 2 stickers. If you don't have stickers, they can be ordered from the online "Store" on the website by clicking on this link after signing in.
Please note that these Calendars do change from time to time, so it is best practice to verify the date, time and venue of your session before attending by quickly going to the appropriate website Calendar.
Arrive on Time
It is important for members to be at the school venues on time as we are not to disturb the school caretakers by ringing the school bell. Instead, the captain will assign someone to "man the door" at the start of the session. No one will be allowed to enter the school once ten minutes has passed beyond the scheduled start time for each session.
Play Type
Depending on the numbers of members playing at the school venues, the play type may be paddle play or round robin as determined by the play session captain.
School Venues
Entry to the schools is by the main door. Members will place outdoor shoes just inside the foyer. All other belongings are to brought inside the gym. There is no leaving the school gyms to wander through the schools at any time. Washrooms are accessible within all of the gyms except for Holy Family.
Reserved Play at Red Willow
Red Willow registered events will generally open the Friday before at 12:00:01 am (in case you're wondering, this is just after midnight at the end of Thursday).
Please note that registration play and attendance is capped at 12 members - 11 members who register and 1 spot for the session captain. Registered play at Red Willow costs 2 stickers. Members should not hesitate to go on the waitlist if the session is full; there are often cancellations. If there is a cancellation, the first person on the waiting list will receive an email - please respond quickly so that the open position can be filled if you are no longer interested or available.
You will note that there are a few days where there is All Play as well as play for various rating levels. Please only register for one session per day. If you see that a session is not full the night before the event, then you may feel free to register for another session on that same day - it is only under these circumstances that you would be able to participate in 2 play sessions on the same day.
Please help out the captains who are starting the first and last sessions of the day. Kindly, assist in the set up and taking down the nets, putting away the chairs, etc.
You may now enter the Red Willow foyer a few minutes early and wait for your session to begin. This will allow you to remove your shoes and otherwise prepare for your session. However, please stay to the side in the foyer allowing the group that is leaving space to collect their coats/shoes and to easily leave the venue. Do not enter the church gym until everyone in the previous session has left. Members should not leave any valuables in the foyer as the Church and Club will not be responsible for loss nor theft.
No one is permitted to enter Red Willow for the first session until 8:45am. - this is a strict start time. As such, we ask that if you are registered for the first session of the day that you please be on time in order to help get the session started on time. We will plan on each session having cleared the gym a few minutes before the end time of the session; that will allow the gym to be cleared of players before the next group goes in.
Visitors
There will be no visitors accepted for indoor play as space is limited and with over 850+ members we need the space for the members.
DUPR rating sessions
DUPR rating clinics will be held through out the winter months.
Level One Sports Venue - more information will be coming about this venue so stay tuned.
DUPR Update
The Rating Committee established by the SAPC Board met on October 12, 2023 to consider our recent recent learnings with DUPR and to consider changes in our ratings protocols and DUPR play. Outlined below are the key learnings/outcomes from that meeting.
General Comments
First of all, it is important to recognize that DUPR is not perfect; nor is any other rating mechanism. Recent changes to DUPR rating algorithms are not helpful in terms of creating confidence in the DUPR system. That being said, however, it is the Club's determination that DUPR remains the most cost effective and viable basis for our Club ratings at least for now. We are also hopeful that the expertise DUPR has, and the efforts DUPR staff are making will result in an even better rating system solution over time.
We also recognize some members' interests in skills-based improvement and feedback which is not available under the DUPR system as compared to an independent certified rating evaluation. To this end, the Club will continue to offer some mentoring sessions and acknowledges that the Edmonton region continues to have multiple alternatives for those wanting more intensive mentoring and coaching. We wish we could do more now, within our club, but we think we're doing well in this area given the resources (volunteers and venues) we currently have available to us.
Future DUPR Sessions and Ratings Related Decisions/Changes:
1. Our Club may periodically offer two types of DUPR events this indoor season, depending on: (i) demand, (ii) sufficient volunteers to run sessions and enter scores into DUPR, and (iii) venue availability. The two types of DUPR events are:
Demand for some of this play may be initially gauged by means of a survey. We also expect the frequency of these events will be low as we learn of member's interest (demand) and our volunteer capacity. Check our Calendars frequently to stay abreast of opportunities, and please volunteer as a captain if you want to see more of these events.
2. Effective November 1, we are removing one restriction to our "Aspiring To" events; specifically, members may now register for such events even if they already have 20 or more DUPR scored games. Please also note the following:
- These events will still be restricted to those with a particular rating. E.g., "Aspiring to 3.0" events will only be offered to those with no club rating or with a 2.5 club rating
- These events will be available on a "first registered basis"
- See each event description for more detail; event descriptions can be seen by clicking on an event in one of our play Calendars
3. We have simplified the process for having a DUPR or tournament rating recognized as a club rating:
- You can now apply anytime (not just on certain months and dates), and
- Effective October 14, 2023, you will now automatically get a rating under the following conditions - you play your 20th DUPR-rated game in a club-organized "Aspiring To" DUPR play rating session AND you did not previously have an SAPC Club Rating.
4. All existing club ratings continue to be grandfathered. There is no imminent change to this policy. This means that even if your current DUPR rating is above or below your current club rating, your Club rating will not be changed until and unless you ask for it to be changed.
5. To be clear, clause 3 and 4 above specifically means:
- If you play your 20th DUPR rated game in a Club organized "Aspiring to" session and you previously had a 2.5, 3.0, 3.5 or other Club Rating, we will not change your Club Rating until and unless you ask for it to be changed.
- If you play your 20th DUPR rated game in a Club organized "Aspiring to" session and you currently have NO Club Rating, you will automatically be given one based on your most recent DUPR rating, within a few days of playing that 20th game; there will be no exceptions in this regard.
- If you play your 20th DUPR rated game in another SAPC DUPR session (not an "Aspiring to" session) you will not have your rating adjusted until you ask for it to be changed.
- If you play your 20th DUPR rated game with other DUPR players, either on your own or at a non-SAPC event, you will not have your rating adjusted until you ask for it to be changed.
- To have your DUPR rating recognized as your Club Rating, at any time after your 20th DUPR game, you must ask for it to be changed.
For more info, see our updated content on these pages:
Membership Breakdown by Rating Level
We thought you might be interested in a breakdown of our ever-growing Club membership by Club Rating Level. If you are, please see that breakdown below:
September Oct (Current) Inc/(Dec)
No Rating 290 300 10
2.5 Rating 12 12 No Change
3.0 Rating 132 136 4
3.5 Rating 245 241 (4)
4.0 Rating 160 168 8
4.5+ Rating 19 20 1
Total Members 858 877 19
Until next time keep your paddle up!