In this issue:
| Special Meeting re PA |
Member Integrity |
| Member Handbook |
Outdoor Play at Alpine |
| Club DUPR Play Changes |
Notice to Summer Volunteers |
| Incident Report - Injuries |
Thanks to the Rotary Club |
| Membership Breakdown by Rating |
|
Special Meeting re Pickleball Alberta
There will be a general society meeting of the SAPC membership to discuss and vote on the matter of the SAPC affiliation with Pickleball Alberta. Watch for an email invitation to attend and register for this general meeting to be held July 30th at Red Willow Church in St. Albert.
Member Integrity
Dear members,
SAPC is particularly protective of the quality of play offered to members -- a quality that depends on the integrity of its rating regime. We know many members find fair play, with members of similar skills, to be the most enjoyable play around, and we know that protecting that play is vital to the sustainment and growth of our membership levels. It matters to you, so it matters to your Board and all the volunteers who make our club work. Recently DUPR has shared with the Board that a case has been found of a DUPR member participating in the use of fake DUPR accounts and the entry or validation of fake games into DUPR. The fake games elevated this member's DUPR rating. In this regard, the Board wishes to remind our members that, should anyone take such unethical actions, that are counter to SAPC values and damages the Club’s reputation and integrity, they will face severe consequences.
Your SAPC Board
Member Handbook
Special thanks to Dave Klein for updating a document he created for the Club - The Member Handbook. The updated handbook is on the website and can be viewed by clicking here.
It is an excellent handbook (one that we have shared with many clubs across Canada). When other clubs were checking out our website they asked for permission to use this handbook.
Excerpt from the handbook:
“Whether you are a new or long-time member of the SAPC, this Handbook is important for you to read. It contains information that you will be expected to know when playing pickleball not just in St. Albert, but at one of the many clubs across Alberta, North America, and the world. The purpose of this document is to teach you how to play pickleball safely, smartly, and respectfully as an SAPC member. Pickleball is a fun sport, but only when everyone on the court understands and follows the basic “rules of the road”, which keep everyone safe and help keep the game running smoothly. Please let this Member Handbook guide your behaviour when playing not just at our Club, but at other clubs as well."
Outdoor Play at Alpine
Round Robin - Please Show up ON TIME!
Effective July 4, 2024:
- Players MUST be at the court AND checked in (name printed on sign up sheet) by 5 minutes BEFORE the scheduled play start time.
Note: No member may sign another member in expecting them to show up; every member must sign in personally when arriving at the court at least 5 minutes before play is scheduled to begin
- The captain may immediately post a round robin sheet based on the number of players checked in 5 minutes before the scheduled play start time.
- Once the Round Robin sheet is posted, the captain WILL NOT change that sheet. Late comers WILL NOT be accommodated.
Note: This new process responds to complaints regarding the number of late comers and the frequent changes to the round robin play sheet that were previously needed to accommodate such late comers.
Attendance at Alpine
April attendance 8 days only - one rain day:
Rating Level Attendees
2.5 44
3.0 34
3.5 80
3.5+ 43
4.0+ 68
ALL 24
70+ 6
Partner Play 68
Total attendance - 367
May attendance (6 rain days):
Rating Level Attendees
2.5 171
3.0 86
3.5 315
3.5+ 262
4.0+ 289
League Play 260
Partner Play 92
ALL 95
70+ 38
3.0 DUPR 51
3.5 DUPR 161
Total Attendance 1,820
June Attendance:
Rating Level Attendees
2.5 254
3.0 133
3.5 377
3.5+ 199
4.0+ 228
ALL 177
70+ 37
League Play 240
Partner Play 160
3.0 DUPR 82
3.5 DUPR 116
Total Attendance 2,003
Port-a-Potty
If there is a problem with the port-a-potty anyone can call (780) 459-1557 and report the issue.
Club DUPR Play Changes
Our Club strives to maximize all the court time available to us - to give our members maximum play opportunities. This trial change to our DUPR play is intended to do just that. Specifically, we want to:
- ensure all spots in our DUPR play are full, and
- ensure there is a healthy wait list, as we often get a lot of cancellations (sometimes as many as 12!) on game day, for various reasons
Currently, our 3.5 DUPR play is limited to members with a club rating of 3.5, and our 3.0 DUPR play is limited to those with a 3.0 club rating. Members of each level get an email invitation when the registration opens up the week before play.
For future sessions of the Wednesday evening 3.5 DUPR play, if there are any openings not yet filled, or if the wait list has less than 8 members on it, we will issue an email registration invitation (typically on Monday morning) to those with a 4.0 club rating or a 3.0 club rating. We will alternate this, so that in one week, only the 4.0`s are invited and at the next opportunity, only the 3.0`s are invited.
Players are assigned to a court based on their DUPR rating, so you almost always get close games with players of similar skills. If a player initially has no current DUPR rating, we do our best to place them on a court appropriate to their skill, if we know what that is.
Please see our Wednesday evening 3.5 event descriptions in the 3.5 calendar for other registration details, to prepare for this opportunity.
If this works out for the 3.5 level, the captains of the 3.0 DUPR Play may elect to also try this out at that level as well. Watch for future emails on this opportunity.
Summer Volunteers
Notice to ALL Summer Volunteers - Save the date!!
All summer volunteers, please keep August 10th free as that is when we will be celebrating our thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to the Club.
Stay tuned for more details!
Incident Report - Player Injuries
When a person falls or gets injured on the courts in a club play session or event captains must fill out a form. Regardless of how serious or minor the injury is, it is important to have a record as in some cases the injury at the time seemed minor but problems occurred later. Having the form filled out is important in case an insurance claim has to be filled in to Pickleball Canada. We thank all members and captains for following this important policy.
Rotary Club
Special thanks to our local Rotary Club for donating a cheque of $740 to pay for the celebration windup for the Special Olympics on July 23rd.
It was awesome to receive this generous gift - thank you so much St. Albert Rotary Club!!
Membership Breakdown by Rating Level
Almost 1,000 members have renewed their memberships for 2024. The breakdown of those members at the end of June (with comparative figures for May) are as follows:
May June (Current) Inc/(Dec)
No Rating 327 317 (10)
2.5 Rating 34 39 5
3.0 Rating 141 151 10
3.5 Rating 247 254 7
4.0 Rating 184 187 3
4.5+ Rating 43 46 3
Total Members 976 994 18
Until next time keep your paddle up!