In this issue:

3.5+ Mini Tournament/Barbecue	Members Tournament - June 10 & 11
Mentoring Sessions	Special Olympics
Outdoor Play	DUPR Rating Sessions
WhatsApp Groups	Condolences - Roger Lecuyer

3.5+ Mini Tournament/Barbecue Night - May 26th

We will be having our first "mini" fun tournament and barbecue night on May 26th.   The format will include the random assignment of partners for the evening.  Registration will open on Friday May 19th at 12:01 am which will be on the calendar on our website.  You will register individually as there will be a men's registration and a women's registration.

Space is very limited, but if it is full please sign up on waitlist as we might be able to accommodate more players.  Warm up and sign up will start at 5:30 pm with games starting at 6:00pm.  The cost is $10 per person and will include a barbecue after the games are done. 

Thanks Ken and Cassey and your helpers for organizing this mini tourmanent!

Members Tournament - June 10 & 11

Just a reminder to register for the members tournament being held on June 10/11.   We have lots of room for 2.5 players.  The tournament can be found on pickleballbrackets.com.  If you are unrated and do not know where you should play, please contact Ken Dentzien at kendentzien@gmail.com and he will help guide you.  This is a very fun weekend and a great opportunity to meet other members of our Club.

Mentoring Sessions

Mentoring sessions  will begin on Saturdays starting on June 3rd.  Check the calendar for details of when different levels will be available.  Mentoring will cycle through 2.5 sessions, 3.0 sessions, 3.5 sessions and, finally, 4.0 sessions.

Sign up for these mentoring sessions will begin a week ahead on Friday at 12:01 (so it would open late Thursday/early Friday a full week before the session).  For example, registration for the June 3rd session would open just past midnight on May 25th, June 10th just past midnight on June 1st,  etc.  Thanks to Nicole Currie  and her team of mentors for their work in organizing and/or participating in these valuable mentoring sessions.

Special Olympics

Starting May 23rd and until August 1st, Special Olympics participants will be playing on courts 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 - 8:00 pm.  This means that 3.0+ Round Robin will have courts 1, 2, 3 and 4 on those evenings.

Special thanks to Gary Cheetham and his team of coaches for their role in making these arrangements and teaching pickleball to these Special Olympics participants in St Albert. 

Outdoor Play

Play is well underway at the Alpine outdoor courts and we thank all of our volunteer captains who make these Club scheduled sessions possible for all of our members.  Speaking of captains, we ask all members to remember to thank your captain before leaving the courts after each Club play session.

DUPR Rating Sessions

Special thanks to Jeanine Au and Karen Cabot for all of the hours they have spent arranging, organizing and attending the many DUPR rating sessions that the Club has facilitated.   Remember if you have received an initial rating or a new rating, you will need to have a new membership card available to show play captains your new rating level.   We would like to also thank all those members who have participated in these sessions including our seeded volunteers.  We also appreciate all of the feedback we have received and will continue to incorporate your many good ideas whenever possible into future sessions.

WhatsApp Groups

We have fielded many questions from members regarding how to join the  WhatsApp groups that we have created for each rating level.  If you are interested in joining one of these groups and are eligible, please visit the Social Media page on our website by clicking here and request to join the appropriate group.  Please also note that our Social Media Coordinator, Peter Sha, will be going through all of these groups very shortly to verify that members of these WhatsApp groups are active members of the Club and only belong to the WhatsApp group that aligns with their current Club rating.   Finally, you should note that it is not a requirement to join these groups, but rather a privilege that helps you to communicate with members at your rating level to facilitate casual play arrangements, etc.

Condolences

The Club would like to let members know of the passing of Roger Lecuyer.  He and his wife Charmaine Ferstay were amongst the very early members of our Club and we would like to pass on our condolences on your behalf.

Until next time keep your paddle up!  

In this issue:

Final Call for Captains	Ratings Update
Outdoor Play	Referee Clinic
Upcoming Events / Play Sessions	Charity Tournament

Final Call for Captains

Thank you to those who have already volunteered to be captains.  However, In order to offer play sessions for a variety of levels we need to have even more captains volunteering.   We ask all members to consider stepping up in this role.  You may not be aware, but you don't need to captain every single session for a particular play type or time slot; in fact, especially for larger group sessions, we like to have a couple of co-captains where captaining responsibilities are shared.   Even if you would like to be an occasional or "spare" captain, you should attend one of the captains meetings which are scheduled for next week as follows:

April 18th  6:30 - 8:30 pm - Red Willow Church 

April 19th  9:00 - 11:00 am - Red Willow Church

If you are even considering being a captain this spring/summer, please attend and respond advising which of the two meetings you will be attending.

Ratings Update

As announced recently, the SAPC ratings freeze is over and a new Club ratings framework has been adopted.  In conjunction with these developments, the Club has updated the SAPC website to explain all of these changes.  We recommend that all members read through these webpages at your earliest convenience to familiarize yourself with our new policies and processes.  A couple of points to note based upon inquiries received:

1.  DUPR Sessions are underway and the first one was held successfully on April 9th.  Thanks to Eileen, Karen and Jeanine for organizing, James Porter for creating the round robin sheets for score recording and our seeded player volunteers for agreeing to participate in these sessions.  Eligible members aspiring to achieve 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 Club rating levels will receive e-mails announcing future DUPR Rating Sessions as they open for registration (one to two weeks before each session).

2.  If you are interested in attending a DUPR Rating Session, please do not register for one of these sessions until you have set up a DUPR profile.  Instructions on how to do so are included on the SAPC website under Skills Levels and Ratings and the subheading "SAPC DUPR Play FAQ" (you may access by clicking here). 

3.  With the ratings freeze now over we will accept IPTPA ratings up to the 3.0 level including those from Mike Dingwall at EVP.

Outdoor Play

We are all very excited about outdoor play including Club organized play at the Alpine outdoor courts.  Thanks to the team of volunteers who are cleaning those courts today - your time and effort is very much appreciated!

Club play at the Alpine courts will begin May 1st with the Outdoor Play Calendar to be posted on the SAPC website as early as next week.   

Referee Clinic

We will be hosting a referee clinic on Saturday,  May 13th which will run from 9:00 am to about 2:30 pm.  If you are interested in refereeing or just want to learn the rules, please contact Ken Dentzien for more information.

Upcoming Events

SAPC Fun Tournament June 10/11 - Members Only

Registration will open on Pickleballbrackets.com for this "Summer Kick-Off" tournament on April 20th at 6:00 pm.  Information regarding tournament is now up on pickleballbrackets website; click here if you are interested.  If you have not joined St. Albert Club on pickleballbrackets you must do so before you can register.  This tournament is for SAPC members only and will not affect any of your tournament or club ratings.  

Ladies Ladder League (3.5+)

We are once again having Ladies Ladder League for 3.5 plus ladies players.  These will be held on Monday nights starting at 6:00 pm.  The cost is $10 for the season and registration will open on pickleballbrackets.com on April 19th at 6:00 pm.  Click here if you are interested.

4.0 Plus Team League Play

We are planning on trying something different this season and will be having a 4.0 plus team league. Teams will consist of 10 players each and each week teams will play against other teams in men's, women's and mixed categories. Once we compile a list of all players wanting to join the league, we will have a draft to form the teams.  The cost of this will be $10 per player for the season. These sessions will take place on Thursday evenings.  Please email Ken at kendentzien@gmail.com if you would like to play in the league, be a captain for a team or be a spare for the league.

Charity Tournament

The 1st Annual Feisty Pickles Charity Tourney, in support of Breathing Space, Canada’s 1st home away from home for lung transplant patients and families, will be held from May 5 to 6th, 2023 at the EVP Centre, Edmonton, AB.  This two day charity event will be fun and competitive!

On Friday, May 5th come out and cheer on local Celebrities & Pickleball Pros; there will be music, free food & beverages plus a great auction.  Saturday, May 6th will be a fun & competitive round robin event - there will be swag bags for each participant, medals, auction, food trucks and more.   

Click here if you are interested.

Until next time keep your paddle up!    

In this issue:

Call for Captains	Lifting of the Ratings Freeze
DUPR Rating Sessions	Recruiting - Membership Director
Referee Clinic	Upcoming Tournaments

Call for Captains

In response to our call for captains for outdoor play at Alpine we have the following so far:

Type of Play          Number of Captains

    2.5 Level                              4

    3.0 Level                              3

    3.5 Level                            12

    4.0 Level                              5

      All Play                               4

  Partner Play                          1

Thank you to those who have already volunteered.  However, In order to offer play sessions for a variety of levels we need to have more captains volunteering.   We ask all members to consider stepping up in this role.  You may not be aware, but you don't need to captain every single session for a particular play type or time slot; in fact, especially for larger group sessions, we like to have a couple of co-captains where captaining responsibilities are shared.   Even if you would like to be an occasional or "spare" captain, you should attend one of the upcoming captains meetings which are scheduled as follows:

April 18th  6:30 - 8:30 pm - Red Willow Church 

April 19th  9:00 - 11:00 am - Red Willow Church

If you are even considering being a captain this spring/summer, please attend and respond advising which of the two meetings you will be attending.

Please also note that to date requests have been made for the following types of play sessions (in addition to the "traditional" play sessions the Club offers):

• paddle play. 

• round robin play, 

• sessions for 60+,

• sessions for 70+,

• sessions for playing up and down , example (2.5-3.0) (3.0-3.5) (3.5-4.0)

Lifting of the Ratings Freeze

As announced in a recent e-mail, the SAPC ratings freeze is over and a new Club ratings framework has been adopted.  In conjunction with these developments, the Club has updated the SAPC website to explain all of these changes.  We recommend that all members read through these webpages at your earliest convenience to familiarize yourself with our new policies and processes.

That being said, I will once again reference some key points and provide links to the aforementioned pages below.

Now that the freeze is over, how do I get a Club rating change?

Members will ask for a Club rating adjustment by emailing "rating@pickleballstalbert.ca" on or immediately before (within two days) each of the following dates: January 15, March 15, April 15, May 15, June 15, July 15, September 15 and November 15.  In your e-mail, specify whether you would like a Club rating adjustment based upon your CTPR, your IPTPA rating or your DUPR rating.  The requirements for achieving the rating levels of 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 vary and are specified on the Club's Skills Levels and Ratings webpage.  

The Club will review each request as follows:

1.  By the 20th day of the month, the Club will look up the member's CTPR or DUPR rating and games played or evaluate the IPTPA certification (in the case of IPTPA, submit your evaluation paperwork with your request).

2.  By the 26th, the Club will adjust the member's consolidated Club rating in their member profile if warranted.

Please note that some rating types are dynamic and can change even if a member is not playing.  In the case of CTPR and DUPR, your rating must be above the threshold of the desired Club level (eg. 3.500 DUPR for a 3.5 Club level) on the day/time we look it up.

It is important to note that SAPC members with current Club ratings will not have those ratings affected by this new framework, and that our adoption of the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR) will not affect those members in any way.  We are simply changing our policies and processes related to those members who want a Club rating or desire to achieve a higher Club rating.

DUPR Rating Sessions

As noted on the Club's website, a Club rating is required to play in SAPC organized play at and above the 3.0 level. One way of getting or advancing your Club rating is to play in sessions that will be recorded by the Club in DUPR; such sessions will provide you with some of the games needed to get a qualifying DUPR rating (20 games in total are required as noted above).

Each play session is open to SAPC members wanting to attain a DUPR rating at the level specified and possessing the skills likely to achieve that level. The Club will send out event invitations to selected groups of members who qualify to attend each particular event, based on members' current Club rating or lack thereof (ie not to the entire membership). 

We have no preset time when each session will be open for registration as we want to avoid the dreaded, automated "midnight" openings.  Rather, all eligible members will be notified at the same time, via e-mail, one to two weeks before each session -  so, if you are interested, keep on top of your Club e-mails!  Registration will take place on a first come, first served basis.

What will these DUPR play sessions run by the Club look like?

• Play will be round robin format, play to 11, or until time is called, whichever comes first.

• The fee will be 1, 2 or 3 stickers depending on the venue, payable at the event.   Stickers must be purchased in advance. (link to Store).

• Before registering for this event, you must have a DUPR profile (account) and you must join SAPC on DUPR. See the SAPC DUPR Play FAQ for more info.

• If you cannot attend after registering please cancel your registration at least two days in advance using the process specified at Reserved Play. If canceling within two days, email rating@pickleballstalbert.ca.  

• Players are asked to arrive 10 minutes before the start time to sign in, pay with stickers and warm up.

• We recommend that registrants read all SAPC webpages at and under the menu page Skill Levels and Ratings. Questions not already answered on those pages may be directed to rating@pickleballstalbert.ca.

• A session leader will oversee the recording of all game scores, and the Club will enter all game scores into DUPR within a week of play. DUPR will adjust players' DUPR ratings within a week of score entry. 

• There is no sticker charge for the volunteer, seeded players assigned by the Club to participate in these sessions; these players already have a DUPR rating, have a pre-reserved spot and do not need to register online (once again, the Club is so grateful to these members for volunteering in this capacity!).

• Please be patient as this is new to all of us; we will take learnings from each step and play session and modify our processes as required going forward - your feedback is welcome.

Vacancy - Membership & Volunteer Director

Please be advised that Carol Mah, our Membership & Volunteer Director recently resigned from her position.  The Board would like to acknowledge the many contributions Carol has made in this role over these past several years.

We are now recruiting for an individual to take over this role and Carol has graciously offered to assist in this transition.

The job description for a Club Director and the role of the Membership & Volunteer Director can be accessed by this link.

If any member has interest in this role, please send an e-mail to our President, Eileen, by clicking here and she will get back to you to discuss.

Referee Clinic

We will be hosting a referee clinic on Saturday,  May 13th which will run from 9:00 am to about 2:30 pm.  If you are interested in refereeing or just want to learn the rules, please contact Ken Dentzien for more information.

Upcoming Tournaments - Save the Date!

Please note the following dates for our 2023 Tournaments.  Please put these dates into your calendar and start to make your plans to attend as a participant or volunteer:

June 10 to 11 - Members Only, Fun Tournament

July 14 to 16 - Sanctioned Tournament

September 16 - Members Only, Fun Tournament

If you or someone you know would like to be a sponsor for one or all of these upcoming tournaments, please let Roger or Ken know.  You can find the opportunities available by clicking here.

Until next time keep your paddle up!    

In this issue:

New Board Members / Volunteers	Referee Training
New Equipment Coordinator	DUPR Player Volunteers Needed
Termination of Level 1 Sports

New Board Members / Volunteers

As you are aware, we held our Annual General Meeting last night.  We would like to thank all members who joined the Zoom meeting and contributed their time, questions and comments.

During our meeting a number of Board member changes and appointments to key volunteer positions were approved.   

First of all the new (current) Board of Directors is as follows:

President - Eileen McClean (incumbent)

Vice President - James Porter (incumbent)

Treasurer - Laura Spencer (formerly Ray Keroack)

Secretary - Jenna McCully (formerly Douwe Spriensma)

Communications Director - Roger Hutlet (incumbent)

Director of Membership and Volunteers - Carol Mah (incumbent)

Director at Large - Ken Dentzien (incumbent)

Director at Large - Douwe Spriensma (formerly Tamas Virag)

The Club would like to thank all the new incumbents for their willingness to stand for election and to volunteer their time and skills to the Club in these capacities.  As well, words cannot properly describe the gratitude of the Board for the contributions of Ray and Tamas in their Board of Director roles over the past many years.  Finally, we thank Ray for taking on the role of technology lead going forward, to Tamas for staying on the technology team and to Douwe for staying on as a Director at Large.

Other Key Positions Elections

Ombudsperson - Mike Bowen

Auditor - Lawrence Taylor

Nominating Committee Chair - Kevin McClean

Nominating Committee Members - Brenda Regehr, Cassey Campbell

The Board would like to thank Gerry Gartner and Jenna McCully for their past service and contributions to the Nominating Committee.

Referee Training

The Club would like members to be aware of the following referee training opportunities:

1.  Learning to Mark the Scoresheet

For those members who would like to learn how to mark a Pickleball scorecard properly, please attend the zoom meeting below (please note it is 5:00 pm Arizona time which is 6:00 pm our time).

The National Leader of Officiating is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting as follows:

Topic:  Referee Training Session 1 -  Marking the Scoresheet
Time:  Mar 13, 2023 5:00 PM (Arizona time)
Join Zoom Meeting:  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/7728339865
Meeting ID:  772 833 9865

2.   Referee Clinic

We will be hosting a referee clinic on May 13th.  If  you would like to become a referee or want to learn more about the rules, please email Ken Dentzien at kendentzien@gmail.com (as well as to register and get more information).  There is no cost to take the clinic.

New Equipment Coordinator

Mark Nadeau expressed interest in leaving the Equipment Coordinator role that he has held and performed admirably in for several years.   As such, the Club recruited Wally Peltonen to take on this role.  We would like to thank Wally for volunteering to take on this position and Mark for doing a great job in this capacity during his tenure (together with his may helpers).

DUPR Player Volunteers

In terms of the logistics for the upcoming DUPR Rating Clinics described in a recent e-mail to members, it makes sense to run the first clinic for those members who would like to achieve a 3.5 Club Rating (for clarity this would include unrated players and those who currently have 2.5 or 3.0 Club Ratings).  As noted in the DUPR implementation plan, this requires at least one and possibly two player volunteers who have a current DUPR (Non-Provisional) Rating between 3.25 and 3.75.  The Club is aware that several of our members fall into this category and would ask that they step forward and participate in some of the early DUPR Rating Clinics which are likely to take place indoors in early April.  If you meet the criteria and are willing to volunteer in this way, please e-mail our Rating Coordinator team (unless you have done so already).  

Level 1 Sports Termination

In case you have not heard, our contract with the Level 1 Sports venue has not been extended.  Unfortunately, our members did not sufficiently support this venue and without that support we can no longer offer this venue despite a variety of play options at this site.

Thanks to those who did attend the sessions at Level one and kept it open for over three months.

Until next time, keep your paddle up!    

New Ratings Framework - Recommendations

As noted in our last two Newsletters, the Club is making changes to the way member players are rated.  Specifically, the Club will be adopting a performance-based ratings system called the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR for short) to establish a Club rating for new members who want to be rated and existing members who wish to be re-rated.

As also noted previously, a Rating Committee was formed to learn more about DUPR and determine whether it may be a good fit for the Club.

Having conducted this research, the Rating Committee members unanimously recommended the adoption of the DUPR system in some form by virtue of the following resolution:

“The Rating Committee recommends that SAPC adopt a performance-based rating system called DUPR subject to the development of a suitable implementation plan and SAPC member feedback”

This resolution was approved by the SAPC Board on February 6^th.

The Board then tasked the Rating Committee with the development of a detailed implementation plan for a new ratings process regime.

First of all, we would like to provide some background and context based upon the research conducted by the Club and, more recently, the Rating Committee over the last few months:

Background

During our research the Rating Committee has learned the following with respect to DUPR:

1.      DUPR is a modified Elo algorithm that uses a player’s last 60 (doubles) eligible matches. While DUPR considers a player’s last 60 games (should they even have that many in the system), it takes considerably fewer matches for a DUPR Rating to be considered accurate and statistically meaningful.

2.      DUPR game scores are weighted differently based upon the nature of the game play that generated those scores.  Without getting too technical or detailed the game scores recorded are given progressively higher weight as follows:

a.      Casual, player-organized games (lowest)

b.      Club scheduled play sessions

c.       Tournaments/Competitive play (highest)

3.      If a player’s rating is not considered reliable (not enough match results) an asterisk will appear after the player’s score in DUPR and the Rating is considered “provisional”.

4.      For game scores to be meaningful, at least one of the players involved in a DUPR game must already have an established DUPR Rating (this creates a benchmark).

The Rating Committee is now prepared to make the following recommendations in terms of the implementation plan and seeks your feedback before ratification by the Board:

1.      Once the current freeze on ratings is lifted, the Club will modify its rating policy to accept the DUPR Rating of new members who have an established DUPR Rating that is based upon at least 20 matches of DUPR play.  Please see the DUPR ranges in point #4 below to understand how DUPR Ratings will translate to Club Ratings.

2.      Once the current freeze on ratings is lifted, the Club will modify its policy to accept the rating of new members who achieved a rating as evaluated by an IPTPA Certified Rating Specialist up to the 3.0 Rating Level (within the last 6 months).  Note: The Club will continue to accept Canadian Tournament Player Ratings (CTPR) provided the member has played at least 10 sanctioned games.

3.      The Club will offer DUPR Rating Clinics starting this spring to accommodate existing Club members who are unrated who want to be rated and members who want to be re-rated.  These clinics will involve round robin play for approximately two hours with all game scores being recorded after game completion (games will be timed to end after an established number of minutes).  Note: As long as one team has at least 6 points when the time period ends, the game score is considered valid for DUPR entry.

4.      Members will need to (a) download the DUPR application to their smart phone to create their profile and then, (b) register for these Rating Clinic sessions (same process as before), which will be monitored by Club volunteers; each play session must have at least one player volunteer with an established DUPR Rating that is within .25 of the rating participants are trying to achieve in the clinic.

For example, for a 3.0 DUPR Rating Clinic for unrated and 2.5 rated players, there would need to be at least one volunteer player participant with a non-provisional DUPR Rating between 2.75 and 3.25.

It is important to note that whatever DUPR Rating level is achieved by virtue of this process, that will become that member’s Club Rating Level (provided their profile shows a non-provisional rating based upon a minimum of 20 matches).  For further clarity, if by the end of a Rating Clinic (all results posted in DUPR) a member achieves a DUPR Rating

·       lower than 2.5 - their Club Rating will be 2.0

·       between 2.50 and 2.99 - their Club Rating will be 2.5

·       between 3.00 and 3.49 - their Club Rating will be 3.0

·       between 3.50 and 3.99 - their Club Rating will be 3.5

·       between 4.0 and 4.49 - their Club Rating will be 4.0

·       higher than 4.5 - their Club Rating will be 4.5+

5.     Depending upon member demand and court availability, it is likely that the first DUPR Rating Clinic will be for unrated and 2.5 players who wish to be rated/re-rated respectively (essentially a 3.0 Clinic).  It will likely take as many as 3 clinics for these players to establish a reliable DUPR Rating assuming they don’t already have DUPR recorded matches in their profile. 

6.     Another round of DUPR Rating Clinics will be for those members who wish to be re-rated to at least a 3.5 rating level and, finally, we will run Rating Clinics for those who wish to be re-rated to a 4.0 or 4.5+ level.

7.      In addition to achieving Club ratings by virtue of this process, on a      quarterly basis (dates to be established and published at a later date), the Club will move up members’ Club Rating Level under the following circumstances:

a.       The member requests that their Club Rating be increased based upon their current DUPR Rating (which is not “provisional”).

b.      The member has at least 20 matches recorded in their DUPR profile.

c.       The Club has or is provided with evidence that the member’s current DUPR Rating  is at least .50 higher than their current Club Rating.  For example, a member with a current Club Rating of 3.0 has a current DUPR Rating of 3.62 during one of the pre-established, quarterly review periods; in that scenario, the Club would raise the member’s Club Rating to 3.5 (if so requested by that member).

8.     If a member does not want to wait until one of the 4 quarterly time periods to be re-rated, they will need to participate in one of the aforementioned Club-scheduled DUPR Rating Clinics that is appropriate for the Rating Level they desire to achieve – their Club Rating will then depend on their DUPR Rating at the completion of that Clinic as noted above.

9.      Please note that for the foreseeable future, the Club will not unilaterally lower the Club Rating Level of a member under any circumstances.  Members may ask, however, that their Club Rating Level be lowered if they so desire for medical or other personal reasons. 

We do not anticipate that in 2023 there will be a lot of DUPR play sessions beyond the DUPR Rating Clinics that the Club will be offering as noted above.  That being said, if there is demand for additional DUPR sessions the Club may consider offering, for example, DUPR ladder sessions; as well, members may participate in tournaments which, eventually, will likely have their results reflected in DUPR (DUPR is currently working with Pickleball Brackets and developing their own tournament software capabilities to facilitate this process).

The Club appreciates your patience as we work through this process of integrating DUPR into our member ratings regime.  We would appreciate your feedback recognizing that circumstances may change over time, and we may learn things that cause us to alter the rating framework laid out in this correspondence.  Please send any questions, comments or concerns via e-mail to the Communications Director by February 28^th.  The feedback will be summarized, consolidated and put before the Rating Committee for consideration and potential changes before seeking approval for the implementation plan by the SAPC Board.

Until Next Time Keep Your Paddle up!    

In this issue:

Rating Process Changes	Annual General Meeting
Level 1 Sports - Play Options	Club Tournaments - Save the Dates
Lung Association Tournament

Changes to Player Rating Processes

As noted in our January 30^th Newsletter, the Club is considering changes to the way member players are rated.  Specifically, the Club is considering adopting a performance-based ratings system called the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR for short) to establish a Club rating for new members who want to be rated and existing members who wish to be re-rated.

As also noted in that Newsletter, a Rating Committee was formed to learn more about DUPR and determine whether it may be a good fit for the Club.

The Club has reached out to DUPR representatives, created a Club DUPR account and become familiar with how this software works.  In addition, the Club did a trial run using DUPR for 4.0 players playing at the Level 1 Sports venue earlier this winter.

Here are some of the findings based upon this research:

Advantages of DUPR and Performance-Based Ratings

• Performance based rating systems like DUPR determine a player’s score by assessing the actual, validated game scores entered by (or on behalf of) each player.  The accuracy of the score is enhanced as more games are entered, but the score is more objective than the scoring used by human performance evaluators.

• As it is more objective, a performance-based rating system is likely to result in fewer claims that the result is “unfair” or inappropriate.

• It can be more economical to run a performance-based rating system than a human-evaluated rating clinic. 

• The rating process may be less stressful given that you don’t have the feeling that “someone is watching you” – you simply need to play pickleball and the rating result flows from your play.

Disadvantages

• Members must register with another IT system and learn how to use it (it should be noted, however, that registration is easy and takes only minutes).

• The Club must manage and maintain another IT system.

• In a performance-based rating, players won’t get an assessment of    each of their skills, so they won’t receive specific guidance regarding  the skills they need to work on in order to achieve a higher rating.

• Players may alter their play during DUPR recorded sessions potentially resulting in less fun for those on court. 

Having conducted this research, the Rating Committee members unanimously  recommended the adoption of the DUPR system in some form, given the obvious benefits to the Club (which outweigh the disadvantages in their opinion), by virtue of the following resolution:

“The Rating Committee recommends that SAPC adopt a performance-based rating system called DUPR subject to the development of a suitable implementation plan and SAPC member feedback”

The SAPC Board accepted this Rating Committee recommendation at their regular monthly meeting on February 6^th.

The Board has now tasked the Rating Committee with the development of a detailed implementation plan for a new ratings process regime. Once completed, elements of this implementation plan outlining key changes to the current ratings process regime will be shared with SAPC members for their feedback before ratification by the Board (which, time permitting, is tentatively scheduled for March 6^th).

Annual General Meeting

As members may or may not be aware, the SAPC Annual General Meeting is scheduled to take place next month on March  8, 2023.  Some of what takes place at the AGM is the election of Board members and other key positions.  You will be receiving notifications of how to register for and participate in this very important meeting.  Stay tuned!

Level 1 Sports Venue - More Play Options

Would you like to "rent a court" for a small group of members, family or friends?  

Details of these sessions have been added to the Level 1 Sports Calendar on the SAPC Website.  Please note that event details may evolve as we adapt to our members' take up of these great play opportunities.

You can book your court for next week starting this morning (Friday).  Talk to your friends and book your court now - it's a great price and you play on a surface that is easy on your body!

As noted in previous Newsletters, details are as follows:

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we have "Group Reserved Play" for each of the six courts.  

GROUP RESERVED PLAY - How does it work?

• A group may be four or more people.

• Only one person reserves the court.  The reserver must be a member.  Other group members may be non-members.

• A member may book up to 2 courts each day.

• A separate reservation must be made for each court.

• Fee is 10 stickers per court, payable upon arrival (that works out to $33.50/court)

• Stickers must be purchased in advance.  The club does not sell stickers at the facility.

• Reservations can be made through the Level 1 Sports Calendar (click here)

This "Group Reserved Play" or "Book-a-court" play is perfect for many classes or types of players - casual players, recreational players, "70-plus" players or unrated players who wish to play amongst themselves.  Of course, it is also suited to groups wanting competitive play, tournament prep, or court drills.  

Drop-In Play

Tournaments for 2023 - Save the Date!

Please note the following dates for our 2023 Tournaments.  Please put these dates into your calendar and start to make your plans to attend as a participant or volunteer:

June 10 to 11 - Members Only, Fun Tournament

July 14 to 16 - Sanctioned Tournament

September 16 - Members Only, Fun Tournament

If you or someone you know would like to be a sponsor for one or all of these upcoming tournaments, please let Roger or Ken know.  You can find the opportunities available by clicking here.

Lung Association Tournament

Speaking of tournaments, the Lung Association is holding a charitable pickleball tournament in support of Breathing Space, Canada’s 1^st home away from home for lung transplant patients and families.  Families in remote communities must travel to Edmonton, AB for a life saving transplant and this home will significantly ease the financial burden for the out of pocket expenses they must incur.   

Tournament Details are as follows:

Location:  EVP Centre, 9455 45 Avenue, Edmonton, AB

Friday MAY 5, 2023 | 6-10 PM

• Cheer on local celebrities and pickle ball pros
• There will be music, food live and silent auctions

Saturday, MAY 6, 2023 - ALL DAY

• Price: $70 Per Player (Includes Snacks, Beverages, Medals and lots of fun!)
• Round Robin Format
• Levels 2.5 - 4.0+
• Find more info at Info@ablung.ca or call 1-888-774-5864

Until next time, keep your paddle up!    

Player Rating Freeze

The St. Albert Pickleball Club hereby announces an immediate freeze on the acceptance of ratings from any raters or any club pending the ratings process review that is currently underway and the receipt of the recommendations of the Rating Committee created for this purpose.

There is a growing risk, if we accept a multitude of other evaluations, each with different thresholds and different evaluators, that the value and stability of our past and recent ratings will be diluted, diminished and devalued.  While we know our rating system must change, we hope to guide this change in a way that sees us moving to another system that gives consistent, stable results and, ideally, is even more objective and verifiable than our former system.  Accepting ratings from a variety of different evaluators is not likely to provide this stable, verifiable ratings regime.  We ask our members for continued patience while we examine our options in this regard.

The SAPC Board

Until next time, keep your paddle up!    

In this issue:

Rating Process Changes

Level 1 Sports - New Play Offerings

Changes to Player Rating Processes

As many members may be aware, the Club is seriously considering changes to the player rating process for members.  The first question you may ask is why are changes being considered?  First a little history...

The historical approach for the last several years has been to employ outside, third party raters to evaluate players skills and assign members to the rating levels established by the Club for member play.  We were very fortunate to be able to employ the services of Sean and Leslie from "In a Pickle" to serve this purpose.  You may recall that several months ago the Club solicited interest by members and the community at large to recruit additional raters.  That process did not result in any new, qualified/experienced raters that the Club felt they could approve.  In fact, we learned that there are actually very few certified raters in the region including the City of St. Albert.

So why make a change now?

• Leslie and Sean have expressed that they are no longer interested in running the traditional form of rating sessions for our Club and others in the region

• As noted above, there are very few, if any, qualified and experienced pickleball raters in the region as confirmed by our unsuccessful recruiting drive

• The historical rating process is subject to interpretations by members that the process is subjective and, although never substantiated, claims of bias have even been made on rare occasions (such unfounded claims obviously make it difficult to recruit new raters so a vicious cycle is created)

So while we and many other Clubs in North America have struggled with the process of how to rate and thereby group members for both fun and competitive play, a new trend is developing - the use of performance based rating systems to assign members to play groups.

Many members will have heard of these systems and, in particular, one called DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating).  DUPR is advertised as the most accurate and only global rating system in Pickleball.  Under this system, players (regardless of their age, gender, etc.) are rated on the same scale between 2.00 - 8.00 based solely on their match results.

In order to consider how the Club may use DUPR as a player rating system and implement this system into our member rating process, the Club has formed a Rating Committee.  The members of this Committee are as follows:

Club President - Eileen McClean

Club Vice President - James Porter

Club Treasurer - Ray Keroack

Communications Director - Roger Hutlet

Director at Large - Tamas Virag

Rating Coordinator - Karen Cabot

Rating Coordinator - Jeanine Au

This Rating Committee is meeting regularly to discuss Club ratings and DUPR with the mandate to make a recommendation to the SAPC Board regarding the potential use of DUPR in the Club's player rating process.

As progress is being made, members will be kept abreast of any new developments including the aforementioned recommendations to the Club Board.

The Club recently ran rating clinics under the old approach managed by Sean of In a Pickle.  That session will be our last rating clinic until we know the outcome of this review process and pending the recommendations that may flow from it.

So as not to cause and alarm nor anxiety amongst our membership, and to quell any rumors that may arise, please note that for the foreseeable future that any decisions made in this regard will only affect new members who wish to be rated and existing members who want to be assigned a higher Club rating.

We will keep you posted.  Once the recommendations of the Committee are finalized, these will be published in multiple forms of communication to the membership and, at that time, we will welcome your feedback.

Level 1 Sports Venue - New Play Offerings

Would you like to "rent a court" for a small group of members, family or friends?  Would you like to play at Level 1 Sports, but be able to decide at the last minute without having to pre-register or prepay?  If so, read on... 

Details of these sessions have been added to the Level 1 Sports Calendar on the SAPC Website.  Please note that event details may evolve as we adapt to our members' take up of these great play opportunities.

As noted in the previous Newsletters, details are as follows:

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we will have "Group Reserved Play" for each of the six courts.  How will this work?

GROUP RESERVED PLAY

• A group may be four or more people.

• Only one person reserves the court.  The reserver must be a member.  Other group members may be non-members.

• A member may book up to 2 courts each day.

• A separate reservation must be made for each court.

• Fee is 10 stickers per court, payable upon arrival (that works out to $33.50/court)

• Stickers must be purchased in advance.  The club does not sell stickers at the facility.

• The captain will assign specific courts to group leaders in a random fashion.

• Players can be any skill level(s).

• Reservations can be made through the Level 1 Sports Calendar (click here)

• Reservations open at Thursday midnight (12:01 am Friday) the week before the day of play with the first registrations opening this coming Friday, February 3rd.

• If all six courts are reserved, join the waitlist.

• If your group can't attend, please cancel your registration so those on the waitlist can be automatically registered.

This "Group Reserved" or "Book-a-court" play is perfect for many classes or types of players - casual players, recreational players, "70-plus" players or unrated players who wish to play amongst themselves.  Of course, it is also suited to groups wanting competitive play, tournament prep, or court drills.  

On Mondays and Thursdays, we'll have individual "Drop In" play for certain skill (rating) levels.   How will that work?  

DROP IN PLAY

• Cost will be two stickers per member.

• Guests sponsored by an attending member are allowed (for now at least) - the cost is three stickers.

• No advanced registration needed (that's what "Drop In" means).

• Thursdays will be for 3.0s and 3.5s only.

• Mondays will be for 3.5s and 4.0s only.

• No limits (at least initially) to the number of attendees - so everybody plays - but (typically) only with members of their skill level.

• The play session Captain may decide to play round robin or paddle play.

How will the courts be allocated between the two skill levels for drop in play?   The allocation will generally be based on the proportion of players  who are at each of the two levels.  For example:

Group Reserved Play AND Drop In Play

• No prepayment will be needed - you pay with stickers upon arrival.

• All play times are 10 am to 12 noon.

Until next time, keep your paddle up!    

In this issue:

Board Nominations Recruiting	Proof of Membership
Level 1 Sports - January Openings	Level 1 Sports - New Play Offerings
Stickers	Rating Requests

Board Nominations/Recruiting

As members may or may not be aware, the SAPC Annual General Meeting is scheduled to take place in about 3 months on March 8, 2023.  Some of what takes place at the AGM is the election of Board members and other key positions.  The Board currently consists of the following individuals (incumbents): 

President - Eileen McClean

Vice President - James Porter

Secretary - Douwe Spriensma

Treasurer - Ray Keroack

Director at Large, Web Manager - Tamas Virag, Edmonton Resident

Director at Large, Tournaments - Ken Dentzien

Director of Membership and Volunteers - Carol Mah

Director of Communications - Roger Hutlet

A number of the Board positions are up for re-election so interested individuals may apply for these positions as follows:

Treasurer, Secretary and Director at Large (one of the two Director at Large positions) Please Note: The 3 current incumbents have requested that they NOT let their names stand for re-election to these positions.

Non-Board roles that must also be elected at the AGM are:

Ombudsperson  Note: this position is currently held by Mike Bowen

Auditor  (If the auditor is a certified CPA, only one is needed, otherwise we need two)  Note: This position is currently held by Lawrence Taylor

Nominating Committee (3 persons)

If a member is interested in any of these positions, they should first read the Job Descriptions available on the SAPC website which can be accessed from this link.  

On the following web page you will find the Ombudsperson job description: 

https://www.pickleballstalbert.ca/resources/Documents/Policies-Rules/Operational%20-%20Ombudsperson.pdf

Please note that at our upcoming AGM we also will vote on a motion by Kevin McClean to increase the terms for the Ombudsperson, Auditor and the Nominating Committee to two years and that these terms will be staggered as warranted. 

Candidates seeking to put their names forward for one of these positions can contact any member of the nominating committee (see contact details below) with a short bio stating why they would like to be nominated for the position.  If more than one candidate applies for a position, a ballot will be held at the AGM.

Nominating Committee members currently include:

Kevin McClean at kmcclean@telus.net 

Gerry Gartner at gerrygartner@shaw.ca 

Jenna McCully at jmccully23@gmail.com 

A Nominating Committee report covering the candidates will be sent out to all members with the notice of the AGM in February, 2023.

Proof of Membership

Yes, it's a new year - HAPPY NEW YEAR pickleballers!   You know what that means - half of our members head to warmer weather down south, diets begin, gym memberships get utilized and, yes, you have to renew your SAPC membership!

Please be reminded that as of January 1, 2023 members must now be prepared to present their 2023 membership cards - digital or hard copy at SAPC play sessions.  Captains will be asking for this proof of membership prior to play sessions beginning and it is the member's responsibility to have this information available for presentation to the Captain or they will be denied play.

Level 1 Sports Venue - January Openings

Please note that we have two spots left in the 4.0+ series play that starts Tuesday, January 10th for which play is from 10 am to 12 noon.  The series is for four play sessions, one per week, every Tuesday up to and including January  31st.  

Note:  These sessions are booked and paid for in advance.  If you are interested, just click on a Series start date in the January page of the "Level 1 Sports Calendar" on our website for more details and to register.  If a session is full, we recommend you add your name to the Waitlist.

Level 1 Sports Venue - New Play Offerings

Would you like to "rent a court" for a small group of members, family or friends?  Would you like to play at Level 1 Sports, but be able to decide at the last minute without having to pre-register or prepay?  If so, read on because we will be offering both starting on February 6th.  

Details of these sessions have now been added to the Level 1 Sports Calendar on the SAPC Website.  Please note that event details may evolve as we adapt to our members' take up of these great play opportunities.

As noted in the December Newsletter, details are as follows:

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we will have "Group Reserved Play" for each of the six courts.  How will this work?

Group Reserved Play

• A group may be four or more people.

• Only one person reserves the court.  The reserver must be a member.  Other group members may be non-members.

• A member may book up to 2 courts each day.

• A separate reservation must be made for each court.

• Fee is 10 stickers per court, payable upon arrival (that works out to $33.50/court)

• Stickers must be purchased in advance.  The club does not sell stickers at the facility.

• The captain will assign specific courts to group leaders in a random fashion.

• Players can be any skill level(s).

• Reservations can be made through the Level 1 Sports Calendar (click here)

• Reservations open at Thursday midnight (12:01 am Friday) the week before the day of play.

• If all six courts are reserved, join the waitlist.

• If your group can't attend, please cancel your registration so those on the waitlist can be automatically registered.

This "Group Reserved" or "Book-a-court" play is perfect for many classes or types of players - casual players, recreational players, "70-plus" players or unrated players who wish to play amongst themselves.  Of course, it is also suited to groups wanting competitive play, tournament prep, or court drills.  So start thinking about a few people you'd like to play with - set your groups up in advance if you'd like.  Use the club website member directory and WhatsApp groups to send messages to other members to help set up and communicate with other members.

On Mondays and Thursdays, we'll have individual "Drop In" play for certain skill (rating) levels.   How will that work?  

Drop In Play

• Cost will be two stickers per member.

• Guests sponsored by an attending member are allowed (for now at least) - the cost is three stickers.

• No advanced registration needed (that's what "Drop In" means).

• Thursdays will be for 3.0s and 3.5s only.

• Mondays will be for 3.5s and 4.0s only.

• No limits (at least initially) to the number of attendees - so everybody plays - but (typically) only with members of their skill level.

• The play session Captain may decide to play round robin or paddle play.

How will the courts be allocated between the two skill levels for drop in play?   The allocation will generally be based on the proportion of players  who are at each of the two levels.  For example:

Group Reserved Play AND Drop In Play

• No prepayment will be needed - you pay with stickers upon arrival.

• All play times are 10 am to 12 noon.

Stickers

To simplify our ongoing accounting and our transition to a new accounting system, there will be a slight change to the way we charge for sticker card purchases.   Effective January 1st  we have included the delivery charge (which was 90 cents per order) into the base cost for the card itself.  For anyone ordering one card at a time, the total including GST will remain at a very affordable $67 for 20 stickers ($3.35/ea).

Once again, please be reminded to put your name and phone number on the back of your sticker sheets...we've had a few instances lately of members misplacing their stickers and your contact info makes it easier for us to get them back to their rightful owner.

Rating Requests

We would like to gather information regarding members' interest in being rated in order that we may plan to make future rating opportunities available.  As such, for anyone that wishes to be rated, please send an email to rating@pickleballstalbert.ca  - you should include your name, the level you wish to be rated at as well as any constraints to your availability for such rating clinic (eg. only available in evenings, currently out of country until April 1st, etc.).

Until next time, keep your paddle up!   

In this issue:

Mentoring	Indoor Play
Level 1 Sports - January Openings	Level 1 Sports - New Play Offerings
Pickleball Rule Changes	Message from the President

Mentoring

Mentoring sessions will begin in the New Year.   The dates are as follows:

Level 2.5/Unrated - January 14th and March 4th

Level 3.0 - February 4th and April 15th

These will take place at Bertha Kennedy at the 12:00 - 2:15 pm sessions.    While this will take away play sessions at the 2.5 level for 2 weeks, there will be an "All Play" session starting at 2:15 pm.  Many of our mentors play at the 9:00 am session at Bertha Kennedy, so this makes the transition for them much easier - they can simply flow from playing to mentoring. 

Please note that we will get back to mentoring higher rating levels when we return to outdoor play next spring.

Special thanks to our mentoring team for taking on these sessions in 2023 and to Rachel for setting this all up in the registration system.

Please note that there are only 12 spots for each session, but always sign up for the Waiting List as life happens and there are usually cancellations.  

Registration will open up the week before each session at the same time as the Red Willow registration opens up - that is Friday morning (Thursday immediately after midnight).   For example, the first session on January 14 will open on January 7.  Please note that the cost for each mentoring session is one (1) sticker.

Indoor Play

Proof of 2023 Membership

Please be reminded that as of January 1, 2023 members must have and be ready to present their 2023 membership cards - digital or hard copy.  Captains will be asking for this proof of membership prior to play sessions beginning and it is the member's responsibility to have this information available for presentation to the Captain or they will be denied play.

Stickers

Just a reminder to members to put their name and phone number on the back of their stickers...we've had a few instances lately of members misplacing their stickers and your contact info makes it easier for us to get them back to their rightful owner.

Level 1 Sports Venue - January Openings

Please note that Series Play continues at Level 1 Sports for January and we have some openings.  Each series gives you 4 two (2) hour play sessions - one per week for four weeks.  These sessions are booked and paid for in advance.  If you are interested, just click on a Series start date in the January page of the "Level 1 Sports Calendar" on our website for more details and to register.  If a session is full, we recommend you add your name to the Waitlist.

Level 1 Sports Venue - New Play Offerings

Would you like to "rent a court" for a small group of members, family or friends?  Would you like to play at Level 1 Sports, but be able to decide at the last minute without having to pre-register or prepay?  If so, read on because we will be offering both starting on February 6th.  

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we will have "Group Reserved Play" for each of the six courts.  How will this work?

Group Reserved Play

• A group may be four or more people.

• Only one person reserves the court.  The reserver must be a member.  Other group members may be non-members.

• A member may book up to 2 courts each day.

• A separate reservation must be made for each court.

• Fee is 10 stickers per court, payable upon arrival (that works out to $33.50/court)

• Stickers must be purchased in advance.  The club does not sell stickers at the facility.

• The captain will assign specific courts to group leaders in a random fashion.

• Players can be any skill level(s).

• Reservations can be made through the Level 1 Sports Calendar (click here)

• Reservations open at Thursday midnight (12:01 am Friday) the week before the day of play.

• If all six courts are reserved, join the waitlist.

• If your group can't attend, please cancel your registration so those on the waitlist can be automatically registered.

This "Group Reserved" or "Book-a-court" play is perfect for many classes or types of players - casual players, recreational players, "70-plus" players or unrated players who wish to play amongst themselves.  Of course, it is also suited to groups wanting competitive play, tournament prep, or court drills.  So start thinking about a few people you'd like to play with - set your groups up in advance if you'd like.  Use the club website member directory and WhatsApp groups to send messages to other members to help set up and communicate with other members.

On Mondays and Thursdays, we'll have individual "Drop In" play for certain skill (rating) levels.   How will that work?  

Drop In Play

• Cost will be two stickers per member.

• Guests sponsored by an attending member are allowed (for now at least) - the cost is three stickers.

• No advanced registration needed (that's what "Drop In" means).

• Thursdays will be for 3.0s and 3.5s only.

• Mondays will be for 3.5s and 4.0s only.

• No limits (at least initially) to the number of attendees - so everybody plays - but (typically) only with members of their skill level.

• The play session Captain may decide to play round robin or paddle play.

How will the courts be allocated between the two skill levels for drop in play?   The allocation will generally be based on the proportion of players  who are at each of the two levels.  For example:

Group Reserved Play AND Drop In Play

• No prepayment will be needed - you pay with stickers upon arrival.

• All play times are 10 am to 12 noon.

Watch your emails and read the specific event details when they are posted to the Level 1 Sports Calendar.  Event details may evolve as we adapt to our members' take up of these great play opportunities.

Pickleball Rule Changes

The Official Pickleball Rulebook is reviewed and, to the extent necessary, revised and updated every year, as pickleball rules continue to evolve as the sport evolves.  As a result, it is important to stay up-to-date on pickleball rules changes so that you know the right call on the pickleball court (especially if you plan to play a pickleball tournament).

If you are interested, please read click on the following link to learn about the 2023 calendar year rule changes:

https://thepickler.com/blogs/pickleball-blog/2023-pickleball-rule-changes

Message from the President

From Eileen:

As I reflect on the closing of another year I think about the countless hours our volunteers spend making this club work so well.  Thank you cannot be said enough times!

Thank you, thank you so much the hard working board members, to our captains especially those who go the extra mile in this cold weather to deliver sticker sheets, to our training and mentoring team, Nicole Currie for managing Red Willow and organizing all of the training and mentoring, our health and safety team, our tech team including our new registration people - Cherran Simpson and Rachel Peltonen, our social team, our equipment manager, rating co-ordinators, tournament team, Nela - our binder and paper forms organizer, the nominating committee and other volunteers - and thank you also to these many volunteers' spouses and partners who put up with the hours they spend on behalf of SAPC.

Merry Christmas and all the best for 2023!  May you find a new pickleball paddle under the tree!

Until next time, keep your paddle up!