Board Meeting Minutes 10/5/2020

In attendance were Joyce Noland, Linda Blake, George Carr, Ron Nelson, Marian Garcia, Stephanie Wolfe, Faith Loeb, Mo Garcia, Larry Howell, Leslie McCowen, Cheryl Breidenbach, and Marissa Evans.

Joyce called the meeting to order.  Only a few items to discuss.  Joyce introduced Cheryl Breidenbach as our new 4.0 player rep, she will be working with Marian Garcia. Welcome Cheryl to our leadership team.

Open Play

·       Seems to be going well at OW.

·        New expanded hours - Open play will be from 9-11am on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday on courts 1 and 3.  Courts 4 and 6 will remain reservations only. Courts 2 and 5 will remain closed.  There is also open play on Wednesday and Friday evenings from 6-845pm. 

·       THIS IS NOT DROP-IN PLAY!! You must sign up to make sure the number of players at each court remains within safe ranges.

 

Gregg Park

·       New requirements for masks when entering and exiting the facility.

·       There are five new players signed in at GP.  Larry said that that brings the total to eighty-one.

·       Several people have asked for extended hours for Saturday play and Joyce has contacted Seth. No response yet but will keep you posted. 

·       Joyce asked if there was a need for Open Play at Gregg Park and Larry said that there is no need at the moment. So, things are going to stay as they are for now.

New Player Clinics

·       Saturday, Oct 3^rd Mo and Megan had two sessions and it went well. We had six new players total.

·       The response numbers were good, so we have decided to keep the new player clinics on Saturday to accommodate for the people who work regular hours. The date for November has yet to be determined.

Results from the RR survey

·       There were 79 responses with a few duplicates – but a solid 70+ people voiced their opinions.  Here are the results:  Do you want a RR? 68% said yes – 32% said no.  25% voted for an outdoor 22% indoor the rest had no preference. 75% of the responses were players from Aiken. In the comment section there were some enthusiastic responses and some that said it is still too soon.

·       As we discussed this, the outcome of the Myrtle Beach Tournament was also discussed. The tournament was supposed to be held outdoors but was moved indoors due to weather conditions and there are some reports of Covid-19 exposure to some of our area players.  6-12 participants tested positive after the tournament.

·       There was a lengthy discussion at the meeting  and in light of this new information that happened after the survey, we are trying to figure out what is the safest and most responsible thing to do about an event.

·       We want everyone to get back into playing but we want to be safe at the same time.  We will keep you posted.

Player Reps input

·       Mo will send Faith the list of the new players which will include a relative rating to let Faith make a decision on where to place them. Faith said it is important to get them in contact with other players, so they get more involved including the new group from First Pres.

·       Cheryl –“I am totally impressed with the Aiken Pickleball organization. People are welcoming and friendly. I have never seen anything like this”

·       George said that we are getting a lot of hits on Facebook so there is a lot of Pickleball interest out there.

·       Linda asked about temperature checks at OW like they do at Gregg and Mo said they have the tools at OW, we need to ask them to be more consistent with it.  There is a thermometer at the desk at Odell for self-checking.

·       Ron said that there is a big change in the storage room. Extra equipment was removed by Mo and Ron and it looks a lot cleaner now. All the broken centerpieces were replaced.  If a net does breaks please contact Ron so it can be repaired.  There is a sign on the wall showing where to place any nets that need repair.

·       BIG NEWS !!! Little Mo is making a comeback. Check the website for details.  Signup is available. Little Mo sessions are being held at Smith Hazel on Mondays 10-11am and another one at 11am to 12.  Faith made a recommendation to add another one at OW at night. We will keep you posted.