Submitted by admin on Wed, 08/07/2019 - 10:36
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Submitted by Marissa Evans
In attendance were Joyce Noland, Nancy Racki, Linda Blake, Diane Voss, Mo Garcia, George Carr, Nelson Spitnela, mike Beckner, Leslie McCowan, Ron Nelson,Nancy Vermilye, Chuck Buchanan,Rob Bromley, Nelson Swartzentruber, Pat Smith, Dick Diemar, Grace Vance, Faith Loeb and Marissa Evans.
Joyce called the meeting to order.
Introduction of new player reps
Joyce thanked the player reps finishing their commitment and introduced the new player reps. We went around the room and introduced ourselves.
Tournament update
- We still need volunteers. We mainly need more court monitors.
- Nelson reported that all levels of mixed doubles are closed but we have established a waiting list.
- Grace asked about the maximum number of participants. Nelson replied 185-200 and Mo added we could do a little more than that but if we get too many it becomes a problem with space and scheduling.
- We have 67 signed up for the social so far (total of 200 signed up for the tournament but that includes people going to the social and not competing).
- Chuck said that Kim Sharpton has agreed to be the emcee and it should be a fantastic social. He added that members of Houndslake will be in attendance. Houndslake is looking into expanding into Pickleball. The owner of the Inn has donated a 2-night stay (for 2) and a free round of golf (foursome) for the event.
- Joyce asked player reps to talk to their players and encourage them to volunteer. Linda added that she was scared last year to be a court monitor and after she did it she thought it was awesome, not a big deal, lots of fun. Ron added that there will be a training session for the court monitors so they feel more comfortable. Joyce said that we need to emphasize that court monitors do not have to make line calls.
- Mo added that the referees have already had their first training session and that David Hoel is coordinating.
Social on September 27th
- It will be at 5:30pm and we have the gym afterwards for playing time.
- We still need a couple of volunteers so if interested please call Barbara Burns.
- The question was asked about making it an “Invite a friend” social. And there was some discussion about the amount of room available. Joyce suggested that you can bring a friend but we are not going to make it an official call.
Gregg Park Round Robin on October 26th
- Joyce said that the survey on format preferences was all over the board so we have decided to rotate the formats. For this one, it will be that you do not sign up with a partner but men and women will be separate. Maximum number of players on each category is 12 men, 12 women. Everyone will get a chance to play with everyone.
- Faith asked about time. Joyce said it will be an all-day event probably 9am to 7:30pm. All volunteers will be trained and Grace suggested we video the court monitors' job so we can post it on the website so people who want to volunteer can make a more informed decision. It is more fun than work!
Rating on the website – new approach?
- Joyce stated that our current player designation low/med/high is mostly for court designation.
- Mo commented that there is a USPA rating System and they differentiate and it is similar to what we do and perhaps we need to change to their rating system. Tournaments record your rating level and the idea is that perhaps it is time to follow the USPA rating views.
- The rating service will still remain in place here in Aiken.
- Nancy V pointed out that the percentage of players that do tournaments is low in our group.
- Joyce said that we still need the rating committee because we still use it for court designation.
- Ron asked should we change our rating and use the USPA 4 digit rating? We put it to a vote and we have decided to keep our rating as is for now.
- Additional discussion on whether we should open the service to other players outside Aiken. Should we charge for the service to outside players? Should we provide it only to our members? Nancy V suggested not to make any issues until it becomes a problem and Diane confirmed that it is not at the moment.
- There was more discussion on court designation at OW. Joyce said it is set that lower levels play at the front of Gym 2 and upper levels at the back. Nancy added that evening play is usually pretty busy but also mostly 3.5 and up. In September, we only have two nights available. Gregg Park has every Wednesday night available.
How to define active players?
- A list of players that have not played since January of this year was handed out to the player reps and Joyce asked them to please go thru the list and determine if they are active or not. If they are inactive, they do not get deleted but moved to the inactive list so they don't the regular volume of emails the active players get.
- Joyce also pointed out that Silver Sneakers players do not show in our regular Pickleball list so please as you go over it make sure to point out which of them is an active player.
Status of donations – send out a new request?
We talked about the status of the donations and encouraged everyone to participate. As of Monday Aug 5th, we have collected $360. A new email request will be sent regarding the $5 donation. Linda Blake composed a beautiful email to the beginners group and we are using that letter to send to everyone.
First Presbyterian this fall/winter
- Joyce said they are willing to work with us but it is important that if we schedule we need to show up.
- Nancy and Chuck said we needed more evening playing time options.
Input from player reps and other discussion
- Joyce recommended we look into having a Super Senior Round Robin (65 and up). All of us agreed that it was worth a try.
- Friday $5 supervised drills are a huge success. August is already booked! Mo has offered to donate his cut of the proceeds to go to Aiken Pickleball.
- There was additional discussion regarding clinics, pre-payment and availability. Clinics must be prepaid, 2 or more players to make and you must call the front desk at OW for availability.
- Diane was asked about list of requirements for rating and she is sending her lists to George Carr to post on the website.
- Mo talked about Eustis Park and paddle donation. Mo went by and gave Stephanie 6 loaner paddles. Stephanie was going to Helping Hands to coordinate an art competition to come up with designs for the Eustis paddles. The paddles will include the artwork, Lessie Price's name, the city and Eustis Park. The plan is to have artwork ready by August 15th and planning on 12 paddles to be donated.
- Joyce said to the new player reps that we needed photos and she would help them with getting accounts to reserve courts.
- Faith commented on court designation. Morning play is better for beginners because if there are not enough players, they can ask upper level players and the ones interested in teaching can come over and work with beginners. Evening play is more loosely defined so not as clear cut for beginners.
Next Meeting will not be the first Monday in Sept due to Labor Day. Time to be determined.