Odell Weeks is back to using the main entrance for pickleball and the fitness center - both to enter and exit the building.
Face masks are still required
Aiken Pickleball News
The USA Pickleball Membership "Grace Period "has been eliminated. This is where, although the membership had expired, the member stayed in an "Active" status for an additional 30 days · Now, when the membership expires, the Membership is put in a "dropped" status, for non-payment of dues, when the membership actually expires.
This also means that the Ambassador designation is automatically removed, as always, when the membership has been placed into the "dropped" status. USAPA is adding a notice 60 day prior and will keep the 30 days prior, 3 days prior, and one at Expiration Date notice. More time on the front end to remind players their membership is about to expire.
Pickleball’s momentum as one of the fastest growing sports in the country continues with a brand re-launch aimed at building awareness and promoting the sport’s development and growth across America. The new brand name is officially USA Pickleball, aligning it with other sports governing bodies and our USA Pickleball National Championships. The brand re-launch also includes a new, modern logo and an updated website at usapickleball.org.
As of January 2020, membership in USA Pickleball Association has surpassed 40,000 and the Sports Fitness Industry Association estimates the number of active Pickleball players in America is 3.3 million.
When arriving at Odell Weeks to play pickleball, please do not enter the gym until five minutes before the time of your reservation. This will give the people playing on the court before you a chance to leave. The only exception is if you have the first reservation of the day. In that case, you may enter 15 minutes before your reservation time in order to set up the net.
When you are playing at your reserved time, and there is someone scheduled behind you, stop playing at your allotted time and exit the gym as soon as possible.
The point of having 15 minutes between reserved slots is to allow social distancing. The previous group should exit before the next group enters to minimize the number of people you come in contact with.
Face masks are now required when entering and exiting Odell Weeks. They may be removed for playing pickleball. Please remember to sanitize your hands before putting your mask back on after playing to avoid transferring germs from your hands to your face.
Effective Friday, July 17th, all players entering Odell Weeks must wear a mask to enter the facility. You may remove the mask upon entering Gym 2, and while playing. After you are finished playing, please put your mask back on when exiting the facility. Below is a copy of the Aiken City Council Passes Emergency Ordinance Requiring Face Coverings.
Aiken City Council Passes Emergency Ordinance Requiring Face Coverings
Aiken, SC – The City of Aiken issued an emergency ordinance requiring individuals to wear face coverings in certain situations and locations to protect, preserve, and promote the general health, safety and welfare and the peace and order of the community related to the potential exposure of City residents, employees, and visitors to COVID-19. The emergency ordinance passed with a vote of 5-2 in favor.
The ordinance will take effect Friday, July 17, 2020, and will end 61 days later (September 16, 2020).
• All customers are required to wear Face Coverings while inside the enclosed area of any Retail Establishment or Foodservice Establishment;
• All Retail Establishments shall require staff to wear, and those staff shall wear, Face Coverings while working in areas open to the general public and areas in which interactions with other staff are likely in which social distancing of at least six feet cannot be observed; and
• All Foodservice Establishments shall require staff who interact with customers (including, without limitation, delivery personnel) to wear, and those staff shall wear, Face Coverings while working.
• Businesses subject to this ordinance are required to post appropriate signage at each public entrance to the building informing anyone entering the building of these requirements, and the operator of the business shall ensure that all people entering the building are in compliance.
• Failure by customers to comply with this ordinance could result in a charge of misdemeanor trespassing as defined in South Carolina Code Section 16-11-520 if they refuse to leave the premises.
Exemptions. Face Coverings Shall Not Be Required:
• In outdoor or unenclosed areas appurtenant to Retail Establishments or Foodservice Establishments in which social distancing of at least six feet is possible and observed;
• For people whose religious beliefs prevent them from wearing a Face Covering;
• For those who cannot wear a Face Covering due to a medical or behavioral condition;
• For children under the age of five years old;
• For patrons of Foodservice Establishments while they are dining;
• In private, individual offices;
• When complying with directions of law enforcement officers;
• In settings where it is not practical or feasible to wear a Face Covering, including when obtaining goods or services such as the receipt of: a. dental services, b. barbering services, c. beautician services; or while swimming;
• While doing outdoor physical activity;
• Police officers, firefighters or other first responders when not practical or engaged in a public safety matter of an emergency nature, or persons engaged in the repair or maintenance of infrastructure;
• While exclusively with members of a family or the same household, and no person other than such family or household is within the same enclosed area.
For more information visit https://www.cityofaikensc.gov/keepaikensafe/
Starting next Friday, July 24th, lessons with Mo and Megan are back - four one hour sessions available from 1145am-345pm. Contact your favorite instructor to sign up.
Mo Garcia and Megan Hollenbeck are available for private and semi private lessons. Grace Vance will not be offering any lessons at the moment due to Covid 19 pandemic. Please go to the "Contact us" page on the main menu to contact Mo and Megan
$40.00 per person - 1 hour private lesson (1-2 players)
$20.00 per person – 1 hour semi-private lesson (3-4 players)
Please contact the instructors directly for available times.
Payment must be made prior to class at the front desk
Please furnish the instructor with a receipt.
Aiken Pickleball player Linda Stevens' husband, Bob, passed away at their summer home in Blowing, North Carolina with Linda at his side. She is feeling at peace now that the struggling is over. She will be returning to Aiken this fall.
His obituary appeared in the Aiken Standard today (7/10/2020)
The minutes for the Leadership Team Meeting that was held Tuesday, July 7th, 2020 at 5:30pm have been posted. The meeting was held using Zoom Video Conferencing Software.
Topics that were discussed included the new open play at Gregg Park starting Tuesday, July 14th;
A change in Odell courts reservations sign up - on Saturday players may now make an unlimited number of reservations for the remainder of the week with no restrictions; a reminder to all that the policy we are following for COVID-19 is basically the State's policy. Go to Forums or click here to see the full details.
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, August 3rd, at 5:30 pm via Zoom.
The USA Pickleball Association is growing at an exceptional rate thanks to the work of the volunteer Ambassadors who help to spread the word and devote their countless hours supporting local pickleball programs across our nation. As this expansion continues, the borders of our Regions are beginning to burst at the seams. With that in mind, we wanted you to be the first to know that the we are pleased to announce the addition of the new NORTH MID-ATLANTIC REGION as our twelfth USA Pickleball Region. This new region will change the Mid-Atlantic, which currently services ten states, to a plan of six states, which you can see in the mapping below. The state of New York, which has been in the Atlantic Region, will now be part of the new NORTH MID-ATLANTIC REGION.
There were many factors that went into the decisions to create these new borders, and in the end, it came down to the current population numbers and developmental capacity for this new region. After several months of planning, the USA Pickleball Board of Directors has given the “Green Light” to move forward.
One of the biggest benefits of adding a new region is making the service areas for our Ambassadors more manageable, allowing them to provide better service. In addition to local and recreational coverage, this new region will be added to the existing lineup of Regional Championship Tournaments for those who are regular tournament players hoping to show off their talents in the 2021 season.
We are extremely excited as we expand our regional coverage to better serve the growth of the USA Pickleball brand. There is still a lot to be done to make this change official. There will need to be new logos, official USA Pickleball regional paperwork, post and interview for a new Regional Director and more. The current districts will remain the same and will only change as needed to accommodate the growth of membership and the addition of new Ambassadors to the program areas. We just ask for your patience during the changeover to the new borders and as we make necessary leadership adjustments. The next few months will be a new look and beginning for the Atlantic coast regions, but until we have all the information laid out in an official capacity, we will continue to run as normal.
We hope to have the new region up and running within the next few months, so stay tuned for more details. Below you will find the new map of the reorganized Upper Atlantic Shore Regions.
Indoor pickleball will resume at Gregg Park Civic Center starting Tuesday, June 23. The times available will be Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30 AM – 1:30 PM and Saturdays 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM. To accommodate Day Camp, there will be no weekday play the weeks of July 6, July 20, and July 27, although Saturdays will still be available those weeks. The Center is currently scheduled to be open for play on Saturday, July 4th.
Courts 1, 3, 4, and 6 will be open for reservation play only. Courts 2 and 5 will remain closed in the interest of social distancing.
Reservation slots will be 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM and 12:00 – 1:30 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 9:00 – 10:30 AM and 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM on Saturdays. Players are allowed to reserve a slot two days per week at the initial sign-up on Thursday mornings (the slots can not be back-to-back), and one additional slot if there are still times available the next day. If a group has the early slot and there is no one signed up for the later slot on that court that day, the group may continue to play. On Saturday morning, members may reserve any slots that remain open.
A minimum of 2 players and a maximum of 6 players will be allowed on each court. Paper towels and disinfectant will be available for sanitizing.
Players must sign a waiver the first time they play. Upon arrival, each player will have their temperature taken by a non-contact thermometer. Anyone having a temperature 100.3 degrees or higher will not be permitted to enter the Center.
To reserve court time, visit aikenpickleball.com and go to the sign-ups tab on the main menu. Select GPCC Reservations. Slots for the following week will be posted at 8:00 AM on Thursdays. You do not need an account to reserve court time, but it's easier to edit your reservations if you have a free Sign-up Genius account.
Please observe the social distancing guidelines as recommended by the USAPA at https://www.usapa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/COVID-19-RETURN-TO-PLAY_USAPA.pdf.