Exciting Volunteer Opportunity

Are you looking to get a bit more involved with our Club?  Would you like to take on a small job that can be done entirely online?  Would you like the chance to interact a bit more with a few of our members?  Pad your resume?  Learn a bit about our wonderful event management system?

Then here’s your chance!

The Club is in need of a Reserved Play Coordinator.

The job is simply to create and post events for our reserved play at Red Willow. This work can be done from anywhere in the world – as long as you have internet and a computer.  The event template already exists.  We will show you how to copy this template, modify the title and session dates, and “flip a switch” to automatically publish the events in our online club Calendars.  Our system handles the rest automatically, so you don’t need to worry about processing registrations, waitlists, or registrant cancellations.  Please also note the following:

• Some monitoring of events may occasionally be needed, in collaboration with Nicole, our Red Willow venue coordinator.

• Full training, cover-off and support is provided – we have lots of volunteers to help whenever needed, answer any questions, and even step in if you are unavailable for a period.

• The initial setup work for a season will take a handful of hours. On-going work generally takes less than one hour per week.

• You will join a team of reserved play coordinators who handle other registered events like our indoor series play, our rating sessions, and our outdoor DUPR play.

That’s it!

If you are interested, please send an email to:

Technology@pickleballstalbert.ca  with the subject “Reserved Play Coordinator.” 

We’d love to have you on board and welcome you to our growing team of  volunteer organizers.

2025 Tournament Dates

Please note that the dates have been set for the Club's 2025 volunteer appreciation dates and tournaments as follows:

Indoor Season Volunteers Appreciation Day - May 17, 2025

The fall/winter volunteer appreciation day will take place at Alpine Courts on Saturday, May 17th from 9:00am  to 12:00pm (May 18th will be the alternate day if May 17th is a rain out).

We will have fun playing pickleball and then share in a light lunch.

Sign up will be set up soon and participants may register on the website Calendar.

Thank you for volunteering throughout the indoor season and hope you can join us!

Tournaments

June 7th and 8th:  Two day fun SAPC tournament 8:30 am to 5:00 pm

August 15th to 17th:  Three day sanctioned tournament 8:30am to 5:00pm

September 20th:  One day fun SAPC tournament (Sept 21st rain day)

Season ending volunteer Appreciation Day

October 4th:  Volunteer thank you, 12 courts from 9:00 am to 12:00 Noon and then all courts are given back to the City (October 5th rain day)

Outdoor Play Update (from Eileen/Venue Manager)

Captains

We need captains for:

All Play - Tuesdays at  9:00 am

All Play -  Wednesdays at 11:00 am

3.0  Rating Level - Wednesday 1:00 pm

2.5 / Unrated Level - Wednesday at 1:00 pm

We also need some extra captains for 4.0+ Fridays at 1:00 pm and Wednesdays at 9:00 am.

Finally, we need 4.5+ captains for Friday at 6:00pm and Tuesday at 9:00am

If you are interested in captaining any of these sessions for which you are eligible, please contact our Venue Manager by clicking here.

Alpine Outdoor Courts are Opening!  Yeah!!!!

Alpine sessions are opening Monday, April 21st. 

Calendars are now visible on the SAPC website and may be accessed by clicking here.

Regarding Alpine sessions, please also note:

Next week on Monday at 6:00 pm, ten courts will be assigned to 3.0 and on Wednesday for one session only there will be a 3.5+ round robin session as DUPR doesn't start until April 28th.

Please note that all members should have their current, valid membership cards ready to show to captains at ALL times.  Members must sign in the sign in sheet with full name and write legibly. Captains will only accept active membership cards as evidence of a member's rating level. Captains will not review nor accept "evidence" of a rating that has not been approved by the rating coordinators (for example your DUPR or Tournament rating). If you have requested a change in your rating level, please note that our captains cannot accept your new, higher rating level until that rating has been approved by our rating coordinators and updated on the SAPC website; once that occurs, the member can access and/or print their membership card reflecting their new rating level.

Please watch the Outdoor Play Calendar, Facebook updates and WhatsApp group chat for possible changes due to weather and cancellations.  Any such cancellations will come through social media due to time constraints.  If you haven’t joined these groups please consider doing so.  The WhatsApp groups that are set up for each rating level are great for organizing social play with other members as well as other pickleball related communication.  We strongly recommend that members go to the SAPC website - under the members tab and you will find links to join these social media groups.

Please note that during May and June and September some St. Albert schools will have times assigned to them on the Alpine courts; it is impossible to note all of these changes in the Outdoor Play Calendars because of the variety of times.  A communication explaining this will be sent to the captains of those sessions effected.

All sessions are drop in except for the following sessions which require pre-registration:

● Partner play (see more details below)

●DUPR play sessions - on Monday evening and Wednesday evening; all members with a DUPR rating can register (more information on DUPR below)

Please Note:

● Be ON TIME for Round Robin sessions (we recommend 10 to 15

minutes before the official start time)

● Before Club play has started members are expected to use their own

pickleballs.

● If members hit a ball outside of the court they are expected to retrieve

it after the game, not at the end of the session

● Only water is allowed on the courts (many members do like to

socialize outside the courts at the nearby picnic table)

● The City will have a port-a-potty in place starting May 1st

Partner Play

Members need to register for Partner Play sessions. The sessions open on the Friday at 12:01 am. Only ONE member of the team only needs to register.

It is so important that if you register for partner play and you cannot attend that you must cancel on the website as there are always people on the waitlist (please and thank you). 

NOTE : In order to minimize disruptive “no shows” members who miss two sessions for which they registered (and did not cancel) will get a notice that they cannot register for future Partner Play sessions (for the balance of 2025 outdoor season).

DUPR Play

NEW: Registration for DUPR shootout sessions will be based on the player’s DUPR rating versus consolidated club rating.

NEW: Registration for both the Monday and Wednesday sessions will be open to all levels on a first come, first serve basis. Any SAPC DUPR rated player may register for either or both sessions.

Registration emails for DUPR events will be sent out on the day following each event at various times of the day – i.e. Monday events will receive their registration email on Tuesdays and Wednesday events will receive their email on Thursdays.

NEW: A total of 4 questions will be listed on the player registration – I have a DUPR account (check box), I have already joined SAPC on DUPR (check box), My DUPR rating is... (numeric decimal value >0.1); and my DUPR reliability is... (numeric value (0-100). This will assist the volunteers with the game day organizing.

NEW: All courts will have 4 players per court. All games during the DUPR shootout sessions will now be played to a minimum of 11 points (win by 1).  This will allow for 3 games per round and 3 rounds per session. Monday evening sessions will have 28 players. Wednesday evening will have 40 players. As with last season, court assignments for the sessions will align with the player’s DUPR. E.g. Players with the 4 highest DUPRs will play against each other on court 1, next 4 on court 2 etc. This will provide fun competitive matches on a player’s assigned court.

NEW: We recommend all club-rated SAPC members create a DUPR account and link it to their SAPC Account.

Please be reminded that players need to ensure that their SAPC account profile matches their DUPR profile (both in name spelling, name order, city and in capitalization).

NOTE : In order to minimize disruptive “no shows” members who miss two sessions for which they registered will get a notice that they cannot register for future DUPR Shootout sessions (for the balance of 2025 outdoor season).

Other Important Things to Remember:

Ringing of the Bell - At the end of each session a bell will be rung by the next captain.  To ease transition between sessions members are asked to leave the courts immediately when the bell has been rung.

Weather Policy - Captains are aware of the weather policy (it can be found in our website); when a captain calls the session due to inclement weather or air quality, it will be noted on the sign in sheet. If members continue to play after the play has been stopped and they are injured the Pickleball Canada insurance cannot be used in a claim; as an injury when claiming any assistance from Pickleball Canada must happen during a club play session or event. Captains use the Purple Air app to make a decision regarding Air Quality.

End of Indoor Season

Indoor play sessions at One Possession, YEG and Raise are finished at the end of the active sessions.

Red Willow will continue for a few weeks but watch the calendar.

The majority of play at schools will continue into May.

In all cases, as always, CHECK the Calendar before going out to play in case of sudden changes; most changes will also be advised via social media so, once again, we strongly also recommend that you join these groups!

Have fun and enjoy another wonderful outdoor pickleball season!

Training and Mentoring 

We are planning to have mentoring sessions again this summer as noted above. We can’t have this unless we have volunteers willing to help at the different levels.  Anyone who has noted that they are interested in helping with training/mentoring, you will be contacted. Important: If you are no longer interested, please update your profile. HOWEVER, if you are interested and have not noted this on your profile, please go and update asap.  Thank you for your interest in volunteering!

As noted we plan to start mentoring in June so we will be making the schedule in May which is fast approaching. 

Nicole Currie has been organizing the schedule/trainers for a number of years. Hoping that someone is willing to take this task on. It is not too time consuming.  Right now it is organized bi-monthly.  A schedule covers two months.  The person would contact the volunteers giving them the list of training dates, time and level.  Everyone would let the new coordinator know what dates they could help with.  Based on the feedback, a schedule would be done and everyone would be advised. If you are willing to help out with this please email Nicole at nicolecurrie@live.com. 

Member Data Clean Up / E-mail Addresses 

Do you use different email addresses for your SAPC membership at the SAPC website, for your DUPR app profile, and/or for your Pickleball Canada accounts?

Well, to better serve our members and to keep our manual admin work to a minimum, please consider using the same email address in all these systems.  Simply change your email address in one location or the other to make them the same - this would be so helpful to us!

For example, to clean up our list of members in the SAPC DUPR Club (in the DUPR app), we match members in both systems by their email address.  If you don't appear to be a paid-up 2025 SAPC member (based on your email address in DUPR), we will  disconnect your DUPR account from SAPC in DUPR. This means you will have to rejoin SAPC in DUPR every year, in order to participate in our DUPR Play.

As another example, we want to avoid spamming members with email invitations to DUPR play sessions if they aren't a member of SAPC in the DUPR app.  We want to limit our email invitations to these twice-weekly play sessions to those who belong to SAPC in DUPR.  In order to do that, we must compare the membership in both systems. If your email addresses in the two systems don't match, you may not get our invitation emails.  Getting these emails promptly is essential to your quick registration as there are a limited number of spots in these sessions.

Please also use the same first name, last name, and address in these systems too.  Thanks in advance - your efforts in this regard are very much appreciated!!

Alberta 55+ Leduc Fundraiser Event

Please be advised that Pickleball Alberta is supporting the Alberta 55 plus in promoting their Pickleball Fundraiser Event in Leduc on June 6th - 8th, 2025. This is a great tournament in an awesome new 12 court facility in Leduc; it is open to all and raises funds for the Alberta Games to be held in August in Leduc. 

Details

Pricing:

• $70 - includes one event
• $30 - per additional event

Skill Levels:

• 2.5, 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0+

To Register click here (registration closes May 5, 2024)

Club Membership Statistics  

Approximately three quarter of our 2024 members have renewed their membership for 2025.  As you may be aware, many of our members wait to return from snowbirding down south and/or for spring/summer play to begin before renewing.  As always, we encourage all members to renew as soon as possible if you haven't done so already - for instructions on how to quickly do so, just click here.

                              February/25    March/25 (Current)      Inc/(Dec)

No Rating                    208                            224                               16         

2.5 Rating                      31                               36                                 5

3.0 Rating                    117                            128                               11                 

3.5 Rating                    204                            220                               16 

4.0 Rating                    102                            120                               18 

4.5+ Rating                    24                               32                                 8

Total Members          686                           760                             74

Nominating Committee Update

As members may or may not be aware, the SAPC Annual General Meeting (AGM) is scheduled to take place on March 11, 2025.

In preparation for the AGM, the Nominating Committee has prepared the following report for the open positions and candidates who have chosen to stand for election for each position. 

The following Board positions are open for election at the March 11, 2025 AGM.

Vice President:  Vacant  (Candidate Jeanine Au )

Director at large 1:  Vacant (Candidate Douwe Spriensma )

Treasurer :  Vacant (Laura Spencer will stand for re-election )

Secretary :  Vacant (Candidate Cecile Gartner)   

The following non Board positions are open for election or vacant at the March 11, 2025 Annual General Meeting:

Auditor:  Vacant (Lawrence Taylor will stand for re-election)

Nominating Committee 

Chair:  Kevin McClean ( Not due for re-election)

Member:  Brenda Regehr (Not due for re-election)

Member:  Vacant (Need Candidate)

Member:  Vacant (Need Candidate)

Member:  Vacant (Need Candidate)

Unfortunately we have been unsuccessful in finding candidates for the vacant nominating committee member positions.

2025 Tournament Dates

Please note that the dates have been set for the Club's 2025 tournaments as follows:

May 31:  Volunteer thank you, 12 courts from 9:00 to 12:00 Noon and then all courts are given back to the City (if rain, June 1st alternate day)

June 7th and 8th:  Two day fun SAPC tournament 8:30 am to 5:00 pm

August 15th to 17th:  Three day sanctioned tournament 8:30am to 5:00pm

September 20th:  One day fun SAPC tournament (Sept 21st rain day)

September 27th:  Volunteer thank you, 12 courts from 9:00 am to 12:00 Noon and then all courts are given back to the City (Sept 28th rain day)

Club Symposium

Our Club has been invited to send representatives to the Alberta Club Symposium on May 31st and June 1st in Calgary.  The cost for the two-day "Game Changers" Club Symposium is $75.00 per person, which includes breakfast and lunch on both days, along with valuable club executive information from our guest speakers.  It will be well worth your time.

You may find the itinerary and registration for the "Game Changers" symposium by clicking here.

Membership Renewal

Just a reminder to our membership, at SAPC we have two steps to our renewals or new memberships. This is clearly outlined when you go through the registration process.  You must renew with pickleball Canada and pickleball Alberta.

As of February 1st there are many members who have not completed both parts of the renewal process.  Those who have not completed both steps will receive an email shortly and they have until March 1st  to complete both parts of the renewal process.   Members who are advised of this anomaly and don't correct it by March 1st will be suspended.  It is so important for insurance purposes that all members follow this process.

Please note that our play Captains will be given the names of suspended members, so they will not be able to play until their membership is up to date.

Insurance  

While we are on the topic of Pickleball Alberta and Canada membership, we believe that a little update on insurance coverage may be in order.

Please be advised of the following summary of adjustments to the Pickleball Canada Insurance Program for 2025.  

These adjustments resulted from an extensive review of our past coverages and included input from the Pickleball Canada Finance and Risk Committee, our insurance brokerage, external reviewers and input provided by our Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations (PTSOs).   

This process has resulted in enhanced coverages under the Pickleball Canada Insurance Program, and we are very pleased to report that the premiums for these coverages have not increased from those assessed to Pickleball Canada members in 2024.  

As a result of these efforts, our General Liability Policy has been updated as follows: 

• Tenants Legal Liability has increased from $1 million to $5 million. 

Please note this provides coverage for losses to rented or leased third        party property/ facilities that a member may be responsible for  

•  Employers Liability has increased from $1 million to $2 million. 

This coverage protects an employer in the case of litigation brought on      by an employee (where there isn’t Worker’s Compensation in place)  

•  There has been an addition of Employee Benefits Liability which was   not in the coverage plan in previous years; $1 million coverage has         been added 

This coverage is solely provided as protection to employers from the          financial exposure that would stem from errors in administering an              employee in the plan

•  Abuse and Molestation Liability has increased from $500,000 to $1   million 

Referee Clinics  

If you have any friends or family that might be interested in learning how to referee pickleball, please be advised that there are two "Introduction to Pickleball Refereeing Clinics" scheduled thus far for 2025 in Alberta. 

Details are noted below:

1. Leduc, Alberta - March 1st and 2nd. To register e-mail rwnwhome@telus.net

2. Medicine Hat, Alberta -  June 7th and 8th. To register e-mail knutsondr@gmail.com

Please note that these clinics are free to all participants.

Club Membership Statistics  

Approximately two thirds of our 2024 members have renewed their membership for 2025.  As you may be aware, many of our members wait to return from snowbirding down south and/or for spring/summer play to begin before renewing.  As always, we encourage all members to renew as soon as possible if you haven't done so already - for instructions on how to quickly do so, just click here.

                              January/25    February/25 (Current)    Inc/(Dec)

No Rating                    178                              208                               30         

2.5 Rating                      29                                 31                                 2

3.0 Rating                    107                              117                               10                 

3.5 Rating                    192                              204                               12 

4.0 Rating                       98                              102                                 4 

4.5+ Rating                    21                                 24                                 3

Total Members          625                             686                             61

Facilities Task Force Update

As many of our members are aware, the Club has a Facilities Task Force (FTF) and the Board feels this may be a good time to provide a brief report to our members regarding this Committee and its work.

Committee Members 

Chairperson - John Abrahamson

Others - Eileen McClean (Club President), Douwe Spriensma (Club Director), Jeanine Au (Club Vice President), Mike Bowen and William Yang

Mandate

1.  Work to secure a major outdoor facility to include 20+ courts

2.  Work with indoor facility operators to secure additional winter/indoor court times 

Strategies adopted to achieve the Mandate

1.  Outdoor Court Initiative

•  Work with the City of St. Albert and various possible landowners to secure land 

•  Apply for grants, seek sponsors and support court builders to construct new outdoor courts 

• The Club's Venue Manager has worked with private facility operations to secure cost effective indoor play session opportunities including One Possession, YEG and, most recently, Raise Athletics

Actions, Learnings and Achievements to Date

1.   The facilities task team has been working with the City of St. Albert over the years to consider what options the Club has to build a new outdoor facility.  

2.    Over the last two years the FTF team (including both current and past FTF Committee members) negotiated with the City about the Alpine courts hoping to get access to all 12 courts full time. The demands from the City which included spontaneous play access meant it was not a viable solution for the Club as the cost would have necessitated a major increase in membership fees to offset the costs of refurbishing the courts including sound panels, nets and maintenance along with extra insurance needed to manage the courts.

3.  The FTF has met with Recreation and Parks staff to consider all options, but the one drawback is that St. Albert does not currently have land available for the building of outdoor pickleball courts.  It should be noted that there are parcels of land being developed, but the planning and development of these lands will only happen in 5 to 10 years. 

4.    Based on this "no land" perspective from the City, FTF members spent August to November of 2024 identifying and considering roughly 20 locations, involving approximately 60 meetings and conversations with developers, real estate agents, other sports organizations, both school boards, Sturgeon County, environmental consultants, court builders and the City of St. Albert.  Despite these exhaustive efforts, none of these locations were determined to be appropriate for further pursuit at this time.     

4.  The FTF put together a presentation and your Club President presented this to the City in December, 2024 (as noted in a previous Newsletter).  One of the most important points of the presentation was the SAPC stating that they would offer $200,000 from the Club's reserve towards a new pickleball outdoor court build. Members should understand that this presentation resulted in an increased level of cooperation from the City in regards to both our Alpine allocation as well as in our pursuit of a 20+ new court facility; meetings will continue with City Recreation, City Planning, etc. to identify a suitable location for our next generation of outdoor pickleball courts.

5.   With all of the indoor venues developed in and around St. Albert, the FTF recognizes there is no need to consider building an indoor facility, but, rather, will continue to focus on collaboration with existing private facilities to facilitate cost effective indoor group play for SAPC members.

How will the Club finance and support outdoor court development?

In addition to paying for rental of venues, equipment and balls, tournament expenses, social events, and the administrative requirements of running the Club, SAPC funds must also be set aside for court maintenance and upgrades.

As noted on our website, profits from a membership year, if any, are retained and held as a capital reserve to attract and match future grants and develop future playing facilities.  This reserve will almost certainly be required to cover the operating costs including insurance related to the development of a large outdoor play facility which could be financed by a City donation of land and/or funds and a provincial grant (neither party would want to take on the liability of ongoing operational expenses related to such a facility).

Next Steps

The FTF is considering all options including private land that is available, collaborating with any other sports stakeholders/groups to secure land for potential outdoor courts.  Members should know that the FTF looked around a lot on their behalf in the last 6 months and will continue to do so.  Essentially, the FTF is looking at all land options to pull forward our build and not rely exclusively on City of St. Albert timelines.

A more comprehensive FTF report will be provided at the AGM with an opportunity for members to ask questions of the Committee.

In the meantime, you can help!!  If you have any ideas about a location we might consider or you have any questions about the contents of this article, please do not hesitate to contact us by clicking here.

2025 Changes to DUPR "Shootout" Sessions at Alpine 

Based on feedback from players and a review of participation numbers from 2024, the following changes and updates will occur for the 2025 outdoor DUPR shootout sessions.  Please be advised that a member’s Club rating will not change based on these updates.  Note:  We remind players to contact the rating coordinator if they do wish to have their Club rating updated.

NEW: Registration for DUPR shootout sessions will be based on the player’s DUPR rating versus consolidated club rating.

NEW: Registration for both the Monday and Wednesday sessions will be open to all levels on a first come, first serve basis. Any SAPC DUPR rated player may register for either or both sessions.

NEW: Players will be asked to enter their DUPR rating when registering for a session.  This will assist the volunteers with the game day organizing.

NEW: Non-rated DUPR players will not be permitted to play in DUPR shootout sessions, until they have a DUPR rating and a reliability score of at least 60.

NEW:  All courts will have 4 players per court.  All games during the DUPR shootout sessions will now be played to a minimum of 11 points (win by 1).  This will allow for 3 games per round and 3 rounds per session.

NEW: We recommend all club-rated SAPC members create a DUPR account and link it to their SAPC Account.  See link to DUPR here.  Please be reminded that players need to ensure that their SAPC account profile matches their DUPR profile (both in name spelling, name order and in capitalization).

Note:  In order to minimize disruptive "no shows", members who miss two sessions for which they registered will get a notice that they cannot register for future Shootout sessions (for the balance of 2025 outdoor season).

Nominating Committee Update

As members may or may not be aware, the SAPC Annual General Meeting is scheduled to take place on March 11, 2025 (please note this is a revised date from the one previously announced in a call for Agenda items).  Some of what takes place at the AGM is the election of Board members. 

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

Vice President - Jeanine Au (will stand for re-election )

Director at Large - Douwe Spriensma (will stand for re-election)

Secretary - Jenna McCully (vacant )

Treasurer - Laura Spencer  (will stand for re-election)

Due to the resignation of Douwe Spriensma in December, 2024 from the Board position of Vice President, the Board has appointed Jeanine Au to the position of Vice President and Douwe to the position of Director at Large.

Non-Board vacancies:

Auditor  -  A duly qualified accountant CPA in Alberta who has maintained this accounting designation in good standing (may or may not be a member, so if you know someone....).  If you or someone you know are interested but  require more information in this regard before expressing their candidacy to the Nominating Committee, please send us an e-mail by clicking here.

Nominating Committee member (three vacancies)

If someone is interested in being a Nominating Committee member, they should first read the Job Description available on the SAPC website which can be accessed from this link.  

Candidates seeking to put their names forward for one of these positions can contact either 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

Brenda Regehr  at brendaregehr54@gmail.com

A Nominating Committee report covering the candidates will be sent out to all members with the notice of the AGM in February, 2025.

Last Minutes Calendar Changes

Please be advised that members should join our WhatsApp Groups or our Club Facebook group if they wish to be informed when a venue play session  is suddenly cancelled.  Most times the Calendar can be updated, but sometimes there is not enough time to remove the session from the Calendar so social media is used to keep members informed.  To join our social media groups click here.

Update for 2025 4.0+ Evening Play at Alpine

As previously noted, due to lack of court availability, the Club will no longer be offering League play this spring and summer at the Alpine courts.  We are open to suggestions (click here), but one option being considered for one evening a week for the 4.0+ player group is structured, pre-registered ladder play for a limited number of registrants (say 80 to 100).  If you are interested in being a volunteer or captain to help organize and run these play sessions please let us know by sending an e-mail (once again click here).  Ken Dentzien, who has run such sessions before (thanks Ken!) is looking into the use of the Swish application to organize such play, record game scores, etc.   We will keep you posted as we progress towards outdoor play.

Can't Make a Prepaid/Registered Session?  

Apparently many of you have wondered if it is ok to "sell or gift" a prepaid/registered session to another member.  We want you to know that not only is this allowed, it is actually encouraged as it allows the associated play session to proceed as intended rather than "missing" one or more players, thereby potentially creating excess byes and other difficulties for those who do attend those sessions.

Referee Clinic - Alberta 55+ Games/Pickleball Alberta

The Alberta 55+ Games and Pickleball Alberta are jointly sponsoring a Pickleball Referee Clinic in Leduc on March 1st and 2nd.  To sign up for the referee clinic you should contact 

Richard Walliser - rwnwhome@telus.net 

To attend the clinic we are asking that you also volunteer on the Alberta 55+ website to referee at the games to be held August 21 - 24th in Leduc. You can sign up on their website by clicking here.

Between the clinic and the August 21 to 24th Alberta 55+ Games,  mentoring and potential accreditation will be provided.

Rotary Club Tournament

The Rotary Club will hold an indoor tournament called "I Love Pickleball" at Raise Athletics on February 15th (Valentine's weekend).  This date is quickly approaching so act now!!

Come for the competition, stay for the cause! Whether you're a seasoned pro or new to the game, this tournament is open to all skill levels, with proceeds benefiting local charities.  Beginners, advanced and youth are all welcome!

There will be great prizes.  This time there will be even more donors and great prizes, gift cards and swag bags!!   

Event page:  Click here

Event Date:  February 15, 2025

Location:  Raise Athletics, St. Albert (check out this brand new facility)

Registration is live on Pickleball Brackets; register by clicking here.

Club Membership Statistics  

Approximately 60% of our members have renewed their membership for 2025.  As you may be aware, many of our members wait to return from snowbirding down south and/or for spring/summer play to begin before renewing.  As always, we encourage all members to renew as soon as possible if you haven't done so already - for instructions on how to quickly do so, just click here.

                              November/24    January/25 (Current)   Inc/(Dec)

No Rating                    397                              178                           (219)         

2.5 Rating                      47                                 29                             (18)

3.0 Rating                    160                              107                             (53)                   

3.5 Rating                    263                              192                             (71)

4.0 Rating                    185                                98                              (87)    

4.5+ Rating                    56                                21                              (35)

Total Members        1108                            625                          (483)     

In this issue:

Red Willow Registration / Sign Up

Due to lack of demand and based upon feedback from Club members, the Club has decided to immediately eliminate sign up/registration restrictions for play at our Red Willow Church venue.  The maximum number of registrants will be 10 players per session for a maximum of 2 byes.  The website, including the Red Willow Calendar, will be updated to reflect this change in the coming days.

League Play

The Club would like to thank all of our 4.0+ members for responding to our recent League play survey and providing their feedback.  The Club would especially like to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of Ken Dentzien, Dave Fry and all of the League captains and organizers.  Your hard work in this regard is very much appreciated!

In terms of future League play, based primarily on the scarcity of outdoor courts in St. Albert, it has been decided not to offer League play in 2025.

Obviously, there will be 4.0 and/or 4.0+ play sessions offered at Alpine next spring/summer, but these will not be offered in League format.  Should the Club decided to proceed with a pre-registration format, plenty of notice will be provided to allow for an equal opportunity to register by the published deadline for same.

Etiquette for "All Play" Sessions

The Club would like to reminder players in "All Play" sessions that these are "social play" sessions given the wide variety of skill levels in those attending these sessions.  

As noted under the heading of Play Types on our website:

Social Play is a less competitive style of play.  Advanced players play to extend the rally and do not attempt to win points with shots not returnable by the less skilled players on the court.   

For stronger, more skilled players, please consider soft shots rather than drives which tend to scare beginners and less skilled players on the court - we play this game to have fun and not to get intimidated or injured in the process.

Sticker Access During Canada Post Strike

Just a reminder that members can still order indoor play stickers during the Canada Post strike.  Members ordering stickers will receive detailed instructions including the pick up address in an e-mail once your order is processed.  Make sure you watch the sticker pick up instruction video by clicking here as many members are confused about how to pick them up at the address provided.

Board Change

Please note that effective immediately Douwe Spriensma and Jeanine Au have switched their roles on the SAPC Board as approved at a recent Board meeting.  As such, Jeanine will now be our Club Vice President and Douwe is a Director at Large.  We wish both Jeanine and Douwe success in their new roles and thank them both for volunteering in these capacities.

Raise Athletics

Rotary Club Tournament  

Rotary will hold an indoor tournament called "I Love Pickleball" at Raise Athletics on February 15th (Valentine's weekend).

Come for the competition, stay for the cause! Whether you're a seasoned pro or new to the game, this tournament is open to all skill levels, with proceeds benefiting local charities.  There will be great prizes!

Registration is live on Pickleball Brackets; register by clicking here.

Pickleball Canada Renewal/Fee Payment

Please be advised that the Club has been working with Pickleball Canada to reconcile our membership numbers.  An informal audit has been performed and we have found some discrepancies including SAPC members who have not paid their Pickleball Canada fees . 

Please note that this scenario will not be an issue for anyone who follows the membership renewal process as posted on our website and provided in membership renewal e-mails.

All our members should know that renewing your Pickleball Canada membership is very important because of the insurance coverage they provide to individuals with active memberships.

A follow up audit/reconciliation process will take place early in the new year and e-mail warnings will be sent out to inform each member for which there is a discrepancy.  Those e-mails will include specific instructions for how to rectify the discrepancy.  If you get one of these e-mails, we ask that you take the recommended action(s) as soon as possible.  Another review will be done before the end of January to determine which members have not undertaken the requested action(s) to address their membership/fee payment concerns. 

Any members who have not rectified their membership discrepancy will have their SAPC account suspended until further notice.  The consequence of having a suspended membership is that such members will not be able to participate in Club play sessions.  The Venue Manager and all play session captains will be provided with a list of names of all those individuals to enforce this policy.

Club Membership Statistics  

We now have over 1,100 active members!! This sport and our Club are really taking off!  The breakdown of our members at the end of November (with comparative figures for September) are as follows:

                                September      November (Current)   Inc/(Dec)

No Rating                    348                              397                       49

2.5 Rating                      47                                47                        

3.0 Rating                    157                             160                          3 

3.5 Rating                    263                             263

4.0 Rating                    186                             185                        (1)

4.5+ Rating                    54                               56                           2

Total Members       1055                          1108                      53

In this issue:

Conclusion to Outdoor Play / Thank You to Volunteers

From Eileen (as Venue Manager):

Saturday October 19th was the closing of our Alpine outdoor season.  As we close out the season and move to indoor play, I want to thank all of our awesome volunteers!  Special thanks to the following individuals:

• Wally Peltonen who kept our storage areas sorted and kept us up to date with our ball supply 

• Jeanine who kept on top of our first aid supplies

• Our captains for all of the hours you volunteered for our members

• Our DUPR captains as there is so much work behind the scenes completed so that members can just show up and play!  A special shout out to Kim Sabourin and Cathy Anderson! 

• Our League organizers and team captains

• Judy Murray and those who helped with the cleaning of the courts

• Nela for our binder creator  and for all of the sheet which she organizes

• Our tournament director Ken, Ron Yanew for chairing the social committee and all those who volunteered at the tournaments in so many different capacities

• Gary Cheetham our organizer and leader of coaching for Special Olympics and all of the coaches

• Nicole Currie our head trainer who organizes the mentoring and  for the coaches who mentor our members and for the coaches who coach the school students

• Nela, our binder creator, for all of the sheets which she organizes

What a team of volunteers we have!!  We are an awesome Club!!! 

Club Presents to City Council

The outdoor pickleball players of St. Albert have already outgrown the space at our Alpine and Larose courts.   St. Albert's outdoor courts are full and demand for more play continues to grow at more than 20% per year.   More outdoor courts are needed ASAP!

Your club has worked to inform our City and, in particular, our City Council of this need for more courts.

Our latest presentation to City Council, which was on October 15, 2024, may be seen by clicking on this link.  In this video, go to:

• Minute 4:28 to 9:40 to hear our President Eileen's 5-minute presentation
• Minute 9:40 ++ to hear Council's questions to Eileen and our Club's responses
• Minute 32:00 to 44:00 to hear Council's pickleball-related questions to City administration

Club members showed their support for new courts by attending our President's presentation to City Council on October 15.

Thanks to the SAPC Facilities Team for all they are doing to help build our pickleball future in St. Albert!

New Venues

Raise Athletics

Our Venue Manager has negotiated an arrangement with the management of an exciting new indoor venue called Raise Athletics which is located in Riel Business Park at 2A, 9 Richardson Drive in St. Albert.  This brand new massive sports facility is due to open in just a couple of weeks!

Raise Athletics Club play sessions will begin in just a few short weeks and registrations are already open - visit the Raise Athletics Calendar by clicking on this link.

YEG Pickleball

Please stay tuned regarding an opportunity for our members to play at another new facility called YEG Pickleball at 14025 156 St in Edmonton.  These sessions will be advertised soon in our Calendars and eligible members for each level of play will receive an invitation shortly.

Thanks Eileen for all of your hard work to develop these exciting new play opportunities for our members!

September Outdoor Play Statistics

In case you are interested in numbers, please see the Alpine outdoor play statistics for August below:

Rating Level              Attendees

         2.5                              439

         3.0                              334

         3.5                              861

         3.5+                            336

         4.0+                            397

         4.5+                              24

         ALL                             175

          70+                              65

    League Play                  120

    Partner Play                 258

      3.0 DUPR                       76

      3.5 DUPR                    115

Total Attendance      3,009

By comparison, August attendance was 2,440, July saw 2,360 attendees, June had 2003 participants and May attendance was 1,820.

Club Membership Statistics  

We now have over 1,000 active members!! This sport and our Club are really taking off!  The breakdown of our members at the end of September (with comparative figures for August) are as follows:

                                   August       September (Current)   Inc/(Dec)

No Rating                   341                          348                                7   

2.5 Rating                     43                             47                                4

3.0 Rating                   157                          157                                

3.5 Rating                   257                          263                                6        

4.0 Rating                   183                          186                                3          

4.5+ Rating                   54                            54                          

Total Members      1035                      1055                              20  

In this issue:

Dear SAPC Members, please note that it is that time of year where we transition to indoor play.  Such play takes place at various St. Albert Schools, Red Willow Church and the One Possession facility.

As such, it is important to reiterate some recent messaging in order to refresh your memory and to avoid the questions that inevitably arise at this time of year.

Indoor Calendars

Did you know that there are Calendars which show all play sessions that pertain to each level of play?  You will find all of our Calendars on the SAPC website.  For example if you are at the 3.5 level, just click on that Calendar (Rated 3.5 Calendar under the heading "Calendar by Rating and Training"), and you will only see the sessions that you are eligible to play in.  For new members especially, please note that the school venues are drop in sessions requiring 1 sticker and the Red Willow sessions are for pre-registered play requiring 2 stickers.  If you don't have stickers, they can be ordered from the online "Store" on the website by clicking on this link after signing in.  

Please note that these Calendars do change from time to time, so it is best practice to verify the date, time and venue of your session before attending by quickly going to the appropriate website Calendar (click here).

As an example, we do not get every Monday if play is scheduled at a school so you should check and not assume!

Reserved Play at Red Willow

Red Willow events/play sessions will open for registration the Friday before at 12:00:01 am (in case you're wondering, this is just after midnight at the end of Thursday).  You can only register for 1 session.   This is to allow everyone a chance to play at least 1 session at Red Willow.  However after 36 hours (noon Saturday) you can register for as many sessions as you want.  Important : if you register for more than 1 session you will be asked to cancel one.  Also, if you register for extra sessions BEFORE noon Saturday you will have to cancel.  In respect of other members trying to register, please ensure you wait until NOON on Saturday before registering for additional Red Willow sessions.  As you can appreciate, once one person registers early, it then it encourages others to want to follow suit; this is frustrating for those who are patiently waiting and, potentially, see that the last spot available is taken prematurely.  So, to be fair, anyone registering early will have to cancel.

Please note that registration play and attendance is capped at 12 members - 11 members who register and 1 spot for the session captain.  Registered play at Red Willow costs 2 stickers.  Members should not hesitate to go on the waitlist if the session is full; there are often cancellations.  If there is a cancellation, the first person on the waiting list will receive an email - please cancel/advise quickly if you are no longer interested or available so that the open position can be filled.

Please attend the session you have registered for!  If you arrive at Red Willow to attend a session for which you have not registered, you will not be allowed to attend.

Please help out the captains who are starting the first and last sessions of the day.  Kindly, assist in the set up and taking down the nets, putting away the chairs, etc.

You may now enter the Red Willow foyer early and wait for your session to begin.  We highly recommend everyone be there 10 minutes early.   This will give you time to get ready and to be signed in and paid as the captain may bring the sign in sheet outside the gym!   Please stay to the side in the foyer allowing the group that is leaving space to collect their coats/shoes and to easily leave the venue.  The captain will invite players into the gym a couple minutes before the hour so they may be ready to play.   Members should not leave any valuables in the foyer as the Church and Club will not be responsible for loss nor theft.

No one is permitted to enter Red Willow for the first session until 8:45am - this is a strict start time.  As such, we ask that if you are registered for the first session of the day that you please be on time in order to help get the session started on time.  We will plan on each session having cleared the gym a few minutes before the end time of the session; that will allow the gym to be cleared of players before the next group goes in.

One Possession

One Possession Academy is now an indoor venue for pre-registered 6 week session play.   Check the Calendar by clicking here.   Play at this facility is scheduled to begin on September 30th. 

Indoor Play - Things to Note/Remember  

Membership Cards

A reminder to everyone to bring their SAPC membership card to all our sessions and events.  The card can be printed or displayed on a member's smartphone and will indicate the member's date of membership and current rating level.  This is particularly important for new members and members who have recently achieved a new SAPC rating level.  This becomes important for all members come January or February at which time everyone needs to provide proof of their 2025 membership renewal.  As noted in previous Newsletters, don't forget to bring your stickers (see more about stickers below).  You will also need a pair of clean, indoor athletic shoes for your indoor play.  Finally, keep yourself refreshed by bringing a water bottle or two (no other beverages are permitted at our indoor venues).   We encourage safety glasses as well.

Arrive on Time

It is important for members to be at the school venues on time as we are not to disturb the school caretakers by ringing the school bell.  Instead, the captain will assign someone to "man the door" at the start of the session.  No one will be allowed to enter the school once ten minutes has passed beyond the scheduled start time for each session.  Doors cannot be propped open at any time.  Play  is considered “drop in” only because you do not have to register - you must be on time!

Play Type

Depending on the numbers of members playing at the school venues, the play type may be paddle play or round robin as determined by the play session captain.

School Venues

Entry to the schools is by the main door.  Members will place outdoor shoes just inside the foyer.  All other belongings are to be brought inside the gym.  There is no leaving the school gyms to wander through the schools at any time.  Washrooms are accessible within all of the gyms except for Holy Family - their washrooms are just outside of the gym.

Visitors

There will be no visitors accepted for indoor play as space is limited and with over 1035 members we need the space for the members.

Nets at Indoor Venues 

Please ensure you know how to put up and take down nets when offering to help captains as doing it incorrectly causes problems. 

Click on the following link for a video by Sean McCartan (thanks Sean!) on putting up and taking down a pickleball net.

PORTABLE PICKLEBALL NET ASSEMBLY

DUPR Rating Clinics

DUPR rating clinics will be held throughout the winter months.  Watch the calendar but also note that those eligible will receive an email invitation.

In this issue:

Volunteers Needed for Student Training

We have some student training coming up pretty quickly for September and we need 12 volunteers for each session. 

We need to know as soon as possible (before September 7th) who can help as  the schedule needs to be in place .  

All sessions take place at the Larose courts.  The dates and times we need volunteers for are as follows: 

1) Friday, September 13th  1:30 - 2:45 (25 students, grade 7 and 8) 

2) Tuesday, September 17th 10:30 am - 12:15 pm (25 students, grade 6)

3) Wednesday Sept 18: 10:30 am - 12:15 pm (35 students, grades 4 & 5) 

4) Wednesday Sept 25: 10:30 am - 12:15 pm (35 students, grades 4 & 5) 

5) Thursday Sept 26:  10:30 am - 12:15 pm (25 students, grade 6)

Please respond with the dates that you can volunteer, as soon as possible - by no later than September 7th.

If you have trained before that is well and good, but there will be some training plans for student groups which will be sent  out later.

This student training means a lot to our club, to the schools, and to the City of St. Albert, and your help is very much appreciated. 

E-mail Nancy Abrahamson by click here if you can help out.

Scheduling updates will be sent out once all information is sorted.

Volunteer Opportunity - Alpine Court Signage

Pauline McCormick, one of our Club members, has recommended that the Club put up signage at the Alpine outdoor pickleball courts.  Furthermore, Pauline has agreed to lead the process of designing this sign for which the Club has received detailed specs related to same.   Thanks Pauline!!

If you or someone you know has graphic design experience, Pauline could use your help.  Just send Pauline an e-mail briefly describing your interest in helping out with this effort and some details regarding your associated skill set.

Call for Captains for Indoor Play 

Captains  are needed for the following sessions (except where indicated otherwise, we only have one captain for each of these sessions and it is obviously very important to have 2 in order to provide backup and share duties): 

Bertha Kennedy ALL sessions Monday 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

Red Willow 2.5/unrated Monday 11:00 am to 1:00 pm (no captains)

Bertha Kennedy 4.0+ sessions Tuesday 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

Red Willow 2.5/unrated sessions Monday 3:00 to 5:00 pm

Bertha Kennedy 2.5/unrated  sessions Wednesday 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm 

Bertha  Kennedy  ALL sessions Saturday 2:30 pm to 4:45 pm

JJ nearing 2.5/unrated sessions Thursday 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm

Red Willow 2.5/unrated sessions Thursday 9:00 am to 11:00 am

Lois E Hole ALL sessions Friday 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm

If anyone can help captain at any of these sessions please contact our venue manager at venuemanager@pickleballstalbert.ca.

Please Note:  Indoor play at our school venues will begin the week of September 30th.

August Outdoor Play Statistics 

In case you are interested in numbers, please see the Alpine outdoor play statistics for August below:

Rating Level              Attendees

         2.5                              223

         3.0                              248

         3.5                              540

         3.5+                            281

         4.0+                            299

         4.5+                              26

         ALL                             230

          70+                              36

    League Play                  180

    Partner Play                 186

      3.0 DUPR                       76

      3.5 DUPR                    115

Total Attendance      2,440

By Comparison, July attendance was 2,360; June saw 2,003 participants and May attendance was 1,820.

Registration for Play sessions at the One possession venue at 320 Circle drive in St. Albert will open September 8th at midnight.  Play sessions will begin the week of September 30th.  These are six week sessions at a cost of $45.00.  Please read the description on the registration so that you fully understand how a play session works!   You may find these sessions on the One Possession Play Calendar by clicking here.

We now have over 1,000 active members!! This sport and our Club are really taking off!  The breakdown of our members at the end of August (with comparative figures for July) are as follows:

                                      July           August  (Current)        Inc/(Dec)

No Rating                   329                          341                              12   

2.5 Rating                     42                             43                                1

3.0 Rating                   155                          157                                2

3.5 Rating                   254                          257                                3        

4.0 Rating                   181                          183                                2          

4.5+ Rating                   54                            54                              Nil          

Total Members      1015                       1035                             20  

Until next time keep your paddle up!   

In this issue:

Call for Indoor Captains / Indoor Schedules

Please be advised that the Club will be holding Indoor Captains meetings at Red Willow Church on September 4th from 9:00 to 10:30 am and later the same day from 6:30 to 8:00 pm.

You should note that the Indoor Calendars have now been posted to the website (yeahhhhh!).  Indoor play will begin on September 30th (or possibly even later dependent on the weather).

Please consider stepping forward to become a captain at the schools or at Red Willow Church.

A team of  two or three members is ideal for each session to share the commitments.

At the meetings the procedures for being an indoor captain will be explained step by step.  For those who have not done this before - don't fear it's a pretty straightforward and simple process - and you get to meet and interact with a lot of nice people!

Please respond to the venue manager by clicking here to let Eileen know what session you plan to attend.

This is a wonderful way to give back to the Club as we cannot have play sessions without our captains. Thank you for considering this opportunity to volunteer.

Thanks to Our Volunteers

We had over 50 folks attend the volunteer thank you on August 10th.  It was a great turnout and the weather cooperated.  Art and Jeanine did a great job organizing the event including signage and photo opportunities, a great lunch and a wonderful welcoming sign.  Thank you so much for all of your hard work Art and Jeanine! 

On behalf of the Board Eileen thanked all of our amazing volunteers!

Eileen's Volunteer Thank You:

V is for very;  we are so very thankful for all of you and your volunteering!

O is for outstanding; by giving so many hours to the Club and taking care of so many tasks we are considered a wonderful club - thanks to you for being outstanding!

L is for lucky and loyal; we are lucky that we have you stepping forward and over the years I have seen so many of the same volunteers step forward year after year - for your loyalty, thank you 

U is for unbeatable and unbelievable; for your hours of commitment especially for the seasoned volunteers; we also welcome the new volunteers for stepping forward.

N is for nourishing as you take newbies under your wings!  Your kind actions bring more people stepping forward and we do need that with 1015 members.

T is for terrific and treasured; you are all terrific for all that you do for the Club; you are so treasured for all of your commitment to the Club.

E is for exceptional; the Club is only as good as its volunteers, thank you for being exceptional!

E is for engaging and enthusiastic; by being engaged in volunteering and carrying out your volunteering with enthusiasm, everything runs so smoothly.

R is for remarkable and respect; last but not least, you are all remarkable and we respect you so much for all of your hard work (sometimes daily for many of you).

So thank you, muchas gratias, danke, gor a maith agat, merci - for all that you do!!!

Three cheers for our incredible volunteers!!!

Available Volunteer Roles

Safety Coordinator:

What are the tasks associated with this role?

• Itemize the first aid kits and document their placement

• Prepare and maintain first aid kits for use in various venues

• Order restock items when required

• Monitor the upkeep of the AED Machine (battery life, etc.)

Training will be provided.

Time commitment - 5 hours/year.

If you are interested please respond to:

venuemanager@pickleballstalbert.ca 

Rating Coordinators:

Looking for 2 members to join the rating coordination team to assist with the preparation of rating clinics.

Preferred Competencies of Rating Coordinators: 

• Eagerness to learn
• Organizational and interpersonal skills
• Basic knowledge of Excel is required
• Familiar with Pickleball Brackets software
• Assist the leads with other tasks

Training will be provided.

Time commitment - 3 to 5 hours/month.

If you are interested please respond to:

rating1@pickleballstalbert.ca

Facilities Task Team Committee Members:

We are looking for individuals to join our Facilities Task Team to help promote  and advocate for a new 20+ outdoor court facility in St. Albert.

The FT Team has 2 main work streams at this time:

1.  Outdoor Facilities

a.)   Research possible land available for courts.

b.)  Apply for grants, seek sponsors to support and sponsor new outdoor courts; work with COSA in the process of getting courts built. 

This new court initiative will take significant effort over the next 2 years. 

2.  Indoor Facilities

• Work with indoor facility operators to secure additional winter/indoor court times

SAPC members with new ideas and backgrounds suited to either of these mandates would be especially appreciated.   For example, we would love to have folks with the following skills and abilities to volunteer for this role:

• Insights in facilities operating and capital project costs. 
• Experience with Strategic Planning and risk assessment in a business setting 
• Negotiating skills in private and public business setting

If you are interested, please contact Eileen at:

president@pickleballstalbert.ca

July Outdoor Play Statistics 

In case you are interested in numbers, please see the Alpine outdoor play statistics for July below:

Rating Level              Attendees

         2.5                              146

         3.0                              113

         3.5                              610

         3.5+                            182

         4.0+                            312

         4.5+                              29

         ALL                             262

          70+                              52

    League Play                  180

    Partner Play                 236

      3.0 DUPR                       92

      3.5 DUPR                    146

Total Attendance      2,360

By Comparison, June total attendance was 2,003 and May was 1,820.

Get your Stickers for Indoor Play

We now have over 1,000 active members!! This sport and our Club are really taking off!  The breakdown of our members at the end of July (with comparative figures for June) are as follows:

                                    June           July (Current)       Inc/(Dec)

No Rating                  317                          329                      12   

2.5 Rating                    39                            42                         3

3.0 Rating                  151                          155                        4

3.5 Rating                  254                          254                        0        

4.0 Rating                  187                          181                       (6)

4.5+ Rating                  46                            54                         8          

Total Members       994                        1015                      21

Until next time keep your paddle up!   

In this issue:

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

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!  

In this issue:

2024 Tournaments

League Play 4.0+ Update

There has been overwhelming interest in the new League play format this spring. Unfortunately, the creation of this new play format for 4.0+ members has highlighted the fact that we lacked proper processes, documentation and communication for the following:

• the rules governing this mode of play  

• job descriptions for the organizers, the league captains and scheduler

The resulting poor communications, lack of understanding, last minute changes and lack of transparency resulted in a number of concerns and complaints raised by our members. 

The Board apologizes for not being proactive in organizing League play adequately and the distress and frustration this caused for many of our members. 

Please be assured that with help from the volunteers involved, the Board is hard at work in addressing this issue.  Very shortly, a detailed report will go out the 4.0+ Club members with specifics about the nature of the complaints and actions that will be taken by the associated volunteers and the Board to address this issue both for the current season and in the future.

Mentoring Sessions

We have mentoring sessions scheduled for June and July as noted below.

Mentoring sessions are at 11 am to 1 pm on Saturdays at the Alpine outdoor courts.  

In June we will have :

June 22nd - Level 2.5

June 24th - Level 3

In July we have:

July 13th - Level 2.5

July 20th - Level 4

July 27th - Level 3

July 6th - Level 3.5

A week before each session members for the specific Club Rating Level that is being mentored, as noted above, will be made aware that registration is opening soon.  Shortly after you will receive an email advising registration is now open. 

Important Change to Note:

We want to give as many people as possible the opportunity for mentoring so members should only register for one mentoring session this summer.  Only if there is an opening the day before the session can a member register for another session.  Furthermore, if you participated in one of the last few indoor mentoring sessions, please give others a chance to register first for these outdoor sessions.

Cancelled Outdoor Play Sessions

Non-SAPC Tournaments

We have been asked to advertise the following tournaments on behalf of other clubs in our province:

Medicine Hat Pickleball Club

The Medicine Hat Pickleball Club is extending an invitation to all members to come play in the Medicine Hat Pickleball Open Tournament on Friday, July 5th to Sunday July 7th, 2024.  For more information check the following link:

Medicine Hat Pickleball Club Open Tournament

According to MHPC they have a beautiful outdoor 20 court facility with state of the art courts and look forward to welcoming everyone to the Hat in July!!!

St. Albert Rotary Club

The Rotary Club is holding a fund raising tournament on June 15th and June 16th.  This event is a fundraising effort for St Albert community projects.   If you are interested click this link. 

If you have any questions or still want to volunteer, please contact Daniela at ionitescudaniela@gmail.com to see if there are any opportunities available.

We look for forward to seeing you there!!

Membership Breakdown by Rating Level

976 members have already renewed their memberships for 2024.  The breakdown of those members at the end of May (with comparative figures for April) are as follows:

                                   April              May  (Current)      Inc/(Dec)

No Rating                  264                         327                           

2.5 Rating                    28                           34                             6

3.0 Rating                  135                         141                            6

3.5 Rating                  219                         247                          28        

4.0 Rating                  158                         184                          26

4.5+ Rating                  19                            43                          24          

Total Members        823                        976                        153

Note: The substantial percentage increase in 4.0+ members can at least partially be attributed to the launch of the new 4.0+ League format play in May, 2024.

Until next time keep your paddle up!