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Newsletter January 30, 2023

2023-01-28 13:08 | Anonymous

In this issue:

 Rating Process Changes   Level 1 Sports - New Play Offerings

Changes to Player Rating Processes

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

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

So why make a change now?

  • Leslie and Sean have expressed that they are no longer interested in running the traditional form of rating sessions for our Club and others in the region
  • As noted above, there are very few, if any, qualified and experienced pickleball raters in the region as confirmed by our unsuccessful recruiting drive
  • The historical rating process is subject to interpretations by members that the process is subjective and, although never substantiated, claims of bias have even been made on rare occasions (such unfounded claims obviously make it difficult to recruit new raters so a vicious cycle is created)

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

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

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

Club President - Eileen McClean

Club Vice President - James Porter

Club Treasurer - Ray Keroack

Communications Director - Roger Hutlet

Director at Large - Tamas Virag

Rating Coordinator - Karen Cabot

Rating Coordinator - Jeanine Au

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

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

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

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

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

    Level 1 Sports Venue - New Play Offerings

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

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

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

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

    GROUP RESERVED PLAY

    • A group may be four or more people.

    • Only one person reserves the court.  The reserver must be a member.  Other group members may be non-members.
    • A member may book up to 2 courts each day.
    • A separate reservation must be made for each court.
    • Fee is 10 stickers per court, payable upon arrival (that works out to $33.50/court)
    • Stickers must be purchased in advance.  The club does not sell stickers at the facility.
    • The captain will assign specific courts to group leaders in a random fashion.
    • Players can be any skill level(s).
    • Reservations can be made through the Level 1 Sports Calendar (click here)
    • Reservations open at Thursday midnight (12:01 am Friday) the week before the day of play with the first registrations opening this coming Friday, February 3rd.
    • If all six courts are reserved, join the waitlist.
    • If your group can't attend, please cancel your registration so those on the waitlist can be automatically registered.

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

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

    DROP IN PLAY

    • Cost will be two stickers per member.

    • Guests sponsored by an attending member are allowed (for now at least) - the cost is three stickers.
    • No advanced registration needed (that's what "Drop In" means).
    • Thursdays will be for 3.0s and 3.5s only.
    • Mondays will be for 3.5s and 4.0s only.
    • No limits (at least initially) to the number of attendees - so everybody plays - but (typically) only with members of their skill level.
    • The play session Captain may decide to play round robin or paddle play.

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

    • If 12 to 15 players show up from each of the two skill levels, then each level will be allocated 3 courts
    • If 10 players of one skill level show up and 20 from another, the 10 would be allocated two courts and the 20 will be allocated four, but
    • If only 4 or 5 players of one level show up, they will be allocated at least one court.
    • If 3 or fewer players of one level show up, they will mix and play with those of the other skill level.

    Group Reserved Play AND Drop In Play

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

    • All play times are 10 am to 12 noon.

    Until next time, keep your paddle up!    

       Contacts


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