Ladies West Valley Intercommunity League Formation
For those ladies who have, or are considering competitive play at the 3.5 level, this upcoming 2019-2020 league is for you!
This league is an opportunity to experience pickleball play at not only our Sun City courts, but also Sun City West, Pueblo El Mirage, and Sun City Festival. One of our very active club players, Judy Nichols, has offered to both host the games at our club and serve as club team captain for games scheduled at the other communities. This league will require all players to be USAPA members and have a 3.5 rating by game time this fall. Games will be scheduled at 2:00 PM on Wednesdays.
Please contact Judy for questions and provide her with the following information:
Player’s Name, Age, Telephone number, Email address, and current UTPR rating.
Judy will prepare an email blast for all interested players with upcoming news and game schedules.
Lobster Update-Part II
Good news! Our Lobster was released from the veterinary hospital and is healthy, again. It does need to be exercised, so sign it out and put it through some challenging drills (club tournament is only 36 days away!) Our thanks to club member Steve McClean for helping to diagnose its ailments.
Your Board of Directors is putting a preventative maintenance schedule in place. Should the Lobster show signs of injury or illness, please return the Lobster to its home (the closet) and notify a board member at your earliest opportunity.
For our Mountain View players, a second Lobster is in the works and should be available for use this fall.
Lobster Update
Since our Club acquired the “Lobster” pickleball machine, we have seen almost daily use by our members for drills and training. With that high utilization comes a certain amount of normal wear on the moving parts. Our thanks to Michele Kiesling for bringing this issue to the Board’s attention and contacting the manufacturer to help determine necessary repairs.
Based on the manufacturer’s information, we have removed the Lobster from service and are sending it to the manufacturer for inspection and repair as needed. We expect to receive some warranty credit for certain parts. Our plan is to have the Lobster repaired and returned to the Club later this month. When the Lobster is back in service at Marinette, we will send out a notification to all members.
Thank you for your patience and see you on the courts!
Club Tournament
Member/Member & Member/Guest Tournament
September 20 & 21
Marinette Courts
Sign in at 7:00, Play at 7:30 both days
Men’s, Women’s and Mixed Doubles
2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0+ No Age Brackets
Coffee, Breakfast snacks, and Ice provided
Complete Info and Registration on the Club website
Member/Member, Upcoming, Lights, Safety, Lessons
Thank you to the early registrants for our Member/Member & Member/Guest Tournament coming up September 20 & 21! We’re off to a great start, but need lots more! There is plenty of time, but we all know how time flies, so don’t procrastinate too long! This is a great opportunity for those who haven’t played a major tournament to try it out on a smaller, much more relaxed, scale. It’s also a chance for those of you who have quit playing tournaments, for whatever reason, to get out and enjoy the experience again!
We have two Fun Days coming up in October, followed by our Pickleball Roundup at the end of the month. There’s also a Club meeting on October 21st. Looking beyond that, there is a Color/Team Tournament November 11, followed by our Volunteer Luncheon on November 16. Our last Membership Meeting of the year is December 6th, followed by our Christmas Party on the 7th.
Have you volunteered this year? Sign ups will be out soon for the Roundup, but we also need volunteers for all our Club events. These vols are no less important than those who work the major tournaments, and will also be honored at the Volunteer Luncheon.
The lights for Marinette have been approved and it is reasonable to expect them to be installed before the Roundup at the end of October. There is no guarantee, however. The exhaust fans we requested are not being considered at this time, partly due to the solar panels covering half the Pavilion roof, but mostly to see how the existing “natural” ventilation system works once the light are up and some of the screens are down. The Lobster for Mountain View has been ordered and will be in place by te time play resumes there in September or October.
We mentioned being careful to stay hydrated in the last email. We also want to make sure we are under control at all times as we run (such as that is) around the courts. We’ve been told to not run backwards, but any lunge, reach or stretch that pulls us off balance is an invitation to disaster! I have a picture of one of our members, who says it’s ok to share, with an ugly gash, missing hair and 5 staples in the top of his head, when the trip after a cross court volley ended up leading to a crash into a fence post and a trip to the ER. Bad as it was, it could have been worse! Be careful! Know your limits!
Lessons are a great way to learn – when the recipient is ready and willing to absorb one. Please refrain from giving your unsolicited advice to those with whom you are playing! Many of us are glad to have it; many of us are not! No one, BTW, is currently authorized to charge for lessons given on our courts. Violation will have consequences.
Thanks everyone! Next one will be much shorter!
Dave
Club Tourn, Roundup, Balls, Dues, Nametags, Heat, Emails
On September 20 and 21 our Club will host its first Member&Member/Member&Guest Tournament. As the name suggests, at least one member of each team must be a SCPC Member. For those who have been reluctant to try tournament competition, this is a great opportunity to give tournament play a try without getting into an all day, possibly stressful, sometimes expensive experience. This will be none of those, but will be a fun time with some great friendly competition at all levels.
There will be brackets for Men’s, Women’ and Mixed Doubles at Skill Levels 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0+. There will be no age brackets unless a bracket is large enough to split into two full brackets. Men’s and Women’s will play on the 20th, Mixed on the 21st. Registration will begin both days at 7:00, play at 7:30 sharp!
All play will be in Round Robin format; number of matches, games per match and points per game to be determined by the size of each bracket. The Tournament reserves the right to move a team to a different bracket to fill a bracket or because it believes a team is entered in an incorrect bracket. Registration is now available on the Club website. $10 per team per event, payable via PayPal. One team member should enter and pay for both. Registration deadline is September 15. https://suncitypickleballclub.org/membermember-or-memberguest-tournament/
SCPC will pay all guest fees. Coffee, juice, fruit, donuts and other breakfast snacks will be provided, as will ice. Players should bring their own water containers.
As mentioned last week, registration for our “Roundup” tournament begins Monday, July 15. If you don’t immediately get into your bracket, sign up for the “Wait List”. More often than not you will eventually get moved into your bracket.
Now that the heat has settled in, it’s even more important to return the balls to the coolers, and the coolers to the pavilion, after play. We’ve been doing pretty well at this, and it shows! The balls will still get softer than we’d like, but keeping them out of the direct sun helps a lot!
Much more importantly than the balls, we need to protect our bodies in this heat. HYDRATE! And keep an eye on your partners and opponents to make sure they’re doing ok, please.
Please check with your friends to see if they’re getting Club emails. We periodically lose people for no apparent reason, but can’t correct the problem til we know it exists.
You may have noticed in one of our local papers that our dues are $15. That is the correct figure, agreed upon by the Board, for 2020 and will be in effect October 1, when renewals begin. $15 was the figure initially proposed in 2017, and there is no need for it to be any higher at this time.
Finally, please remember to wear your Club Name Badge. Also, please take a look at the badges at the bulletin board once in awhile and see if someone you know has left hers/his hanging there.
Thanks!
Dave
Independence Day Breakfast and Play
Our Independence Day breakfast and round robin event today was a great success! We had a great member and guest turnout for our club event. Special thanks to PK for organizing the breakfast, to those who brought dishes to share, and to our volunteers for assisting with the food service and the round robin play. Also, our thanks to the Marinette staff for setting up the tables and chairs in the perfect shady patio location. What a great way to burn some calories and work up an appetite! On the social side, this was the perfect time to catch up with our fellow club members on summer plans and sharing stories of travel and adventure. See you on the courts!
Fall Round Up Registration Begins July 15
A reminder to Sun City Pickleball Club members that our first major event of the 2019-20 season — the Fall Round Up on Oct. 29-31 at the Marinette Recreation Center — opens for registration on July 15.
Tournament fields fill quickly so please keep in mind the July 15 date. Event information is available at pickleballtournaments.com
Breakfast
The procrastinators among us still have a few hours to register for our July 3 Independence Day breakfast. Please do so ASAP, if you have not already done so and wish to attend.
Those wishing to participate in a Round Robin on the 3rd should plan to be in the Pavilion by 6:50. Courts will be available for open play as well, both for those attending the Breakfast and those who just can’t hang around til 8:30 for it to be ready.
As has been the norm lately, this event is being coordinated by PK Klepadlo and her group of volunteers. Please take a moment to thank them profusely!
And while you’re thanking people this Independence Day, thank a Veteran!
July 3rd
One last reminder!
Our Club’s Annual Independence Day Party will take place next Wednesday, July 3rd on the Marinette Patio from 7 – 9AM. Coffee and a few breakfast munchies will be available about 7, with breakfast (a breakfast casserole, breakfast sandwiches, etc) at 8:30. Feel free to bring breakfast snacks to share, and bring your beverage of choice if coffee, orange juice and water are not enough .There will be a Round Robin for those who wish to participate, and open play for others.
While there is no fee for this event, you must sign up by Friday, June 28.