Leadership Team Meeting – Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 4:00pm – Gregg Park
The meeting was held indoors at Gregg Park. In attendance were members of the Leadership Team, Joyce Noland, George Carr, and Harve Mobley; also in attendance was Nelson Swartzentruber, Judy DeGregorio, Leslie McCowan, Ron Nelson, Pat Smith, Larry Howell, Mo Garcia, Linda Blake and Faith Loeb; Harve took the minutes. Joyce called the meeting to order, and items discussed were:
Odell Weeks
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Odell Weeks to lose playing time in the fall again. Encourage people to play at GPCC and SH to keep our playing time opportunities at those venues.
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SH gave us Mondays and Wednesdays 9-12PM. We will probably lose the Wednesday slot in October.
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With the Aiken Tournament, a special event, and the floors being redone we will have three consecutive weeks with limited open/reserved play.
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The men’s doubles mixer was on August 21st.
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A general note that court reservations should not be made as “back-ups” to outdoor play.
Gregg Park
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GPCC has a new Athletic Director. An introductory meeting with him is forthcoming.
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Two new curtain panels have been ordered to fill the current gap in the curtains.
Ratings
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A suggestion was brought forward to use competitive round robin events to help set player ratings. For example, a gold medal winner at a 3.5 RR would be moved up to a 3.5 rating if they are currently below 3.5. A discussion and vote ensued, and it was decided to not make any automatic adjustments, but it was resolved to let the Rating Committee heads (Ron Nelson or Mo Garcia) use competitive RR play to make informed decisions. It was also noted that the rating origins on the website need clarification, particularly the category “Leadership Committee”.
2021 Aiken Tournament
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169 are registered with a goal of around 200.
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Michelle and Beth Eberhard are working with sponsors to get donations for the Player Bags.
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Sponsorships are at $9875 from 11 local sponsors (2 Diamond, 1 Platinum, 4 Gold, 3 Silver, and 1 Bronze level)
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Purchase orders for nets/medals/staff shirts/and balls are received. Player and volunteer shirts, and sponsor’s banners are on order or are being processed by the suppliers. Mid-court separators and court separators were completed by Mo’s band of merry men.
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The City of Aiken meeting was on August 9th. Items discussed included Registration numbers, purchase orders, Food Truck status, any changes due to Covid-19 uptick, hanging Sponsor banners, post tournament advertising, and collection of information (survey) by the Tourism department. The next city meeting will be a walk-through tour of OW on Tuesday, August 31 at 8:30 AM. When asked about Covid and any new rules for the Tournament, the City responded that they generally follow the Governor’s lead.
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David Hoel resigned as Head Referee due to Covid concerns. Ben Lacy has taken his place.
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A Volunteer sign-up spreadsheet from Larry Howell has been very useful in tracking volunteer sign-ups.
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Overall, we are at 75% as of August 15. Most critical is the need for 23 more shifts of court monitors. CM training will take place on August 24 room 3, 7-8 PM Another meeting may be scheduled.
Round Robins
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It was proposed that we should charge more money for competitive round robins to raise some money for the Pickleball Treasury. A vote was taken and $20 was the majority choice. There is a desire to keep a clear separation between competitive and social RRs.
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November 6th is the next RR. We need input to decide the format in the next week or so (Target deadline of August 25th).
League/Ladders/Mixers
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The recent survey indicated there was not a strong preference for the league or a ladder, the response from the survey was rather low. If we have a league, we must find a venue and begin team sign ups soon. More to come.
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Anne Rheins was inquiring about a “Border Bash” event to pit Georgia players against South Carolina players in a one-time special event. More details to come.
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Laura Fenton is coming to offer clinics prior to the Aiken Tournament. She is a very accomplished tennis/racquetball/pickleball player. Stay tuned.
Ratings (Ron Nelson)
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The rating session for July 26th had six players rated and four players are scheduled to be rated on August 23rd. The next Skill Rating Session is scheduleld for September 20th. Sessions are held at Smith-Hazel.
Next Social
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A target date of October 15th is set for the next Social Event. The food choice will be pizza this time. Please make an effort to pay early if you plan to attend so arrangements can be made to order for everyone.
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The party held for Jeana’s departure was well received and greatly appreciated by Jeana.
Treasurer’s Report
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We have a total of $497 and change in the account. There was some income from the RR and some expenses for medals, internet domain charges, and some other miscellaneous charges.
Player Reps Reports
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No updates from the player reps
Next Meeting
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The next meeting will be held on the first Monday in October at OW at 5 PM.