Board meeting minutes for 4/1/2019

Leadership Team Meeting - Monday, April 1, 2019 at 5:30pm - Room 4 at Odell Weeks

In attendance were Joyce Noland, Nancy Racki, Linda Blake, Chuck Buchanan, Diane Voss, Mo Garcia, Vicki Thomas, Gene Thomas, Beverly Edwards, Barb Dellamora, Dick Diemar, Grace Vance, Faith Loeb and Marissa Evans

Joyce called the meeting to order and introduced Marissa Evans as the new secretary.

Clinic at Eustis Park

  • Grace and Chuck discussed the upcoming clinic and the number of volunteers signed up and required for the event. Information will be sent to the volunteers and a training meeting will be held on Fri.
  • There will be 2 clinics held: 10am -12pm and 12pm-2pm. 40 people have signed up and there will be 20 in each clinic. The participants will be separated by age.
  • So far, we have 1 instructor and hope to have more volunteers. Mo suggested to have at least a 2:8 ratio of volunteers to players. There was additional discussion about softer balls for younger players and Mo will look into that.

Update on City of Aiken Pickleball Proclamation

  • Joyce thanked everyone that went to the meeting. The city of Aiken has proclaimed that the city will observe National Pickleball Month in April. Chuck accepted the certificate and it will be displayed in a frame in the trophy case. There will be banners placed around town. Every April will be National Pickleball month in Aiken. There was no coverage by the newspaper.

Update on the ADPS Clinic

  • This past Saturday a clinic was held for the Aiken Dept of Public Safety. The policemen really enjoyed it. It was a combination of the officers, Mo, Joyce and other players.
  • Mo designed the paddles that were given to the officers.
  • It was a very encouraging experience. All 9 participants left with huge smiles. Carl Odenthal was instrumental in making it happen. With the flexible schedules we hope to get some of the officers back to play at OW. At the end of the clinic they were "dinking".
  • The ADPS introduction to Pickleball was a negative one. They were called to the Woodside Reserve for complains regarding playing. It was rewarding to the that their initial exposure to the sport has been replaced by a positive one.

Update on Gregg Park

  • There was some discussion about changes of pickleball schedule times without much change. Gregg Park was considering tapping additional two courts but since OW expanded their hours, the crowds have dropped and they have decided to remain at 4 courts for the time being.
  • Round Robin scheduled for June 29th and it will be a good opportunity for exposure for the facilities. It is nice that they open until 9:30pm.
  • The team was asked about suggestions on the format for this Round Robin (RR). There was some confusion about the results of the survey - whether people wanted to sign up with a specific partner or without. Grace commented that at the last one the participants were happy that they didn't have specific partners.  Joyce said that since it is in June, people want to play with a specific partner to practice for the Palmetto Tournament.
  • Suggestion was made that we make the decision later or the day of the RR but Mo said that it can't be done like that, it has to be planned ahead.
  • There was additional discussion that at the RR at First Presbyterian there were complains about unbalanced teams when the teams were picked at random. Joyce made the point that even players at the same level are no necessarily the same. The RR Gregg Park will be a good one to pick a partner and stay with the same one all day.
  • There was also discussion about which type - men, women or mixed. There will be 3 sessions: 3.0 in the am, 3.5 in early pm and 4.0+ late pm.
  • Faith asked if the Fall Round Robin could be held at night at OW. Joyce said that we couldn't due to OW closing time.

Round Robin on April 27 at USCA

  • Players will be separated by just rating, no age groups.
  • We need more players for this event. Would like to have 10 teams of each rank needed but so far we only have 6 teams of 3.0 and 2 teams of 4.0. Due to the low local turn out we need to reach out to the Augusta/Columbia pickleball communities. Mo will send information to Lexington.
  • Joyce sent out an email on April 1 asking for both players and volunteers for the event. We need time people, people for the pickleball information booth and also for the court outside on the concrete to show people about pickleball.  We are going to need about 12-15 volunteers.
  • For the RR USCA we will use the First Pres separators. Need to transport the separators on Friday They are counting on OW to help in every way possible
  • The Senior Expo will have 20 booths and USCA is hoping to make this an annual event. The volunteers will sign up for specific shifts times not for the whole day. Will be held at the Convocation Center and information for volunteers and players will be emailed.

Need someone to work on the website

  • We need some help with both the website and the calendar for Aiken Pickleball. George Carr has agreed to work on the calendar. Since Loretta stopped working on the website there is a huge need for article writers and also proofreading. We need new blood to learn how the calendar and the website work.
  • Vicki volunteered to help out. Chuck suggested we reach out to our group of active players. Approach them face to face and encourage them to get involved. And if you know someone with IT experience or computer experience, ask them to help.
  • Grace suggested to go to the volunteer database.

 

Website help session

  • A help session for sign up genius has been scheduled for April 16th at 5:30pm. A lot of people have expressed the need for a help session but they haven’t signed up for the one we have scheduled.
  • The information meeting will cover subjects such as deleting things, access code, what is available on the website, how to reserve a court and more. We need to encourage players to come to the meeting if they need help instead of asking one on one.

Other discussion

  • League - can we have a 3.0/3.5 mixed team play another 3.0/3.5 mixed team. Mo replied that this is an idea to present to the captain. That overall league has improved playing level.
  • Safety -Vicki asked about safety glasses for pickleball. Mo said the they are planning a clinic on safety and will cover the glasses among other things such as partners, shoes, apparel, communication between playing partners, etc. Mo is looking into buying some safety glasses to have available at the front desk to check out. Grace also mentioned that newbies get a 4-page safety handout.
  • The county is talking about building pickleball courts at Boyd Pond. The initial idea was to build a 16-court complex.
  • Beginners clinics - two clinics per month on the 1st wed of each month one at 1pm and a second one at 5:30pm to cover people who work. The policy is that if only 1 person signs up, the clinic is cancelled but 2 or more and it is a go. The interested person must play for the clinic at sign up time to get a commitment to attend.
  • Other courts available - There was a brief discussion about other places that have courts and times: First Presbyterian on Mondays and Tuesdays. Also, First Baptist on Richland is looking to set 2 courts and open them to everyone.

Next Meeting to be held on Monday, May 6, 2019 at 5:30pm. Location Odell Weeks, Room 4.