Board Meeting Minutes, Tuesday, April 3, 2018, Room 3, Odell Weeks at 5:00PM
In attendance were Jim Kabel, Nancy Vermilye, Marian Garcia, Dick Diemar, Beverly Edwards, Mike & Loretta Beckner, Joyce Noland, Linda Blake, Faith Loeb, Jeff Beckner, Beverly Shaver and Nancy Racki.
Reserve Court
- Jim Kabel began the discussion on our court reservation system primarily for the winter months of November, December and January. Items discussed were:
1. Number of days per week players are permitted to reserve courts, two versus three.
2. Timeline for reserving courts.
3. Do we send out the new updated court reserve system now or wait until a time closer to when changes will become effective?
- Another concern that was discussed was “abusers” of the court reservation guidelines. It is difficult to police the abusers and at this point in time, no decision was made on enforcing consequences, if any, to abusers.
- A change in the timeline for reserving courts was discussed. Joyce Noland will be sending out an e-blast announcement explaining these changes and when they become effective.
- The following two votes were taken by Board Members present:
1. Vote #1: The majority voted that players be permitted to reserve a court for "two days per week" when courts open up on Sign-Up Genius on Thursdays. They are welcome to return to Sign-Up Genius on Friday to reserve additional courts if available.
2. Vote #2: The majority voted that the timeline for court reservations be for the week beginning 4 days after the slots are posted. (This change will be implemented immediately.)
- Unless identified here or elsewhere, changes will be further outlined and implemented before reserve court time becomes severely limited again, probably beginning in October.
- NOTE: Joyce Noland’s e-blast sent 4/4/2018 with changes to the timeline for court reservations:
“The slots for the courts for the week starting April 16th will be posted between 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM tomorrow (Thursday).
Starting next week, we will return to the schedule of reserving courts for the week beginning 4 days after the slots are posted. This means that NO COURTS will be posted on Thursday, April 12th, since the slots for the week of the 16th will already be up. Posting will resume on April 19th for courts for the week starting on April 23.”
April – National Pickleball Month
- Mike Beckner informed us that April is National Pickleball Month are here are several events that he had suggested that the Aiken Pickledillys could do to honor our sport. This e-blast was sent out to the group:
”Dear All,
The USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) has designated April as "National Pickleball Month". To recognize this first ever celebration of a month dedicated to highlighting pickleball, the Pickledillys are planning several activities:
1. April 12 - Donate Day: On Thursday, April 12th, we will be supporting the Area Churches Together Serving (ACTS) food bank program. When you play that day we request that you bring canned goods or other non-perishable food items with you to Odell Weeks. They will be collected there and then delivered to ACTS. We ask that you be as generous as you can. We hope this is just the first of many charitable events to be sponsored by the Pickledillys.
2. April 27 - Robin Slam: This will be a social competitive event on Friday, April 27, from 4:00-8:45 Round robin play will occur within skill-level groups, changing partners at each round. At a minimum, Pickledilly bragging rights will be on the line! More information to follow.
3. Aiken Standard - Dr. David Keisler, who writes a bi-monthly health column in the Aiken Standard, will highlight the health aspects of pickleball during his mid-month column. We have also submitted a broader article on pickleball to the Aiken Standard and we hope to see it published at some point during the month. Be on the lookout for these stories that help promote the sport.
4. USAPA Membership: For those of you who have not yet joined the USAPA, I ask that you please favorably consider joining this month to help celebrate National Pickleball Month. The USAPA is a 501 (c) (3) organization that helps foster and nurture the spread of pickleball throughout the country. They have a generous grant program wherein they assist qualified applicants with purchasing equipment to start local programs. We used the program in 2011 to purchase the first net standards when pickleball started in Aiken! You can join online by going to https://www.usapa.org/usapa-membership/. This would be a good way to give back to the sport which has given us all so much
We look forward to your participation in these events and to the support we can provide to important local organizations. Thank you for your help!
Paddles up!
Mike”
- Mike would also like to see a USAPA banner displayed in Gym 2.
Round Robin Slam
NOTE: To expand on the April 27 Round Robin Slam, it will be open to a total of 64 players on a first come first serve basis with players playing at their own level. Nine courts will be available for play from 2:00PM-8:30PM. Augusta and Columbia players will be invited to enter.
Mondays – Court Designation
- Monday morning play will go back to the original first hour of court designation play from 9-10AM with drop-in mixed level play to follow.
Social Agenda
- An in-house social will be planned for next month on Friday, May, 25. (Update: The social will likely be at a restaurant in June.)
Additional Notes:
- From Brie Campbell:
- No court time will be available in Gym 1 June 11th – August 11th
- Gym 2 Monday-Thursday, Courts 4-6 only will be available 9AM-1PM
- Hopefully full Gym 2 will be available Monday-Thursday 1PM-8:45PM
3. Full Gym 2 on Fridays. Hopefully 9AM-8:45PM
- Mike Beckner announced that effective May 1, 2018, he will be retiring as the USAPA Ambassador in Aiken. Mo Garcia has agreed to be his replacement.
- Loretta Beckner announced that effective May 1, 2018, she will be retiring as the USAPA District Ambassador. There has been no replacement named to date.
Next Meeting
The meeting was adjourned at 7:18PM. The next leadership meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 1, 2018, 6:00PM, at Odell Weeks.