Aiken Pickleball News

A Short Explanation by Jonathan Smith, Yale University

Hey everybody, as an infectious disease epidemiologist (although a lowly one), at this point I feel morally obligated to provide some information on what we are seeing from a transmission dynamic perspective and how they apply to the social distancing measures. Like any good scientist I have noticed two things that are either not articulated or not present in the “literature” of social media.

Specifically, I want to make two aspects of these measures very clear and unambiguous.

First, we are in the very infancy of this epidemic’s trajectory. That means even with these measures we will see cases and deaths continue to rise globally, nationally, and in our own communities in the coming weeks. Our hospitals will be overwhelmed, and people will die that didn’t have to. This may lead some people to think that the social distancing measures are not working. They are. They may feel futile. They aren’t. You will feel discouraged. You should. This is normal in chaos.

This enemy that we are facing is very good at what it does; we are not failing. We need everyone to hold the line as the epidemic inevitably gets worse. This is not my opinion; this is the unforgiving math of epidemics for which I and my colleagues have dedicated our lives to understanding with great nuance, and this disease is no exception. We know what will happen; I want to help the community brace for this impact. Stay strong and with solidarity knowing with absolute certainty that what you are doing is saving lives, even as people begin getting sick and dying around you. You may feel like giving in. Don’t.

Second, although social distancing measures have been (at least temporarily) well-received, there is an obvious-but-overlooked phenomenon when considering groups (i.e. families) in transmission dynamics. While social distancing decreases contact with members of society, it of course increases your contacts with group (i.e. family) members. This small and obvious fact has surprisingly profound implications on disease transmission dynamics. Study after study demonstrates that even if there is only a little bit of connection between groups (i.e. social dinners, playdates/playgrounds, etc.), the epidemic trajectory isn’t much different than if there was no measure in place. The same underlying fundamentals of disease transmission apply, and the result is that the community is left with all of the social and economic disruption but very little public health benefit. You should perceive your entire family to function as a single individual unit; if one person puts themselves at risk, everyone in the unit is at risk. Seemingly small social chains get large and complex with alarming speed. If your son visits his girlfriend, and you later sneak over for coffee with a neighbor, your neighbor is now connected to the infected office worker that your son’s girlfriend’s mother shook hands with. This sounds silly, it’s not. This is not a joke or a hypothetical. We as epidemiologists see it borne out in the data time and time again and no one listens. Conversely, any break in that chain breaks disease transmission along that chain.

In contrast to hand-washing and other personal measures, social distancing measures are not about individuals, they are about societies working in unison. These measures also take a long time to see the results. It is hard (even for me) to conceptualize how ‘one quick little get together’ can undermine the entire framework of a public health intervention, but it does. I promise you it does. I promise. I promise. I promise. You can’t cheat it. People are already itching to cheat on the social distancing precautions just a “little”- a playdate, a haircut, or picking up a needless item at the store, etc. From a transmission dynamics standpoint, this very quickly recreates a highly connected social network that undermines all of the work the community has done so far.

Until we get a viable vaccine, this unprecedented outbreak will not be overcome in a grand, sweeping gesture, rather only by the collection of individual choices our community makes in the coming months. This virus is unforgiving to unwise choices. My goal in writing this is to prevent communities from getting ‘sucker-punched’ by what the epidemiological community knows will happen in the coming weeks. It will be easy to be drawn to the idea that what we are doing isn’t working and become paralyzed by fear, or to ‘cheat’ a little bit in the coming weeks. By knowing what to expect, and knowing the importance of maintaining these measures, my hope is to encourage continued community spirit, strategizing, and action to persevere in this time of uncertainty.

As USAPA continues to monitor the national emergency over the coronavirus pandemic, effective immediately USAPA is suspending USAPA sanctioning of existing pickleball tournaments through April 15, 2020. The health and safety of all is our foremost concern. The complete list of USAPA sanctioned tournaments during this period is located at the end of this statement.

The minutes for the Leadership Team Meeting that was held Monday, March 2nd, 2020, have been posted. Topics that were discussed included:  Round Robin to be held at Gregg Park on Saturday, June 27 - fixed team - mixed doubles - 3.0, 3.5 & 4.0+; New Player Representative for Gregg Park - Larry Howell; Update on our new teaching pro - welcome Megan; Spring League; Pickleball rules; Referee recruiting; Update on 2020 Tournament in September and much more. To read the minutes in their entirely click here http://www.aikenpickleball.com/LTMinutesMarch2020

Cancelled.

Megan Hollenbeck, our new instructor, will be conducting clinics for beginners, intermediate (3.0+), and advaned (3.5+) players to include competitive games for all levels -  with separate  "Ladies only" - "Men only" clinics.  Clinics are 1½ hours long and will be held on Court #1 at Odell Weeks. The cost is $15 per person.  Maximum of six players per clinic.  Sign up and pay at front dest.  Select Read more below to see the entire schedule for March.

Monday 16th @ 3pm - Intermediate (3.0+) - Competitive Dinking

                      @ 4:30pm - Beginner - Competitive Dinking 

Tuesday 17th @ 3pm - Intermediate (3.0+) - 3rd Shot Transition 

                       @ 4:30pm - Beginner - 3rd Shot Transition

Monday 23rd - @ 3pm  - Beginner - Serving with intention 

                      @ 4:30pm - Intermediate (3.0+) - Serving with intention

Tuesday 24th @ 3pm - Intermediate (3.0+) - Baseline footwork and groundstrokes 

                      @ 4:30pm - Beginner -  Baseline footwork and groundstrokes

Wednesday 25th @ 3pm - Beginner - Ladies only -  Competitive games

                            @ 4:30pm - Intermediate (3.0+) - Ladies only - Competitive games 

Monday March 30th @ 3pm - Beginner - Men only -  Competitive games

                            @ 4:30pm - Intermediate (3.0+) - Men only - Competitive games

Tuesday March 31st @ 3pm - Advance (3.5+) - Ladies only -  Competitive games

                            @ 4:30pm - Advance (3.5+) - Men only - Competitive games