2018 articles
SPC held an Open House at UNISUS school Oct 29. Forty-two members showed up to tour the gym and play on 4 courts. It was an overwhelming success and the exit survey indicated that the members are interested in adding this venue to our playing opportunities.
The program committee has since met and has drafted some requests for times and programs that the Club will now take to the school staff for discussion.
Thanks to everyone who made it happen and to all members who showed up.
AND a big thanks to the UNISUS school for donating their gym to our Club.
The Board members have been negotiating the use of a new facility that has come available to us. This facility currently has three marked Badminton courts with the other half of the gym presently unmarked. We have permission to put down court tape if we need to.
The Board has arranged for an open house of this new venue on the 29th of October. We will set up three courts for people to play and test it out. There will be a survey with regards to your impressions and how you would like us to use the facility that you can fill out afterward. You will be invited to sign up for this event through the sign-up genius. Your membership will have to be current as well.
We have a good response from the Survey that went out to everyone a little while ago. The programs committee will have its first meeting on Thursday, October 4th and everyone who has expressed interest in working on this committee has received an email with the time and the place. We hope to at least have most of the Winter programs created by the 15th of October.
In the interest of transparency, I am posting the survey results on this page in the form of a bar graph and pie chart so that you can see the challenges that the Programs Committee are facing. It will be a massive undertaking to keep every group satisfied.
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Posted onSeptember 28, 2018CategoriesAnnouncements, News
Thursday brought us a mishmash of weather, mostly cloudy, the occasional sunshine, lots of sprinkles, and a bit of rain. However, it did not stop the fun! The initial round robins saw 8 A division teams and 8 B division teams square off in two pools of four. When the dust settled around 1 pm, and with the help of a slight shower, the scores were all tallied from each pool and the playoff brackets were listed.
The play was exciting to watch as teams did their best to outdo each other. One of the biggest surprises in the first round in the play-off was the low scoring team defeating the highest scoring team in the first round of the finals. It was a hard fought match, with lots of fast volleys back and forth over the net at the no volley zone. Gwen R. and Mike D. emerged victorious in a very close game over Art and Dale.
In the B division final, Pat B. and Ray worked there way through the field to find themselves in the final match and going for the trophy. They were unable to unseat Carol & Fred M. who emerged from the round robins in top position and managed to stay there.
The A Division saw a final match between Jurgen K and Ken P. (seated 2nd in the round robins), against Mike and Judy M. (seated 5th in the earlier round robins) The match ended with the court wet and Mike and Judy victorious.
Sponsors
There were lots of spot prizes, donations by members as well as a few businesses. The Summerland Pickleball Club would like to Thank Pickleball Depot for their generous donation of paddles and racquet bags. Ruby Blues Winery offered up the perfect bottle of wine for the club. The wine celebrates their tenth anniversary and was called “Forever Young” The wine label was created by well-known artist Jennifer Garrant of California.
True Grains also sent us a wonderful offering of pretzels and cookies. They were a Club favorite. Maple Roch also sent us a couple of jars of Maple Mustard. They worked amazingly well with the pretzels.
Every time I looked at the concession, there seemed to be more food. I noticed grapes, watermelon, and popcorn that magically appeared out of nowhere. Carol J and Monica somehow managed to run the concession as well as play in the tournament. As things got cooler after a bit of rain, Lionel also came to the rescue with a coffee run. He brought three boxes of coffee, which was very well received!
The fundraising tournament raised $469.00 for the clubs reserve fund which we hope will eventually go toward more courts. Thank you, everyone, for donating, attending and making it happen!
Posted onSeptember 14, 2018CategoriesFun
Last weekend five members of the Summerland Pickleball Club participated in the first annual Super Seniors Tournament hosted by the brand new West Kelowna Pickleball Club. Ten beautiful courts were brimming with activity as players from various communities competed in doubles and mixed doubles.
In addition to a bronze and a silver medal, both won by Gwen Redfern, our members (Gwen, Nell and Bill Hinchey, Carol and Michael Hermesh) returned with lots of positive tournament impressions and some great ideas for raising the profile of tournament play in our own club.
Hopefully we’ll be able to send more players next time. This is a great way to connect with the sport at a more competitive level.
Poster published by the West Kelowna Pickleball Club
Posted onAugust 29, 2018CategoriesAnnouncements
The Summerland Pickleball Club announces its First Annual Fundraising Pickleball Tournament.
NOTE: Only the washrooms close to the camp site office will be open.
Posted onAugust 10, 2018CategoriesAnnouncements
Our 2018 year end (August 31) is fast approaching and the date for our Annual General Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 6, 2018 @ 7:00 pm held at the Seniors Drop In Centre in Summerland. Everyone is encouraged to attend.
A Call for Nominations info sheet is shown below. Please review the document and give some consideration to joining the SPC Board for 2019. Job descriptions for the Executive positions are posted on the SPC website under the heading “About Us”.
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the SPC Secretary by email to summerland.pball.club@gmail.com.
Membership renewals are due September 1, 2018. Please download the form available under the heading “Membership” and submit your payment to Linda Curle. Linda will also be available at the AGM to accept 2019 membership renewals as well as new members.
The 2019 membership fee is $28.00/annum ($25.00 plus the $3.00 p.p. annual court booking fee as per Resolution passed at the Spring General Meeting). The court booking fees assessed by the District for the 2018 outdoor pickleball season were $3.00 p.p. based on 100 members.
Posted onAugust 4, 2018CategoriesAnnouncements
The temporary court tape for two additional pickleball playing surfaces at Peach Orchard was placed on the dual use court on June 28 and 29. It took a number of us many hours, not to mention hundreds of Club dollars to purchase the tape and an additional cabinet for storage of the portable nets to be used on these newly marked courts.
On Sunday July 1, members found all the court tape removed, crumpled up and thrown onto the ground in front of our lockers.
I was notified by a club member. When I got to the court I contacted the RCMP to report this vandalism of District property. RCMP promptly attended, confiscated the tape as evidence and opened a file.
On Tuesday July 3, I meet with Lori Mullin, District Recreation Manager, and updated her on the vandalism. She then meet with District managers as well as the RCMP and posted a letter at the court requesting information from anyone who might have observed the incident.
However frustrated we as a Club may feel about the vandalism it only highlights the fact that we need to have dedicated permanent courts built ASAP.
Needless to say if anyone hears or knows something contact the District Recreation Department or the RCMP.
Brian Christopherson,
President, Summerland Pickleball Club
Posted onJuly 13, 2018CategoriesAnnouncements
Sparkling pickleball courts at Peach Orchard.
Thank you to our volunteer maintenance crew for a good springtime scrubbing! The court surface is as good as new. No more gooey soft drink puddles or dried up chewing gum!
Posted onMay 24, 2018CategoriesAnnouncements
The 2018 SPC Outdoor Season came off to a great start. Fifteen lady pickleball players enjoyed Round Robin games organized by Ladies Day Captain Angela Sielmann. It was a perfect morning to transition from indoor to outdoor pickleball.
Our indoor venue at the Harold Simpson Hall is now closed until the fall. On rainy days the Badminton Hall will be available during established winter program time slots. Fell free to drop in if it’s too wet to play outside. Just know that there won’t be any assigned court hosts and that net installation and removal is up to the players. A $3 drop in fee applies.
Posted onMay 2, 2018CategoriesAnnouncements
Finally spring has arrived and with it the demise of the winter, and the birth of the 2018 summer program at Peach Orchard.
All members will have received invitations through Sign Up Genius to attend our programs and to volunteer as court hosts.
Using self-assessment skill criteria please register for the appropriate programs. You can find the criteria on this website under the “Rules of the Game” tab.
The summer season begins with Ladies Day (all skill levels) on Tuesday May 1st.
Please follow these simple rules:
- Park in the designated parking areas outside the campground.
- Be aware that washroom facilities will be closed until the campground opens – be prepared!
- Once the campground is open for the season, pickleball activities and use of the leaf blower cannot start before 9 am.
- New players and guests are welcome to join during club-designated hours but will have to sign an insurance waiver form.
- Insurance waiver forms and membership forms are available in the binder kept in the locker.
Please consider volunteering as a host during drop-in sessions. In this role you are the ambassador representing the Pickleball Club. Responsibilities include:
- Unlock cabinet
– Ensure courts are clean, dry and safe to use
– Set up paddle rack system and explain how the system works
– Meet and greet any new members or public players
– Any complaints should be directed to an SPC board member or the District Recreation Department
– Ensure all equipment is returned to the cabinet and locked after play
– The cabinet cannot be accessed outside designated SPC and public play times. A member is not permitted the use of club equipment to play with guests/friends, etc.
– Report any injuries to an SPC board member.
You can register as a Court Host on Sign Up Genius for any time slot.
Posted onApril 25, 2018CategoriesAnnouncements
A few days ago the Summerland Parks and Recreation Commission met to discuss our request for club-exclusive access to the Peach Orchard courts. Commission members fully supported our request for dedicated club time as follows:
- Monday morning 9:00 – 10:30 and 6:30 – 8:30 pm
- Tuesday morning 10:30 – 12:00
- Wednesday morning 9:00 – 10:30
- Thursday morning 10:30 – 12:00
- Friday morning 9:00 – 10:30
- Saturday morning 9:00 – 10:30
The SPC Executive will meet over the next couple of weeks to determine what kind of programming we can offer during these time slots.
Commission members also endorsed our request to reserve all three courts for pickleball from 9 am until noon from Monday through Friday. There will be public access incl. SPC members outside club-exclusive time slots. The tennis court may be used for other racket sports in the afternoon during the week and all-day Sunday.
In addition commission members recommended that the SPC pay a $300 user fee for the 2018 outdoor season.
All these recommendations will be presented at the next council meeting at 7pm on April 23 with a recommendation for council approval.
Nine brave souls gathered at 5 C temperatures and wacked the ball around freshly cleaned-up courts at Peach Orchard. We had a great time and were even able to welcome two soon-to-be members Dale and Art. Kudos to Angela, Vijai, Gwen, Sue, Mark, Pat and Henry.
Posted onApril 3, 2018CategoriesFun
The Peach Orchard outdoor pickleball courts will be ready for use starting on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2018. Court Hosting is mandatory at this point since the entrance gate to the courts must be kept locked until the campsite opens. Therefore a Court Host must sign up in advance, obtain the key from the lockbox at the Badminton Hall and unlock the west gate at the courts. At the end of the session the Court Host will return the key to the lockbox at the Badminton Hall.
The court host is responsible to ensure that the court surface is safe to play on. Clean-up may be required to ensure that there is no debris. The surface must be dry and not slippery. Sign Up Genius for Court Hosting has been set up for the month of April on Tuesdays (10:00 am – 12 noon), Fridays (1:00 pm to 3:00 pm) and Saturdays (10:00 am to 12 noon). This is for drop-in (all skill levels) and the paddle rack system of play is in use.
At this point there is no sign-up for players, only for the court host. Players can just show up and play. We will start our regular summer program at the beginning of May.
Posted onMarch 31, 2018CategoriesAnnouncements
The Summerland Pickleball Club is pleased to announce that we have worked out an agreement with the Summerland Badminton Club for the use of their hall.
Our members are now able to play there five days a week. A detailed schedule is attached. Court hosts will be onsite whenever our club is using the Badminton Hall. Please consider signing up as a court host by visiting SignUp Genius.
We have formed two new groups for those members who wish to play at a more competitive level. These games take place in the Harold Simpson Hall. Our most competitive group is the SPC Focus Group. If you are an advanced level pickleball player and would like to try out for this group, please send us an email and the group leader will get in touch with you.
The gyms in the Trout Creek Elementary School and the Baptist Church will no longer be used.
With one large venue for social games and another venue for competitive games we hope to address the needs and preferences of all SPC members. Adjustments to the schedules will be made as necessary.
