2025 Appreciation/Tournament Dates |
Volunteer Opportunities |
Outdoor Play Reminders |
Visitor Policy Change |
Rating Policy Change
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DUPR Questions?? |
Rating Information
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Alberta Pickleball Day |
Membership Count by Rating |
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2025 Appreciation/Tournament Dates
Please note that the dates have been set for the Club's 2025 volunteer appreciation dates and tournaments as follows:
Volunteer Appreciation:
Indoor Season Volunteers Appreciation Day - May 17, 2025
The fall/winter volunteer appreciation day will take place at Alpine Courts this weekend on Saturday, May 17th from 9:00am to 12:00pm (May 18th will be the alternate day if May 17th is a rain out).
We will have fun playing pickleball and then share in a light lunch.
Participants may register on the website Calendar.
Thank you for volunteering throughout the indoor season and hope you can join us!
Season ending volunteer Appreciation Day
October 4th: Volunteer thank you, 12 courts from 9:00 am to 12:00 Noon and then all courts are given back to the City (October 5th rain day)
Tournaments:
June 14th and 15th (Note this is a change from what was previously advised): Two day fun SAPC tournament 8:30 am to 5:00 pm
Our members tournament will be up on pickleballtournaments.com some time next week. Players must register at their SAPC Club rating or higher. If you do not have a Club rating and are not sure which level to register for, you can ask players you normally play with or send an email to the tournament site and they will be able to help you.
August 15th to 17th: Three day sanctioned tournament 8:30am to 5:00pm
September 20th: One day fun SAPC tournament (Sept 21st rain day)
Volunteer Opportunities (from your VP, Jeanine)
To all SAPC members, here's your opportunity to help the Club!
"Volunteers don't necessarily have the time, they just have the heart." (Elizabeth Andrew)
Note: All new positions will have assistance until you are comfortable with the role on your own or as part of a team.
If you are Interested in any of the following opportunities, please email: vicepresident@pickleballstalbert.ca
Health Coordinator:
5 hours per year
Duties:
Track first aid kits for school use and monitor their inventory.
Restock the first aid kits for school play use in winter - prepared in the fall and restocked during the winter if required.
Reorder supplies when stock gets low and submit receipts to the Treasurer.
Social Committee:
15 hours per year
Duties:
Working as a team, with leadership from the Social Committee Chair (Ron Yanew), the committee will help coordinate 2 volunteer appreciation events (spring & fall).
Will also help to organize and implement food concessions for club tournaments ( 2 fun tourneys & 1 sanctioned)
*This is a fun way to meet new people and the more members involved will create a shared/lighter commitment for everyone.*
Clothing Sales Team:
15 hours per year
Duties:
Jeanine Au, Sales Lead, will organize and place the order.
June order - women's/mens t shirts, women's racer back shirts, women's/mens golf shirts - SAPC logo included.
July order - men's shorts and club ball caps - SAPC logo included.
September order - Club jackets with logo - if there is enough interest.
The sales team will help to bring samples to the courts for members to view and try on.
Will assist in organizing the order upon arrival and help to distribute to members at Alpine courts. A schedule and plan will be made when the team meets. A member or two from each play level would be ideal.
Mentoring/Beginner Lessons Team:
flexible time commitment
Duties:
With scheduling done by Coordinator Nicole Currie, the team can either assist with beginner lessons at Red Willow Community Church and/or with mentoring sessions held at Alpine.
Experienced members will lead the sessions and guide new volunteers on how to assist in the sessions.
If you would like to volunteer and haven't already received an email from Nicole - contact her directly @ nicolecurrie@live.com
Thank you,
Jeanine Au ( vicepresident@pickleballstalbert.ca ).
Reminders about Outdoor Play
Proof of Membership/Rating Level
Please note that all members should have their current, valid membership cards ready to show to captains at ALL times. Members must sign in the sign in sheet with full name and write legibly. Captains will only accept active membership cards as evidence of a member's rating level. Captains will not review nor accept "evidence" of a rating that has not been approved by the rating coordinators (for example your DUPR or Tournament rating). If you have requested a change in your rating level, please note that our captains cannot accept your new, higher rating level until that rating has been approved by our rating coordinators and updated on the SAPC website; once that occurs, the member can access and/or print their membership card reflecting their new rating level.
Please watch the Outdoor Play Calendar, Facebook updates and WhatsApp group chat for possible changes due to weather and cancellations. Any such cancellations will come through social media due to time constraints. If you haven’t joined these groups please consider doing so. The WhatsApp groups that are set up for each rating level are great for organizing social play with other members as well as other pickleball related communication. We strongly recommend that members go to the SAPC website - under the members tab and you will find links to join these social media groups.
Please note that during May and June and September some St. Albert schools will have times assigned to them on the Alpine courts; it is impossible to note all of these changes in the Outdoor Play Calendars because of the variety of times. A communication explaining this will be sent to the captains of those sessions effected.
All sessions are drop in except for the following sessions which require pre-registration:
● Partner play (see more details below)
●DUPR play sessions - on Monday evening and Wednesday evening; all members with a DUPR rating can register (more information on DUPR below)
Please Note:
● Be ON TIME for Round Robin sessions (we recommend 10 to 15
minutes before the official start time)
● Before Club play has started members are expected to use their own
pickleballs.
● If members hit a ball outside of the court they are expected to retrieve
it after the game, not at the end of the session
● Only water is allowed on the courts (many members do like to
socialize outside the courts at the nearby picnic table)
● The City will have a port-a-potty in place starting May 1st
Other Important Things to Remember
Ringing of the Bell - At the end of each session a bell will be rung by the next captain. To ease transition between sessions members are asked to leave the courts immediately when the bell has been rung.
Weather Policy - Captains are aware of the weather policy (it can be found in our website); when a captain calls the session due to inclement weather or air quality, it will be noted on the sign in sheet. If members continue to play after the play has been stopped and they are injured the Pickleball Canada insurance cannot be used in a claim; as an injury when claiming any assistance from Pickleball Canada must happen during a club play session or event. Captains use the Purple Air app to make a decision regarding Air Quality.
DUPR Play
NEW: Registration for DUPR shootout sessions will be based on the player’s DUPR rating versus consolidated club rating.
NEW: Registration for both the Monday and Wednesday sessions will be open to all levels on a first come, first serve basis. Any SAPC DUPR rated player may register for either or both sessions.
Registration emails for DUPR events will be sent out on the day following each event at various times of the day – i.e. Monday events will receive their registration email on Tuesdays and Wednesday events will receive their email on Thursdays.
NEW: A total of 4 questions will be listed on the player registration – I have a DUPR account (check box), I have already joined SAPC on DUPR (check box), My DUPR rating is... (numeric decimal value >0.1); and my DUPR reliability is... (numeric value (0-100). This will assist the volunteers with the game day organizing.
NEW: All courts will have 4 players per court. All games during the DUPR shootout sessions will now be played to a minimum of 11 points (win by 1). This will allow for 3 games per round and 3 rounds per session. Monday evening sessions will have 28 players. Wednesday evening will have 40 players. As with last season, court assignments for the sessions will align with the player’s DUPR. E.g. Players with the 4 highest DUPRs will play against each other on court 1, next 4 on court 2 etc. This will provide fun competitive matches on a player’s assigned court.
NEW: We recommend all club-rated SAPC members create a DUPR account and link it to their SAPC Account.
Please be reminded that players need to ensure that their SAPC account profile matches their DUPR profile (both in name spelling, name order, city and in capitalization).
NOTE : In order to minimize disruptive “no shows” members who miss two sessions for which they registered will get a notice that they cannot register for future DUPR Shootout sessions (for the balance of 2025 outdoor season).
Visitor Policy Change
The St. Albert Pickleball Club (SAPC) welcomes persons who are visiting in the greater Edmonton area to play at events that matches their play level rating, except those events specifically posted and advertised as “Members Only”. Visitors will need to sign a SAPC Visitor Waiver form and pay any fees associated with the event they attend.
For Clarity:
1. For the purposes of this policy a visitor is anyone who does not have a home address in the greater Edmonton area (including the counties of Parkland, Leduc, Strathcona, Sturgeon and Edmonton) and who has some proficiency in playing Pickleball.
2. Persons living in the greater Edmonton area do not have visitor privileges at SAPC.
3. Visitors are expected to only attend events that match their player level rating as described in the SAPC Ratings Policy and that are not designated “Members Only” (MO) as indicated in the events Calendar.
Rating Policy Change
Please note that the Board has approved the following change recommended by the Club's Ratings Committee:
As noted on the Club's website, under some circumstances, the Club will consider a member's CPTR Rating to establish their Club rating. In order to accept this rating, however, the Club has changed its policy to require that a member requesting such a change must have completed a minimum of 25 tournament games within the previous 12 calendar months.
DUPR Questions?
Many Club volunteers receive questions regarding the Club's use of DUPR and our related ratings policies. Before sending us e-mails on this topic, please read and familiarize yourself with this topic by going to our website - just click here. Thanks Ray for updating the website to reflect and clarify these policies!
Rating Information
As the new summer season begins, an important reminder to all members of of the Club's Vision as stated on our website:
"The St. Albert Pickleball Club's members are physically active, and help create a healthy community by using pickleball play as recreation, as a sport, and as a wholesome way to meet and interact with people."
Our success as a club is because our members have been welcoming and inclusive at all levels. It is sometimes difficult and intimidating for members to move up a level (we've all been there!). With a .50 window at a new higher level, members achieving this new level may not have all the skills required for that level, however, in time, with encouragement and a commitment by the member to continue learning and improving their skills, they will get better. Showing kindness and encouragement on the court at all times will go a long way in providing a positive experience for all.
That being said, the Rating Committee and the Board acknowledge that there is more work to do in finding the right system in rating our members - new and grandfathered members. With the use of DUPR the last couple of years, we have seen a lack of skill-based play, which discourages some members who attained these skills in order to move up levels. It is our hope that Pickleball Alberta, who has a rating committee working on a policy, will give us some guidance and develop a unified system for all clubs to use to rate their members. Rest assured that we recognize the issues and are working on your behalf to find a solution.
It is also important to note that as we age...mobility, injury recovery and desire to improve our skills can be challenging and influence our court play. Perhaps we should all consider checking the Skill Level Charts (found on the website under "Skills Levels & Ratings"), compare our own play to the descriptions of skills at the various levels, and then self evaluate whether we still meet those criteria consistently. There is no shame in asking to play down (formally requesting that your Club rating be lowered) and it could result in a more positive play experience for yourself. As well, if DUPR ranks you higher than you are comfortable with and you would prefer to stay at your same level so you can improve your skills, then a quick email with this request, to our rating coordinators, is easy - just send that quick request to rating1@pickleballstalbert.ca.
Alberta Pickleball Day
Please note that St. Albert will not be having an Alberta Pickleball Day event at Alpine since we have no court availability in August during which to hold such an event.
Club Membership Statistics
Approximately 80% of our 2024 members have renewed their membership for 2025. As always, we encourage all members to renew as soon as possible if you haven't done so already - for instructions on how to quickly do so, just click here.
February/25 March/25 (Current) Inc/(Dec)
No Rating 224 241 17
2.5 Rating 36 38 2
3.0 Rating 128 135 7
3.5 Rating 220 227 7
4.0 Rating 120 128 8
4.5+ Rating 32 36 4
Total Members 760 805 45
Until next time keep your paddle up!