In this issue:

Great to be Playing!	Larose Courts Re-open
September Play at Alpine	SAPC Fun Tournament Sep 11
Upcoming Indoor Play	Financial Coordinator
Volunteer Appreciation	Volunteer List
Rating Clinics	Train the Trainer

Great to be Playing!

To those of you who have been out playing with us at Alpine this summer -- hasn't it been great?  Whether participating in organized play or just dropping in on a Saturday or Sunday to play spontaneously with friends in the club, it has been a marvelous time. 

Our courts at Alpine have been busy, especially in the evenings with club shootouts and the public filling up the other courts allocated to them. It's great to see everyone having so much fun.

Here's hoping September is going to be even better!  Read on to find out why.

Larose Park Courts Re-Open - Thanks COSA!

Yes, they opened September 1, and they are beautiful.  Thanks to the City of St. Albert (COSA) for a marvelous job and for investing in this sport. Residents of St. Albert will benefit from this for years to come.

September Play at Alpine

The opening of courts for the public at Larose Park means the City can and did allocate more courts and more times to SAPC at Alpine, per our request. Thanks again COSA!

Check the Alpine or outdoor calendar for additional playtimes - including scheduled play on Saturdays and Sundays.  We also have 10 courts for some organized play, up from the 8 courts previously assigned.

Our President and Venue Manager Eileen adds:

"With new changes to the Alpine schedule there have been many queries about why  certain levels have more times assigned than others. Please know that my starting point is to assign sessions in proportion to the number of members at each level, with a healthy allocation for All Play. This means that levels with more members  get a few more spots that levels with fewer members. Then I have to make several requests for captains to step up. It requires a lot of work to keep coming back and making requests and organizing and reorganizing the schedule.

"Captains for the 3.5 and 4.0 sessions step up immediately, but we lack captains for all possible sessions at lower levels. So when all of the information is gathered, and I need to match captains to assigned times, spots with no available captains at one level are re-allocated to levels that have more captains available.

"When the schedule for Red Willow is publicized, you will notice that certain levels   in the club will have more assigned time than others. Be assured that the proportion of play time at each level is proportional to the number of members at that level. As long as captains step forward the assignment of times will be based on the percentage of members rated at levels.

"Whenever a call for captains is made,  please consider stepping forward to volunteer. And to those faithful captains who repeatedly step up - THANK YOU AGAIN. You keep us safe and organized, and you make these sessions possible. "

SAPC Fun Tournament Sep 11

Spots are still available. Registration closes at 10pm Sep 7, but this is a multi-step process so if you don't start registering by Sep 6 you will be disappointed -- and we wouldn't want you to miss out on all the joy and laughter. 

• See your Tournament Registration email of August 29 for the steps. 
• Don't forget to input your Pickleball Canada membership number when creating your Pickleball Brackets profile. This software checks to make sure you are a PCO member.
• If you can't find your Aug 29 email, see the registration steps in our Aug 27th newsletter.

Upcoming Indoor Play

We are still waiting to hear about the availability of school gyms in St. Albert, but at least one church has given us the green light.  Some Covid precautions will be put in place, of course, and we know that rising Covid case counts could again further restrict play, but here's what we have so far.

1. All indoor play will be reserved play.
   • Reservations open at 12:00:01 am (that's real early) Saturday morning for all sessions from Monday to Sunday of the following week.
   • Click on a session in the indoor calendar to reserve a spot.
   • You can cancel or reserve right up to the start of the event, but if you must cancel please be courteous and cancel as soon as you know you can't make it.
   • For more info on reserving play, cancelling, getting waitlisted and more, see our Reserved Play page under the Play Menu.
2. Red Willow Community Church
   • Play may start Oct 4. Check the Red Willow Calendar later in September.
   • 11 reservable spots + 1 captain spot = 12 players per session.
   • Cost: 2 stickers payable when you sign in. Still the best deal in town despite increased rental costs.
   • Sessions end 5 minutes before the hour. Subsequent sessions start 5 minutes after the hour.
   • Wait until previous session players have left the gym before entering.
3. All Venues
   • Masks must be worn entering building and gym and while not playing - including when seated between games. (Pack yours now.)
   • As indoor play opportunities are limited, please limit your reservations to sessions rated at your specific level or to “All Play” sessions. To give every member equal opportunity, please do not "play down" a level.
   • Maximum one session per day per member unless a session still has an opening one hour before play starts.

The possibility of limiting play to vaccinated members would certainly be in keeping with rules now being put in place by many employers, businesses and governments in other provinces -- but this would be a very controversial and possibly a divisive measure for our club, wouldn't it? Within SAPC we want to be as inclusive as possible and we want to accommodate all member preferences, yet we know that the health and safety of our members, and of the public, are paramount. It is a tough decision, and it hasn't yet been made. 

Watch for more details in future news.

Financial Coordinator

• Do you have an accounting or bookkeeping background or have you always had an interest in learning some accounting? Do you just like numbers or spreadsheets? Do you want to understand budgeting or our club's finance's in particular? Do you want to influence the club or the board's financial decisions? If you can answer yes to any of these questions, then we'd like to chat.
• We have a great opportunity to bring someone else onto our club's financial team. The finance team tasks can be adjusted to suit whatever your interests are and to suit whatever time you have available. 
• The club is interested in developing members who want to take on progressively more challenging jobs or develop additional skill sets. The current finance team of one needs to expand to two! We have the time and interest to work with anyone, at any level, who would like to help in this area. Let's have a coffee or a Zoom meet and explore a fit for you!
• If you are interested, please email Treasurer@pickleballstalbert.ca 

Volunteer Appreciation

This event has been set for 9 am to noon on September 18 at Alpine. If you have volunteered with SAPC in the last 18 months or so, we'd love to thank you in person at this play and munch event. If rained out on the 18th, this will be held on the 19th. Stay tuned for further details.

Volunteer List

Our list of current volunteers has been updated. It can be found by clicking the
Volunteer list link on this page, It is easier to view if you download the spreadsheet after accessing the Volunteer list link.

This list is not 100% accurate -- we know. It is tough to keep up with all the changes. Please help us out. If you want to be added to a team or volunteer for a vacant position, please email Carol at info@pickleballstalbert.ca and contact the coordinator or manager of that team. If you are on the list but can no longer serve on that team or in a particular position, please also email us.

Rating Clinics

The three August 23 rating clinics were rained out. Replacement sessions have now been scheduled for Sep 13. If you were a paid registrant in the Aug 23 clinics, check your email. There is a deadline for letting us know you can or can't accommodate this date change. After that deadline, your place will be forfeited and those on the waitlist will be automatically given a chance, one at a time, to fill any vacant spots.  Contact rating@pickleballstalbert.ca if you have any questions.

Our rating coordinators Karen and Gerry also see that there is a large waiting list on two of these Sep 13 sessions, as those waiting lists were also ported over from the rained-out Aug 23 clinics. If you are on the waiting list, watch your email carefully -- you will likely be given a one-day advanced notice to register in any new clinics. After than one day, we will announce the new clinics to all members. (The implications here for anyone wanting to be rated are: if you want more clinics to be scheduled, and if you want advanced notice of those clinics, get on a waiting list! This way, you help us to help you.)

Train the Trainer

IPTPA is a non-profit organization helping to develop professional pickleball trainers. See this poster for information on an upcoming IPTPA TEACH THE TEACHER PICKLEBALL WORKSHOP session September 25.  

Keep your paddle up!