In this issue:

Court Etiquette	Be on Time - RR/Ladder Play
Be Safe - Consider Eyeware	WhatsApp Etiquette Guidelines
New Rec Center/High Demand for PB

Court Etiquette

Given some recent incidents and behaviours noted in Club Play, we would like our members to read our Member Handbook and our Code of Conduct policy on our website by clicking here.  In addition, we ask that you thoughtfully consider and adopt the following appropriate behaviours:

1.  Follow the instructions of your play Captain and be courteous to the Captain and other players throughout the session 

2.  Be courteous, respectful, and HAVE FUN - for example,

   • Welcome newcomers
   • At the beginning of the game introduce yourself, if not familiar with your partner or players
   • Be patient with and encouraging of less skilled players
   • Compliment other players on the court including opponents
   • Always thank your opponents and your playing partner when the game is over
3.  Call the fault yourself if you or your partner land in the NVZ (kitchen)  on a volley.  Be cautious about calling kitchen or foot faults on your  opponents – let them call their own faults and don't question their line calls 
4.  When a ball is out of bounds, call “OUT” loudly, as well as using a hand signal with your hand/arm pointing up
5.  If playing a stronger opponent playing with a weaker opponent during casual play, hit to the stronger opponent often.  Don’t just play to the weaker opponent.  It will make you a better player plus keep the game interesting for all who are playing.  For the weaker opponent, work on shots that they can return and learn from.  (It’s not always about winning)
6.  Do not intentionally slam balls directly at beginner or intermediate level opponents; if one of your balls accidentally strikes an opponent, apologize immediately and try to better your control your balls returns
7.  Unsolicited coaching on the court is not recommended.  If someone is new or asks for your input, do so briefly being mindful of the flow of the game.  It is best to instruct on a specified court after being invited.

Be on Time for Scheduled Club Sessions

We request that all members understand the play parameters set out by the Club and Play Session Captains including, most importantly, showing up early and before the registration cutoff for each session.

Showing up late causes:

1.  Frustration and extra work for the Captain for both round robin and ladder play sessions including last minute/multiple adjustments 

2.  Frustration for those players who showed up on time by virtue of the extra work/delays noted in point #1

3.  Anger on the part of players who showed up late/after the designated cutoff time because they are told they cannot play

Specifically, in light of a recent sign-in issue at a 3.5 DUPR play session, we are hereby informing future participants in these sessions as follows:

If you register to play in 3.5 DUPR Ladder Play on Wednesday evening, it is imperative that you sign in with 1 sticker at the Club table by the Alpine storage area by  NO LATER  THAN 5:40 PM.

Here's why....

Many hours of volunteer time and effort go into DUPR sessions, before, during and after each session.

After sign-in, there's a flurry of activity in the 15 minutes just before the games begin, including assigning courts to all 50 players, preparing baskets, writing all score sheet for each court, and announcements.

Because of these required tasks, if you are late for sign-in, you will NOT be able to play that evening – SORRY.

Note:  Please think of the other players that showed up on time and are eagerly waiting to start play on time as well as your Captain(s) who volunteered their time to coordinate these sessions and don't deserve extra work nor to be verbally abused (see Court Etiquette points in the Article above - no profanity, insults, harassment, etc. will be tolerated and abuses will be documented potentially resulting in sanctions to members involved).

Safety

Just a reminder to play safe and to seriously consider playing with protective eyewear.

As noted in the aforementioned Member Code of Conduct under Safety:

Pickleball is a fast sport played at close range with your opponents.  The Club has had incidents where players have been hit in the eye and injured because they were not wearing protective eyewear.  To avoid retinal injury, we strongly recommend that players wear protective eyewear (eyeglass/frames at the very least) when playing to minimize occurrences of this all to common pickleball injury.

WhatsApp Communication

The Club and most members are very pleased with the WhatsApp groups that the Club has created and maintains to facilitate Club communication within various rating levels.  WhatsApp allows our members to stay in the loop with information tailored to their rating level even when they are out of the country (as it needs wi-fi only and does not lead to data usage under your mobile device plan).

If you would like to join a WhatsApp group that you are eligible for, please click this SAPC website link and scroll down to WHATSAPP to learn how to make your request to join.

While these groups have been very popular, the Club believes and has received feedback that some communication advice may be in order.  As such, the Club has created etiquette guidelines which have been posted to the website under Social Media and the topic "WhatsApp Group Etiquette" (same link as noted earlier in this article).

Please take time to review these points of etiquette and contact SAPC if you have any questions.  The Club will be monitoring communications within the WhatsApp groups and contacting members who "violate" the etiquette guidelines as warranted.

New Rec Centre  / High Demand for PB Courts

Great news!   A majority of St. Albert survey respondents support a tax hike for a new recreation centre as per a St. Albert Gazette story which can by accessed by clicking on the link below:

https://www.stalbertgazette.com/local-news/majority-of-survey-respondents-support-tax-hike-for-new-rec-centre-7050577

You will note that the Gazette article states that outdoor pickle ball courts were in high demand and a top priority amongst respondents based upon the survey recently conducted by the City.

We would like to thank all those members who heeded our suggestion and responded to this survey and expressed a need for more outdoor pickle ball courts - it appears that our voices are being heard!

Until next time keep your paddle up!