In this issue:

Red Willow Registration/Sign Up	League Play
Etiquette for All Play Sessions	Sticker Access during Postal Strike
Board Change	Raise Athletics Play Sessions
Rotary Club Tournament	Pickleball Canada Membership/Fee
Club Membership Statistics

Red Willow Registration / Sign Up

Due to lack of demand and based upon feedback from Club members, the Club has decided to immediately eliminate sign up/registration restrictions for play at our Red Willow Church venue.  The maximum number of registrants will be 10 players per session for a maximum of 2 byes.  The website, including the Red Willow Calendar, will be updated to reflect this change in the coming days.

League Play

The Club would like to thank all of our 4.0+ members for responding to our recent League play survey and providing their feedback.  The Club would especially like to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of Ken Dentzien, Dave Fry and all of the League captains and organizers.  Your hard work in this regard is very much appreciated!

In terms of future League play, based primarily on the scarcity of outdoor courts in St. Albert, it has been decided not to offer League play in 2025.

Obviously, there will be 4.0 and/or 4.0+ play sessions offered at Alpine next spring/summer, but these will not be offered in League format.  Should the Club decided to proceed with a pre-registration format, plenty of notice will be provided to allow for an equal opportunity to register by the published deadline for same.

Etiquette for "All Play" Sessions

The Club would like to reminder players in "All Play" sessions that these are "social play" sessions given the wide variety of skill levels in those attending these sessions.  

As noted under the heading of Play Types on our website:

Social Play is a less competitive style of play.  Advanced players play to extend the rally and do not attempt to win points with shots not returnable by the less skilled players on the court.   

For stronger, more skilled players, please consider soft shots rather than drives which tend to scare beginners and less skilled players on the court - we play this game to have fun and not to get intimidated or injured in the process.

Sticker Access During Canada Post Strike

Just a reminder that members can still order indoor play stickers during the Canada Post strike.  Members ordering stickers will receive detailed instructions including the pick up address in an e-mail once your order is processed.  Make sure you watch the sticker pick up instruction video by clicking here as many members are confused about how to pick them up at the address provided.

Board Change

Please note that effective immediately Douwe Spriensma and Jeanine Au have switched their roles on the SAPC Board as approved at a recent Board meeting.  As such, Jeanine will now be our Club Vice President and Douwe is a Director at Large.  We wish both Jeanine and Douwe success in their new roles and thank them both for volunteering in these capacities.

Raise Athletics

Rotary Club Tournament  

Rotary will hold an indoor tournament called "I Love Pickleball" at Raise Athletics on February 15th (Valentine's weekend).

Come for the competition, stay for the cause! Whether you're a seasoned pro or new to the game, this tournament is open to all skill levels, with proceeds benefiting local charities.  There will be great prizes!

Registration is live on Pickleball Brackets; register by clicking here.

Pickleball Canada Renewal/Fee Payment

Please be advised that the Club has been working with Pickleball Canada to reconcile our membership numbers.  An informal audit has been performed and we have found some discrepancies including SAPC members who have not paid their Pickleball Canada fees . 

Please note that this scenario will not be an issue for anyone who follows the membership renewal process as posted on our website and provided in membership renewal e-mails.

All our members should know that renewing your Pickleball Canada membership is very important because of the insurance coverage they provide to individuals with active memberships.

A follow up audit/reconciliation process will take place early in the new year and e-mail warnings will be sent out to inform each member for which there is a discrepancy.  Those e-mails will include specific instructions for how to rectify the discrepancy.  If you get one of these e-mails, we ask that you take the recommended action(s) as soon as possible.  Another review will be done before the end of January to determine which members have not undertaken the requested action(s) to address their membership/fee payment concerns. 

Any members who have not rectified their membership discrepancy will have their SAPC account suspended until further notice.  The consequence of having a suspended membership is that such members will not be able to participate in Club play sessions.  The Venue Manager and all play session captains will be provided with a list of names of all those individuals to enforce this policy.

Club Membership Statistics  

We now have over 1,100 active members!! This sport and our Club are really taking off!  The breakdown of our members at the end of November (with comparative figures for September) are as follows:

                                September      November (Current)   Inc/(Dec)

No Rating                    348                              397                       49

2.5 Rating                      47                                47                        

3.0 Rating                    157                             160                          3 

3.5 Rating                    263                             263

4.0 Rating                    186                             185                        (1)

4.5+ Rating                    54                               56                           2

Total Members       1055                          1108                      53