In this issue:

Ratings Clinics	Board Nominations/Recruiting
Indoor Play

Ratings Clinics

Bells

Just a reminder about the school bells.  With the new COVID regulations and security at the school, all schools have added a new bell; the bell is connected to a microphone so that when you press it the school office answers and then grants you access to the school.  DO NOT PRESS THIS BELL as no one can hear it after hours.

The "regular bell" is usually close by the new bell button.  Each school bell is a different color so pay close attention to ensure that you are ringing the correct bell.  The  captain or designate will wait at the door for the first 10-15 minutes before play is scheduled to begin.  We ask that members be on time to avoid members who are playing having to leave the gym to answer the door.  Please note that if members arrive early/on time, there will be no need to ring the bell for access.

Stay safe and don’t forget to bring your QR code, club ID and of course indoor shoes!

Until next time, keep your paddle up!

We wish to extend our thanks to the 2.5 and 3.0 groups on Saturdays at Bertha Kennedy whose sessions were bumped for rating clinics and apologize for the inconvenience (our options were limited).

Please note that we will not be offering any rating clinics in December; they could commence in January, 2022 depending on the demand.

Congratulations to all participants of the rating clinics held since July including those just conducted yesterday.  Also, many thanks to our raters Sean and Leslie.

Best regards,

Karen and Gerry
Ratings Co-coordinators

Pickleball is one of the sports played in Alberta's 55 Plus Games.

Would you like to compete in or watch the pickleball play in Alberta 55 Plus Winter Games or Summer Games? Then check out this poster.

By the way, the "Zone 5" referenced in the poster refers to the Alberta Sport Zone 5 -- the Black Gold / Yellowhead zone. This zone excludes Edmonton but includes St. Albert, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain and Sherwood Park. A zone map is here.

In this issue:

Mentoring	School Venues
Vaccinations	Indoor Play
Facility Strategy - Feedback	More Thank Yous

Mentoring

Mentoring is happening once a month on Friday evenings at Bertha Kennedy School.  Members can request a place at mentoring by sending an email to training@pickleballstalbert.ca to make their request; when doing so, the Member should state the level that they wish to attend (for example, if you have a 3.0 rating you may state that you want to be mentored for a 3.5 level).  The evening will be divided into two sessions and the levels being mentored at each session will depend upon those who are registered (based upon "demand").  The cost for such mentoring is one sticker.  There are a few spaces left for the November 19th session.  Registration for mentoring each month will start at the beginning of that month.  The mentoring coaches cannot do any booking as this is all organized through the training coordinator (Nicki); she will contact each member registered stating the time that they can attend and any other information they need to know. 

School Venues

Be on time! 

Members are asked to be on time for the venues.  We give a window of 15 minutes, however if this is a new venue for you to attend, it is imperative that you be on time to verify your identity, vaccination status, etc.  If you arrive early at any venue wait outside until you see the captain access the building.

Joseph Demko

Most venues are accessed through the front door, but Joseph Demko is accessed through the gym door at the back.  If you park in the parking lot you will see the basketball court and the double gym door is visible from there.  DO NOT go banging on other doors of the school as this has created an incident at the Joseph Demko school.  The way to the gym door is very dark with minimal lighting, especially now with the time change so please be careful!

Important:  We cannot access Joseph Demko 3.5+ until 6:50.  Please do not arrive earlier than this.  The access is through the gym door so the captain will watch for the caretaker to open the door. 

Sister Alphonse

Sister Alphonse 3.5+ has a new time; future sessions will take place from 6:15 - 9:00 pm on Wednesday evenings.

Be Respectful

We are so lucky to have the venues and by treating the venue and staff respectfully, we have been able to have a great relationship with the schools.   Any abusive behaviour or disrespect to the staff will not be accepted and could lead to the member not being granted future access to that venue (or all venues depending on the severity/nature of the incident or encounter). 

Vaccinations

We will be changing our process for checking members' vaccination records.  As are many other organizations, we will be following the new provincial rules.  We believe that this will be a more secure and standardized process for everyone involved.  The QR code is effective November 15th provincially; therefore, starting on November 16th, members should bring be prepared to display their Alberta Vaccination QR codes at all SAPC venues.  Thank you for your help and cooperation as we make the transition to the new process.

Indoor Play - Other

Playing up

This is a reminder that there is no “playing up “ at this time. In the summer when members had registered for a rating clinic we accommodated them “playing up” as we had 10 courts.  However with indoor venues having only 2 to 4 courts we cannot accommodate players playing up. 

Red Willow - Captains 

With snowbirds travelling south we need captains for Red Willow for 3.0. Please email nicolecurrie@live.com if you are interested and available to captain these sessions.

Facility Strategy - Input Strongly Desired

As noted in our last Newsletter, we have now posted a draft of our new Facilities Strategy - our 5 to 10 year vision for more pickleball facilities in St. Albert.  Please note that this document is a work in progress - some blanks need to be filled in and member input is needed to make this strategy even stronger.

Please read the draft strategy, which is now posted on our Plans and Policies web page, or jump straight to the report here.

Have a look and ask yourself - do you share this vision?  Is this how we should go about pursuing these new facilities? 

After reviewing the draft Facility Strategy document, if you are so inclined, you are strongly encouraged to send an email to the Facilities Task Force c/o Treasurer@pickleballstalbert.ca with the subject line: Facilities Strategy - Member Comment.  In your email, please identify one or more of the following questions by number and provide a response to each question you have identified:

1. Do you agree there is or will be a need for more pickleball facilities in St. Albert in the years to come?
   
2. Do you agree with the three priority objectives laid out?
   
3. How would you strengthen or alter the rationale for one of the priorities?
   
4. What else needs to be added to the plan for one of the priorities?
   
5. Do you have some information on other pickleball facilities that can fill in the blanks in an appendix or add to the strength of the research we have provided?
   
6. Do you have suggestions regarding an advocacy approach with the City of St. Albert?
   
7. Would you like to join our Facilities Task Force and add some more muscle to help us realize a future as glorious as these golden days of pickleball in St. Albert?  This is the legacy we will leave to our children and grandchildren.  We'd love to have you join our team!

We look forward to receiving all of your feedback whether it be general or detailed, positive or negative.  The best plans are generally made by considering all view points and ideas, including many that we may not have even thought of - remember this is YOUR Club!

More Thank Yous

In addition to the many thank yous in our last Newsletter, the Club would also like to extend its thanks to Nicole Currie who manages Red Willow and organizes the lessons and mentoring sessions.  She gives readily of her time again and again - thank you Nicki!

Thanks also goes out to the entire training team which currently consists of the following dedicated and talented members:

Ken Dentzien
Dan Stoker
John Sandmoen
Bill Moyes
Jeanine Au
Art Au
Annette Campbell
Casey Campbell 
Brad Hurshowy
James Porter
Shelley Porter
Rick Storfield
Blair Bashaw
Nicole Currie

In response to our request for additional personal thank yous from members, a special thank you also goes out to an "unsung hero" - Judy Murray.   According to a number of members, Judy deserves a thumbs up "For all the work she does before most members even set foot on the court.   She’s always there early making sure the courts are cleaned up before play (Alpine this summer).  Plus she is a true ambassador for the club anytime she sees a new face, not to mention the time and patience she spends assisting new players.  Judy does all this behind the scenes and most members don’t even know everything she does for the club."

Until next time, keep your paddle up!

In this issue:

Facility Strategy Takes Shape	Thanks to Volunteers
Website References for FAQ's	Member Ratings - Other Clubs
Indoor Play	Red Willow Registration/Cancellations
New Communications Director

Facility Strategy Takes Shape

Your Facilities Task Force wants your input!  Help shape our future or just see what is going on.

We have now posted a draft of our new Facilities Strategy - our 5 to 10 year vision for more pickleball facilities in St. Albert.  Please note that this document is a work in progress - some blanks need to be filled in and member input is needed to make this strategy even stronger.

Please read the draft strategy, which is now posted on our Plans and Policies web page, or jump straight to the report here.

Have a look and ask yourself - do you share this vision?  Is this how we should go about pursuing these new facilities? 

After reviewing the draft Facility Strategy document, if you are so inclined, you are encouraged to send an email to the Facilities Task Force c/o Treasurer@pickleballstalbert.ca with the subject line: Facilities Strategy - Member Comment.  In your email, please identify one or more of the following questions by number and provide a response to each question you have identified:

1. Do you agree there is or will be a need for more pickleball facilities in St. Albert in the years to come?
   
2. Do you agree with the three priority objectives laid out?
   
3. How would you strengthen or alter the rationale for one of the priorities?
   
4. What else needs to be added to the plan for one of the priorities?
   
5. Do you have some information on other pickleball facilities that can fill in the blanks in an appendix or add to the strength of the research we have provided?
   
6. Do you have suggestions regarding an advocacy approach with the City of St. Albert?
   
7. Would you like to join our Facilities Task Force and add some more muscle to help us realize a future as glorious as these golden days of pickleball in St. Albert?  This is the legacy we will leave to our children and grandchildren.  We'd love to have you join our team!
   

Note that this is the second piece of our overall facilities strategy. The first piece was our SAPC Facility Reserve--Investing in our Future.  Over 30 members commented on that paper, validated this approach, and strengthened our financial resolve.  If you missed that paper you can review it on the same webpage referenced above.

Thanks to Volunteers

Thanks to all the captains who led and organized our summer play and who signed up to captain our indoor play.  We know COVID safety has made your jobs just a bit more of a challenge, but you have risen to that challenge and are keeping us safe.  Kudos to all of you!

Thanks to Eileen, not only for your tireless work as our President, but also for your separate work as Venue Manager.  You and your team of Venue Coordinators have again secured a great roster of indoor play venues (the envy of all other clubs in the region), you have liaised with venue contacts, organized captains and play times and met with and supported our captains.  It is an inspiration to see you go -- you make us dizzy at the start of each season!

Thanks to Mark Nadeau, our very capable Equipment Coordinator, who along with his helpful partner Arlene, have done an absolutely fantastic job organizing and inventorying our equipment, buying new nets and balls and much, more more - and always with a smile!  Here's hoping we can continue seeing your "around the post" play in person this indoor season, and not just via videos (great acting though - we've nominated you for the Academy Awards for that!).  Thank you for organizing volunteers to do the sad, but necessary, equipment take down to end our outdoor season at Alpine Courts.

Thanks to Nela Alfonso, our Binder Minder, who stocked and organized all our captain's venue binders, helping to make us ready for indoor play and thanks to Douwe for having those sign-in sheets printed.

Thanks to Marion Spriensma for pumping out and mailing all those sticker cards our members are ordering as we ramp up for indoor play.

Thanks to our Rating Coordinators Gerry Gartner and Karen Cabot who organized all of our rating clinics and even attended the ones on that very chilly day in September.

Thanks to Carol Peabody, our Registered Play coordinator, for setting up our summer shootout events in our calendars and for setting up all the reserved play for our indoor season.

Thanks again to Ken Dentzien and all the people who ran SAPC's biggest tournament ever this last September.   We are now set up to run even bigger tournaments in the future!   (thanks to James Porter and his team for working hard through the technical issues with the tournament software).  It is worth noting that such tournament events are very important for our club; not only did 20% of our members participate and have FUN, such events can significantly raise SAPC's profile in St. Albert.   We would like to hold more tournaments in the future.  Multi-day tournaments, for example, have economic development spinoff benefits for St. Albert hotels, restaurants and other businesses and they can be used to generate publicity further raising our profile with the City of St. Albert and attracting more members.  All of that helps as we begin to collaborate with the City to build more pickleball facilities as noted in the first article of this Newsletter.

Speaking of that first article, many thanks to Ray for his hard work and many hours spent working on this first draft of our Facility Strategy.

There are many, many more volunteers we have to thank -- sorry we didn't get to everyone this issue. To all of you, thank you for your interest, your caring and your time. All our members and our entire community benefits from your spirit.

Do you have one or more volunteers in our Club that you would like to thank in particular?  Send your name(s), your "one-liners" of thanks or your stories to communications@pickleballstalbert.ca -- or post it directly to our facebook page!   We would love to pass those along.

Website References for Frequently Asked Questions

"You've got questions?  We got answers!"

We'll bet that several of you would like to be reminded of the answers to one or more of the following questions.  Well, you're in luck!  Here's how and where to find answers - click on the links provided below to direct you to the correct webpage:

1. How do I reserve a play spot at Red Willow?  See the Reserved Play webpage.

2. What are the rules for indoor play these days?  See the Guide to Indoor Play Fall 2021 article on our Home page.

3. How do I use a club credit?  See the Finance and Technology FAQ webpage.  Please use your club credit when you renew your membership for 2022 - you can only do that by following the steps provided.   Use it or lose it!

4. How do I renew my membership for 2022?  See the summary information here.  To learn more about the new process, see this new SAPC FAQ page on Pickleball Canada memberships  (Note: If you are using a club credit to pay for part of your membership please alter this procedure based on the process referenced in the question #3 above).

5. How do I add my picture to my membership card?  How do I print or save my membership card to show captains?  These questions are also answered on our Finance and Technology FAQ page.

As you will have noted from this short list, the SAPC website is a treasure trove of good information with answers to many if not all of your questions - be an archeologist this Halloween season and do a little diggin'... it will be fun!

Member Ratings - Other Clubs

With more and more members playing in multiple jurisdictions including down south, the question often comes up as to whether a SAPC member can use another club's rating for purposes of organized SAPC play.  The answer is yes, under the following conditions:

• The other club must have a formal club rating system using certified or experienced raters and a database of members' ratings.

• Proof of rating must be provided to an SAPC Rating Coordinator and must contain:

Note that if the proof is a letter or email, the originator must be a current or past club president, rating manager or other position responsible for ratings and must state the writer's position.

The following will be accepted as partial proof of rating, but must be accompanied by any other information needed as described above:

• A member's rating evaluation form containing the evaluator's name and contact information, date of evaluation, evaluation result and the successful rating level achieved.
• A membership card with a club rating on it.
• A screen-shot (image capture) of a member's profile with a club or tournament rating on it. 

All of the above can be referenced by clicking on this link to our website.

Note - VERY IMPORTANT:   It is the SAPC Member's responsibility to comply with this rating policy and for the Member to provide the information requested as noted above; the Club will NOT seek out this information on your behalf nor contact anyone on your behalf to obtain same.

Indoor Play

Just a reminder to members that for those beginning to come indoors to play that all the information about playing indoors can be found in the previous, September 30 Newsletter.

Red Willow Registration & Cancellations

When you register at Red Willow and the session is full you can decide to add your name on the waiting list.  If you do this, it is very important that you check your e-mails right up until the start of the event because a member can cancel at any time (try to avoid late cancellations as noted below).  If a member cancels, you will automatically receive an e-mail that you are now registered.  Therefore, if you don’t check your e-mails, you won’t realize that you are in the system and expected to play at Red Willow for that session.

If you need to cancel from a registered session please do so as early as possible to allow time for the above process to take place and another interested Member to register for the session.

By the way, once your name is on the wait list you cannot remove it by yourself should you change your mind.  The only way to remove a name from the wait list is within the program by the site manager; to have them do so, please send an e-mail to regplay@pickleballstalbert.ca.

New Communications Director

The Club is pleased to announce that we have a new Communications Director.  Roger Hutlet has agreed to take on this role and to join the SAPC Board - welcome aboard!  Roger says that he is looking forward to working with the SAPC Team including all volunteers.  This is his first Newsletter so please be patient with his sense of humor, misspellings, etc.

Until next time, keep your paddle up!

In this issue:

Indoor Play Starting	Indoor Play - Key Details
Red Willow Details	Indoor Play Reminders
School Play	How to Reserve Your Spot
Save or Print Your Membership Card	Club Historian: Reta

Indoor Play Starting

Are you hoping to play indoors soon? Then this is the issue for you!  The first thing to know is that reservations for our first sessions, which are at Red Willow, can be made starting at about 4:30 pm Friday Oct 1.  Read on for more information about playing safe and about making reservations.

Indoor Play - Key Details

As we prepare for indoor play we wanted to review the rules. To make it easy, there are four things you MUST have to come to indoor play!

We suggest you also have hand sanitizer for your use between games. 

1.  PROOF OF VACCINATION  can be on your phone or printed out. If you are just going to receive your second vaccination you will not be permitted to play indoors until two weeks after your second shot. The captains will check your proof of vaccination, noting the date of the second shot. The rules regarding proof of vaccination in the Sep 16 newsletter are still applicable.

2.  You will remain MASKED  anytime you are not playing on the courts. The easiest way to do this is keep a mask in your pocket so as you leave the court you can wear it immediately after play.

3.  You MUST  have your MEMBERSHIP CARD with you. We have new members and new captains. On your membership card it states your level of play and as the captains do not know everyone, this is the easiest way to check level of play.  Also confirms proof of ID when checking the vaccination card. It can be printed out or on your phone. Instructions on how to access and download or print your membership card are included at the end of this newsletter.

4.  STICKERS. It is the members responsibility to have stickers to play. If you have not ordered them, do so now. The captains or members WILL NO LONGER be selling stickers. If you are waiting for stickers to arrive, do not register to play until you have received them. The past practice of accommodating requests for stickers has caused problems for captains and members, so we're ending this practice now. Please allow three weeks for the processing and mail delivery of sticker cards.

These rules (and those below) are also posted in a more abbreviated form on the home page of our website. That home page article will continue to be updated as circumstances change -- and we're certainly getting used to change, aren't we?

Red Willow Details

We can not enter Red Willow until 10 minutes prior to our first session.   Most  days begin at 9:00 so do not come earlier than 10 to the hour . In the past we were entering the building earlier and earlier and we have assured Red Willow that this will not happen. For each session following the 9-11:00 session you will not be able to access the gym until approximately five after the hour.  

TWO STICKERS  are needed for session of play at Red Willow!

It has been agreed that members will not be gaining access to the foyer as social distancing cannot be adhered to. Just remain in your vehicles or you can stand outside if this is your wish.

The previous captain will have the session finished at 5 to the hour which gives the next captain time to allow everyone to leave .The captain will then spray the door handles and the washing room taps. When this is done the  captain will allow the next group to enter.

You can leave outdoor shoes in the foyer but bring everything else into the gym where it will be placed on a chair that you choose. The walls have been marked with a taped X so social distancing is observed. We will not be disinfecting the chairs after each session. However if you wish to clean the chair prior to sitting bring your own wipes. Red Willow is leaving a spray bottle but this spray leaves the chair wet and does not have to be wiped off. The captain  at the end of the last session of the day will ask those in attendance to spray their chair and stack them in the back foyer( where we used  to get the chairs prior to covid) not the front entrance.

There are 16 X's placed on the walls as on  the third and fourth Sundays  there is a free session for up to 16 people. This session can include members  of the public as this session of play is free, a gift from Red Willow to give back to the community. This session is not registered so the first 16 will gain entrance to play. All the rules for this free session are as above . When  Red Willow informs their members about this, they will all receive the information about requiring proof of vaccination, ID  and masks. 

When we last used Red Willow there were specific rules about only one person in the washroom. This rule is no longer in place.

Members may choose to spray the ball prior to play.  If so, they will need to bring their own disinfectant as the one provided at Red Willow is a heavy wet spray.

Indoor Play Reminders

These indoor play reminders apply to Red Willow, all school venues and other indoor venues. 

SHOES

Members must bring indoor shoes! You cannot wear outdoor shoes into the gym unless there is a blazing fire in there and children need rescuing, okay? We know what weather we are expecting , so clean dry indoor shoes must be brought to be worn in the gyms.

BEVERAGES

Only water is allowed in the gyms. No juices or other drinks are allowed due to the damage they can cause to the gym floors. Also no food.

CALENDAR

It continues to be important to check the calendar in case any of the venues are closed suddenly. If this happens with short notice it will usually be posted on our Facebook page.

LEVEL AND FREQUENCY OF PLAY 

Some of the play sessions will be identified with a + on the calendar.  At these sessions, and ONLY at these sessions, can members play down. If you and your partner wish to play together but are both rated at different levels, you are able to attend ALL sessions. 

Why are these limitations in effect? Well, we expect the demand for indoor play to significantly exceed venue availability, and this helps balance play opportunities for all members.  In particular:

• Covid may again restrict the number of venues we have.
• Each venue has limited courts. (Red Willow has two, most schools have three and Vital Grandin has four courts. JJ Nearing has only two full courts as climbing equipment restricts full access to the third play court.)  
• Sessions have been allocated to our venues in proportion to the number of members at each level (subject to captain availability). 

Each member can only reserve one play session per day, unless there is a vacancy in a reserved play session within an hour of start time. 

VISITORS

As we have limited courts and want to play as safe as practical, no visitors or spectators (non-players) are permitted.

School Play

The City has cancelled all community use of school bookings up until at least October 11th.  We hope to have more news on the availability of schools within a few days.

Assuming there is play at schools:

• Each school has a different start and end time so ensure you check the calendar before heading out.
• There will not be disinfecting spray at the schools.
• Play at some schools may start in as drop-in, then convert to reserved play for Covid-safety, when attendance begins to regularly exceed about 150% of court capacity.
• Play at schools will cost one sticker.

How to Reserve Your Spot

1. Log in to our website.
2. Click on the event in the indoor calendar or in a venue calendar.
3. Next screen - if the registration is open there is a black button on the left side that says “Register”.  Click on “Register”. (If the session is full, you can also sign up to be put on the waitlist.) .
4. Next screen - states the event and the registrant's email - there is a bottom right button that says “Next”. Click on “Next”.
5. Next screen - states the event and the registrants name, email, and phone number. ***Make sure the box is checked to include your name in list of event registrants. This box must be checked as the captains need to know who is registered for the event. There is a bottom right button that says “Next”. Click on “Next”.
6. Next screen - confirms all information. There is a bottom right button that says “Confirm”. Click on “Confirm”.
7. Next screen - thanks you for your successful registration. You will  receive an email confirming your registration.

Do you need to cancel a reservation or have other questions on reservations? See our Reserved Play webpage.

Save or Print Your Membership Card

To print it:

To access it and/or save it using an iPhone:

Similar steps can be used to access your card from an Android smartphone or other device.

Club Historian: Reta

Thanks Reta T for stepping forward and volunteering to be our Club Historian!  Members: if you have (or want to draft) any of the following, please email Reta at herbgirlrt@outlook.com:

Were you on our club's first board? At the club's first tournament or at a recent tournament? Do you recall your first (or most recent) laugh as a club member?  What characters stick in your mind? What milestones do you recall?  Are you possibly the club's youngest or "more advanced" member, or do you know who that is? Do you have our club's first newsletter? Reta can put all your submissions together and you can have a spot as a contributor to the legacy we are all building and want to leave to our successors in this fun, wondrous and crazy world.

Until next time, keep your paddle up!

In this issue:

What a Tournament!	Playing Indoors Safely
Other Indoor Play News	Facility Advocate Opening
Beginner Training	2022 Memberships
Membership Renewals: Use Your Credit	Injured?

What a Tournament!

What records did we break at our September 11 FUN tournament?

• Largest SAPC tournament ever, with 200 matches and 104 players.
• Longest SAPC tournament ever (but we learned how to use Pickleball Brackets so we are primed for even bigger and better in future).
• Record setting number of sponsors and prizes (thanks to the volunteers for their many contacts)
• Every game refereed (thanks to all the referees from Parkland Pickleheads and to our own SAPC volunteer referees!)

Congrats to the medal winners (shown below) and all other participants.

See our club Facebook group for many pictures of members having fun! (We are also planning on putting some of these onto our website soon – stay tuned for that.)

THANKS to the organizers, sponsors, many other volunteers, and particularly to Ken Dentzien, Tournament Director and James Porter, his right hand on the computer.  Other volunteers, a list of sponsors, and other tournament highlights are identified in this tournament report. Hope we didn’t miss anyone!

Playing Indoors Safely

Thank you for all the thoughtful, informed and respectful input members have provided to our board on this topic. Your input matters.

Much of this input was along the lines that our government has now taken.  In case you didn’t hear our Premier and Health Minister speak on cbc.ca at 6 pm September 15, we have summarized the comments below, in so far as indoor pickleball play is concerned.  This information is also available at a government webpage cited below.

Covid hospitalizations and ICU cases have again reached record highs in Alberta. To increase our safety, to control spread, and to further incent immunizations, the Government of Alberta has declared a state of public health emergency and has again brought in temporary measures, some of which basically translate into a vaccine passport system. The bottom line, for pickleball and all other indoor adult sports, is that we are either shutdown completely or we adopt a Restrictions Exemption Program, which is a fancy name for a vaccine passport system. 

So, in order to try to offer any indoor play at all, SAPC has no choice but to adopt a Restrictions Exemption Program. Consequently, at a board meeting the evening of Sep 15, your board passed this resolution: “SAPC hereby adopts the Restrictions Exemption Program for indoor club play, in compliance and in accordance with Government of Alberta requirements streamed online at cbc.ca and as announced and posted at https://www.alberta.ca/covid-19-public-health-actions.aspx on Sept 15.  This means that any member coming out to play indoors will bring proof of double vaccination or recent negative covid test and will show this proof whenever asked.”

Now indoor play could start in early October. You have a couple of weeks to gather some form of vaccination evidence for BOTH vaccinations. For the time being, the government and SAPC will accept any of the following:

• vaccination forms provided by the pharmacy or health centre where your vaccinations were done,
• printout or screen shot of an immunization report from your online MyHealth account,
• immunization card (soon printable or downloadable) from your MyHealth account,
• documentation of a medical exemption, or
• proof of a privately-paid negative PCR or rapid test within 72 hours of playing (tests from AHS or Alberta Precision Laboratories not allowed).

Please pack this evidence with your mask and bring it to every indoor play session you attend.

Note that this vaccine passport rule also applies to beginner’s lessons and any other indoor sessions.

Other Indoor Play News

Are the above measures enough to actually get us some indoor play venues?  Well stay tuned. Nothing is assured until it actually happens.

Just prior to the Premier’s announcement, we had made venue arrangements with one church, the Sturgeon Heights school, and several other city schools. We are now in the process of assuring these venues that we are adopting a Restrictions Exemption Program, and hope that is sufficient to avoid a complete shutdown to adult sports by these venues. Basically, our venues must also adopt a Restrictions Exemption program for their gymnasiums or they must shut down indoor adult sports play.

We will pass on more news on this in the next two weeks.  If and when indoor play is confirmed, it will also be posted on our indoor play calendars. Always check the calendars for times and details before heading out to play.

Assuming some indoor play proceeds, here’s some additional news related to that play.

For reserved indoor play, you can make reservations starting on Friday, for all sessions from Monday to Sunday of the following week. The exact time of reservation opening will vary slightly. Here’s why:

• We were going to have these sessions open automatically (and very consistently) at 12:00:01 am (real early) Saturday morning, but some asked that have the reservations open up while most people are awake.

• So we are going with manual openings. This is more work each week for Carol, our registered play coordinator (and her backups), but we will give it a try.  Doing it manually means that the registration opening time could vary somewhat each week, as it takes time to manually open each of our dozens of events, and sometimes we actually put something else in our life ahead of pickleball (though this is rare, of course!)  Anyway, the target time is to have all reserved play events open by 4:30 pm on Friday, but some weeks it could be a couple minutes after that for a few events, and other weeks it could even be a couple of hours before that!
• In summary, reservations open by approximately 4:30 pm on Friday, for all sessions from Monday to Sunday of the following week (and if we have any complaints about this we can quickly convert back to automated openings at midnight.)

No spectators at any indoor event – only participants.

Please, please also read the Guide to Indoor Play – Fall 2021 article on our home page.  This article supersedes the news in our Sept 4 newsletter. This home page article will also be continually updated as our reserved play protocol and Covid safety rules change.

Facility Advocate Opening

Using a 5 to 10-year perspective, your Facilities Task Force has identified and will soon recommend (to the board and membership) certain priorities for additional pickleball facilities in St. Albert. We are also nearing the stage when we need to plan how to advocate for these additional facilities, building on our great relationship with the City of St. Albert.

• Do you have an interest in planning for more facilities with the City?
• Can you spot opportunities to further develop our connections to the City or to raise pickleball awareness in St. Albert?
• Would you like to be involved in meetings with the City?
• Do you know some city officials or council members?
• Do you have experience in making presentations or in having meaningful discussions with decision-makers?

We’re not looking for someone with ALL these interests. We know a job like this takes a team of individuals, each having something to contribute. If you are interested in joining our task force or if  you’d like to share some advocacy advice with us, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line at Treasurer@pickleballstalbert.ca.

Beginner Training

This training is again underway – thanks to Nicole and her cadre of volunteer trainers.  If you know someone outside our club who may be interested in taking a free beginner lesson, refer them to our Beginner’s Lesson webpage.

Note that anyone attending an indoor beginner's lesson must also adhere to the indoor play provisions described in the newsletter articles above  and any provisions posted to the home page of our website.

2022 Memberships

Starting Oct 1, you can renew your membership for 2022. Non-members can also purchase new memberships on that date that are effective from the date of purchase to Dec 31 2022.

Didn’t we just buy memberships in March or April for 2021? Yes, but recall that was for a short membership year that expires December 31, 2021. Why? Well to comply with the standardized pickleball membership year now in effect for all clubs affiliated with Pickleball Canada.

The SAPC membership fee for 2022 has just been set. It is $40.  The additional proceeds will be used to start building a capital reserve toward future pickleball facilities in St. Albert. This was an action endorsed by our board and members in 2021, but we delayed the fee increase due to the short membership year and Covid play restrictions.

Please also recall that you must join or renew with Pickleball Canada and Pickleball Alberta separately, before joining or renewing with SAPC.  They have a combined charge of $15 for 2022. Further details are here.

Membership Renewals: USE YOUR CREDIT

Do you have a credit with SAPC?  If so, PLEASE use up your credit when you renew your membership!  Only YOU can do that for yourself, and you can save on the membership fee by doing so.  How do you use your credit? It’s a bit tricky.  See the instructions on this page. If you need help, ask Treasurer@pickleballstalbert.ca before you hit that payment button.

How do you know if you have a credit? It will show up in the Balance in the top right corner of your profile on the SAPC website.

Injured?

If you are injured even slightly during organized play, please report it to the captain so a medical incident report can be completed.  This helps us keep play sessions as safe as possible and it helps us support you should you need to make a claim to use the sport injury insurance you have through your Pickleball Canada membership. It also helps us keep in touch with you regarding your injury – because we care!

Until next time, keep your paddle up!

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!

Tournament is a Go!

Get ready for the best SAPC event of the year!  No experience needed to play in this tournament -- just a willingness to have fun!  It is our most social organized play event of the year -- catch up with friends before the snow flies.

Registration for our Fun Tournament on Sept 11/21 will be live on https://Pickleballbrackets.com starting 8 am Aug 28th. 

1. Play is round robin format so you will enter as an individual and have a different  partner for each game. 
2. Our plan is to have all players participate in at least 7 games each, then there will be playoffs for the top players in each pool. 
3. We have combined the 2.5 and 3.0 into one pool due to low numbers of 2.5 players. 
4. The cost for the tournament will be $20 per player which must be paid when registering.  
   1. No refunds unless we have something like a gov’t shutdown of outdoor play.  Credit card processing fees and PB software usage fees will be deducted from any refund, as these are not refundable to the club.
   2. A portion of your fee will go to our Facility Reserve account — thanks for helping us all prepare for our future.
      
5. Registration deadline is 4 pm Sept 7,  but don’t wait to the last day, especially if you haven’t used the Pickleball Brackets (PB) software before. I can take a couple of days to have your SAPC membership verified on PB.
6. You must create a profile on Pickleball Brackets (PB) and join St. Albert Pickleball Club on PB to register for the tournament. 
   1. See the Aug 19 club newsletter for steps on setting up your free account on PB, as well as the steps to join SAPC on PB.
   2. PB will ask you to put in your club rating. If you do not have a rating please estimate what you think your rating is or ask one of our experienced players for guidance. To repeat: You do NOT need a club rating to play in this event. Of course, if you have one, you may not enter below that level.
   3. Once you are part of SAPC on PB, find the tournament there and click on it to start the registration process for the tournament and then pay the tournament fee.
   4. If you'd like some help with PB, email Treasurer@pickleballstalbert.ca or call Ray at 780-901-5342.

Tournament Schedule

• Check in from 8:30 am to 9:15 am
• Opening ceremonies 9:15 am to 9:30 am
• Games start at 9:30 am to approximately 4:30 pm
• Fruit and bars will be available for all players throughout the day in the clubhouse
• Lunch will be provided between 12:00 and 2:00
• There will be draw prizes for all players throughout the day

Referees

We are in need of more referees for the tournament. If you would like to referee please email kendentzien@gmail.com or indicate it on pickleballbrackets site.

Mark Nadeau and Ken Dentzien will be offering a brief referee course on Sept 9th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. for anyone who would like a refresher or would like to referee in tournament. Please contact Ken if you would like to attend.

Volunteering and Used Paddles

• If you would like to volunteer to help with the tournament there is a link on the pickleball brackets site as well.
• We will also be collecting any used paddles that you would like to donate to the club that we will use for training sessions for new players. Please bring to tournament desk if you would like to donate.

Binder Minder - Help Wanted

Are you looking to give back to the club, but looking for a small job needing only a few hours per year?  We have the perfect job for you!  Our Binder Minder position is open. 

Basically, the job here is to keep our captain's binders stocked with forms. There is one binder for each venue, or about 8 binders in total. Once per year, you'd add forms to the binders, and maybe one other time per year you'd respond to a captain's request to re-fill a binder. Complete training and instructions are available.

If interested or if you have any questions, please email Eileen, our venue manager (and president), at venuemanager@pickleballstalbert.ca.