The Port Townsend Pickleball Club (PTPC) was officially formed in June 2019. Since then the Club has worked hard to develop places to play and grow membership. The Port Townsend Pickleball Club members play outdoors at Port Townsend High School, Mountain View Commons, and Jefferson County Courthouse Park. In the winter the YMCA provides regular playing hours indoors. We have over 200 members on our roster, and three hundred picklers on our mailing list!
CLUB HISTORY
In the early 2010’s, Mary Critchlow and Jack Olmsted discovered the game of pickleball. They shared their passion for their new sport, taught others to play, and lobbied the city for permission to paint pickleball court lines on an old slab of concrete at Mountain View. Thus, pickleball got its start in Port Townsend.
In June of 2019, Mary Critchlow and Lynn Pierle, local USAPA pickleball ambassador, organized the Port Townsend Pickleball Club with the goals of promoting pickleball in Port Townsend and East Jefferson County and developing more places to play. They and six other enthusiastic players established a Founding Board, which guided the Club through its first year. The Club applied for official, non-profit status; developed a Facebook page, website, and email program; adopted ByLaws and a Code of Conduct; recruited members, 100+ right off the bat; repurposed one of the Port Townsend High School tennis courts into four pickleball courts with portable nets; and organized indoor play with the YMCA.
The first elected Board of Directors took the reins in July, 2020, and the group continued to increase membership. It lobbied the County and the City to develop permanent pickleball courts. As a result of these efforts, in 2021, the County installed 2 pickleball courts on a refurbished tennis court at Courthouse Park, with an option for a third court. In March of 2022, the City and the Club completed an agreement for the Club to put in three more permanent pickleball courts at Mountain View. After a robust capital campaign to raise $40,000, primarily from pickleball players, the new courts were completed in Fall 2022.
While progress slowed somewhat during the coronavirus pandemic, the Board worked behind the scenes to develop a roadmap for accomplishing its goals. The PTPC Strategic Plan was adopted by the Board in April, 2021.
Today PTPC has a membership of 200+ players, and it continues to lobby the City for more courts. It offers free beginner lessons, hosts local tournaments and clinics, and provides fun activities for its members, like Round Robins and drills. If you would like to join the fun and help PTPC reach its goals, please become a member.
OUR GOALS
We are dedicated to promoting indoor and outdoor courts in Port Townsend and eastern Jefferson County. Our board and volunteers are working towards the goal of a becoming a sustainable, year-round pickleball community. If you are interested in learning more about the Club, please download the 2021 Strategic Plan.
CLUB GOVERNANCE & ORGANIZATION
The PTPC is made possible by a group of talented and passionate volunteers who invest their time and serve the pickleball playing community in eastern Jefferson County, Washington. To this end the club supports everything from capital court improvement to social events, not to mention organized pickleball play! Club activities are overseen by the following Board of Directors and associated committee members.
Club Officers
President - Charlie Houston
Vice President - Tom Scribner
Secretary - Teresa Sisk
Treasurer - Carol Anthony-Gartlan
Board of Directors
Director of Court Operations - Tony Porto
Director of Facilities - Steve Smolinski
Director of Communications - Karen Ray
Board Member At Large - Carla Jean Pugh
Events Committee
(Managing Director - Steven Smolinski)
Jennie Hoskins
Facilities Committee
(Managing Director - Tony Porto)
Jim Dow
Craig Walls
Communications Committee
(Managing Director - Karen Ray)
Mark Finco (Website)
Karen Ray (News Blasts)
Char Quandt (Facebook)
Patricia Dombrowski (Media Relations)
Club Committees
Club Founding Documents & Board Minutes
PTPC Governing Documents
Board of Directors (BOD) Upcoming Meeting Agenda
The BOD typically meets the second Tuesday of the month at the Port Townsend Library's Pink House. If you wish to address the BOD please contact the club president to get on the agenda.
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No meeting agendas at this time
Board Meeting Minutes