 A Message From Our President  Hello all, I would like to catch you up on our board news and then take a look into preparations for our new fiscal year starting on July 1, 2021. At the May board meeting the following topics were discussed ● Four board members met with the PT city manager John Mauro to propose renovation of the MV courts into 4 dedicated pickleball courts. Jim Dow wrote up a proposal for the renovations and Jim, Eric Seder, Lynn Pierle and I met with John to present it. It was well received and John is now meeting with other entities to see if our proposal is viable. The idea is that our club would fundraise enough money to resurface the four courts and install permanent posts and nets. We will keep you informed on the progress of this proposal. ● Eric Seder reported on the progress of the 2 courts at the courthouse that are to be installed by the county. The bids are going out for the construction of these courts, but there might be a delay due to how busy all the companies are that are resurfacing courts. The county agreed to a request that our board made to provide enough room between the 2 new courts so that a 3rd court (portable or permanent) might be installed at a later date. The county is funding this project entirely. We will let you know when the project gets underway. ● There was a discussion about how we should schedule open play this summer. There was a consensus that there should be organized open play. We will inform you in an email as soon as we work out all of the details. ● Craig Walls and Lynn Pierle gave reports on how their beginner lessons are going. These two board members have volunteered to teach pickleball to new members and give them an overview of the game. The members are very appreciative of this instruction. If you are so inclined to join this pool of teaching volunteers, please email our membership chair, Jim Geren jtgeren@gmail.com. Thank Craig and Lynn for teaching our new members. ● There was a discussion about nominations for new board members to fill the positions of members who are rotating off the board on June 30th. We will announce the open board positions in an email soon. We will hold our elections online in June. Please be thinking of members to nominate or better yet, run for a position yourself. We look forward to seeing members step up to help keep the organization fully functioning and successful. We hope to have our annual meeting (party) in August when large events feel safer. ● Speaking of nominations, I am resigning as President on June 30th. I have spent the last 6 years organizing pickleball in Port Townsend. Now I am a grandparent with a second grandchild on the way and I want to put my efforts into helping care for these grandchildren. Plus, I think it is time to have a new leader lead the club with fresh enthusiasm, opening the door to new possibilities. In these 2 years as president of PTPC, I have enjoyed the opportunity to help get our club started and to see our members enjoying this sport as much as I do. I am thankful to all the other board members past and present who have created this great foundation for a very successful organization. ● Finally, you will see in this newsletter an announcement to be sure to renew your membership by July 1st. The board made the decision to raise the membership rate to $40 in order to be able to continue to cover all our costs. We pay for equipment, online subscriptions, the porta potty, maintenance supplies, etc. We feel that it is a great deal! Tip of the Month- Keep the ball in play. Hope to see you on the court. Mary Effective June 1st - High School Courts Summer Schedule Please keep in mind that the schedule is a work in progress and can be adjusted as play dictates.You can also access this schedule on our website by clicking on the current news tab. Click here.  JUST A REMINDER  Have you ever heard "You only get better at #pickleball playing with better players?" Coach Phil Metz along with Simone Jardim shows us strategies and drills to work on shot selection and accuracy while playing with those who are less skilled and that both players may benefit from. Watch here.  Squats, they help to strengthen the legs and keep us in balance for pickleball.Watch here.  Board members met with the PT city manager John Mauro to propose renovation of the MV courts into 4 dedicated pickleball courts. Left to right: President Mary Critchlow, PT local Ambassador Lynn Pierle, Director of facilities Eric Seder and Director of court operations Jim Dow   Hello, Picklers, As PTPC resumes a rated play and open play schedule, here is some basic information about ratings for the non-tournament and recreational player. First of all, both types of scheduling have the same goals – socializing, getting folks out of their bubbles, and having fun. Open Play generally means that all are invited to play, without deference to skill level, and the idea is to mix it up, get to know people you don’t normally play with, and help the less experienced improve their skills. I hope PTPC will have some slots for Open Play. It’s a good time for more skillful players to pay it forward and help others learn the game, just as others before helped them get to their level of play. Rated Play means that courts are designated for certain skill levels, which PTPC plans to implement at the high school on specific days starting on June 1. Rated play can be fraught with anxiety and conflict, but it doesn’t have to be. If everyone agrees to be patient, flexible, and welcoming, things will turn out just fine. What is a rating? Ratings in pickleball determine a player’s skill level, and they go from 1.0-5.0, from beginner to pro. USA Pickleball has a complex rating system based on sanctioned tournament play, and one’s rating is an integer plus four decimal points! For most players, though, ratings are more casual and, unfortunately, vague. Numerous self-rating tools abound on the internet, and one has to be brutally honest about one’s own play to get an accurate assessment. Humility is also helpful. A good starting point would be to check out the USA Pickleball website and its Player Skill Ratings. Click here: https://usapickleball.org/tournaments/tournament-player-ratings/player-skill-rating-definitions/ As PTPC designates courts according to skill level, folks will want to know which court to play on. Generally, the beginner court will be 1.0-2.0, intermediate will be 2.5-3.5, and advanced will be 3.5+. The issue that will undoubtedly come up is the lower skilled player wishing to play with the higher level players. The chart on the website is handy for seeing what you ought to be able to do at each level. For those who want to play with the advanced players, here are a few things to keep in mind: Serves and Serve Returns – Advanced, 90% of shots go in, with variety of placement, pace and spin. Intermediate, 70-80% of shots go in but with limited ability to control depth. 3rd Shot – Advanced, has a well-developed 3rd shot drop and understands when to use it. Intermediate, is developing the 3rd shot but doesn’t implement it on a regular basis. Reset – Advanced, can transition the game from hard shots to soft shots and maintain dinking. Intermediate, the skill of resetting is not fully developed. Strategy – Advanced, uses positioning and placement to win the point. Intermediate, focuses on hitting the ball back without thinking about where to hit it. Consistency – Advanced, keeps unforced errors to 4 or fewer per game. Intermediate, makes more than 4 unforced errors per game. PTPC does not yet have a process for rating players, but if enough players are interested, the Club may adopt one in the future. In the meantime, you can try this: find 3 other players who play at the level you aspire to. Ask them to play a round robin with you, with everyone playing two games apiece with each player. Keep score. If the scores are pretty balanced, you could try playing at the next level. If you see that you are being consistently beaten (by a lot), you probably should focus on getting more experience at your level. You can also have a coach or instructor watch you play and offer suggestions. The key to improving your skill level is practice, not necessarily playing with better players. Drilling is not over-rated! Good luck and Happy Pickling!  Are you having pain in your backside but not sure if it is Piriformia or Sciatica? Here these two fellas break it down. Watch here.  I love fixing a whole meal on a baking sheet, quick, healthy and easy clean up. Here are recipes to choose from.  If you are not already aware, Selkirk has a new app out, "Selkirk TV". You can watch pickleball everything including live tournaments 24 seven! Click here for more info.   To keep up with our current news and playing times, please visit our website at www.ptpickleball.com
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 New Schedule to go into effect on June 1 PTPC is developing a playing schedule for pickleball at the High School and Mountain View beginning on June 1. Port Townsend High School - Rated play* on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, from 9:00 to 1:00. Reserved play on Tuesday and Thursday through Playtime Scheduler, 9:00-11:00 and 11:00-1:00. Mountain View - Every day, Monday through Sunday. Continue to schedule your own groups with Playtime Scheduler. *Rated Play - Court #1 will be for beginners, #2 and #3 will be for mixed skill levels, from intermediate to intermediate-advanced, and #4 will be advanced. More details to follow as the schedule is developed. This is a work in progress while the Club tries to determine what best meets the needs of the players.  It's that time of year again, and soon PTPC will elect new Board Members. The Board needs people with a diverse set of skills, organizational, technological, multi-media, diplomatic, fun-loving. Please consider volunteering your special talents to the Board as PTPC pursues its goals for the community. We will have a list of Board positions available in the next couple of weeks, along with numerous opportunities to serve on Board Committees. If you're interested, talk to any current Board member, or send an email to ptpickleball@gmail.com.
PTPC Strategic Plan is now on the website. To see the plan, click here: https://www.ptpickleball.com/about-us--board.html Please continue to visit our website for current updated News at www.ptpickleball.com |
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