Good Morning Club Members:
I would like to take this opportunity to dispel a few rumors and to clear up a few misunderstandings that have been floating around the courts this week concerning the minor changes to the evening mixers.
This summer, the club undertook a number of mundane housekeeping tasks such as updating the club’s Standing Rules and Operating Procedures which were very outdated and not currently in compliance with CAM requirements. In reviewing our documents along with the current court schedule, it became clear that there was an inequitable distribution of pre-scheduled court time. One issue that came to our attention was that there were two evenings of 2.5 skill-level mixer (Wednesday and Friday) and two evenings of 3.0 skill-level mixer (Sunday and Thursday). There was no 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 or 5.0 mixer. The second issue was that one of those mixers was being run from a private email distribution list which is against club policy unless those folks are reserving courts in their own names.
Therefore, to correct this inequality in club-sponsored pre-scheduled time, minor changes were made to the mixer schedule. Those minor changes consisted of:
- Removing the skill-level definitions from all mixers. Since all mixers are open to any and all club members in good standing, the skill-level definitions needed to be removed to be fair to all players. In addition, since the heat of summer is over, and we are able to play throughout the day, the Skill-level Drop-in sessions have resumed. As you know from last week’s email, we have pre-scheduled court time allotted for 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5+ skill-levels each week. Therefore, skill-level definitions for evening events was a duplication and not necessary.
- Renaming the mixers so that there was a better understanding for all club members when choosing which mixer they would like to play in.
- Creating a once-per-week mixer for New Players only. This mixer was created so that folks who are new to pickleball and who need a little extra help with rules, how to play the game, how the club works, and meeting friends to play with have pre-scheduled courts and monitors who are willing to assist. This mixer is designed for new players to play in several times and then move on and up to other events.
You all know the old saying goes “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”? Well, the mixer system was broke and it needed fixing. I hope this clears up some of the misunderstandings that have been floating around. The pickleball board of directors made these changes to be more inclusive to all members.
Thanks
Troy