That’s a Wrap
While the tournament committee members for the Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic recover, the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association (SMPA) shares in the sense of accomplishment and pride for a tournament well done. Despite a two and a half hour rain delay on Saturday, the event otherwise went off without a hitch. Players were called to their courts with minimal delays, and the three-day tournament set a record as the largest outdoor pickleball tournament in the area with the final 305 participants out of 312 registered players. You can read more in the President’s message. If you played, we hope you’ll complete the survey from the Tournament Director, Mike Hoxie, to give the Tournament Committee and SMPA valuable feedback on how to improve the experience for players and fans. Photos? We’ve got a few, so peruse them on the SMPA website.
Walt Hundley Park? Where (in Seattle) is that?
During a recent meeting with SPR representatives, we learned that as part of its ongoing park maintenance program, SPR has scheduled resurfacing two West Seattle tennis courts. They are using this opportunity to add pickleball lines to the courts as part of a restoration project at Walt Hundley Playfield. While this project was on none of the lists SMPA submitted, this is a boon for players in the High Point area of West Seattle. Several SMPA directors met with SPR representatives, including an SPR landscape architect, to discuss court orientation and layouts that would best serve the pickleball community. That resurfacing work will begin this month, August. We understand consideration is being given to lining 6 to 8 pickleball courts on the existing Walt Hundley tennis courts that are, like too many in our city, badly in need of restoration. Stay tuned.
Pickleball protests at Parks Board
Many SMPA members attended two separate public Parks Board meetings to protest the announced SPR policy to close Seattle community centers during what had previously been described by SPR as “non-public hours,” effective January 1, 2020, and which we reported in last month’s newsletter. While we were left believing that the arguments made by our pickleball activists were effective, the Fall schedules appear to show that non-public hours will experience morning closures. From those presentations one SPR official acknowledged that its decision process was flawed, and that ranking SPR officials would separately meet with us regarding this and other pickleball issues in August. You can always follow along and view the videos of the Parks Board meetings, or attend one and ask to speak during the 10 minutes allowed for public comments.
We’ve been encouraged by the raft of emails that have been sent to Superintendent Jesus Aguirre and Recreation Director Justin Cutler calling out the importance of pickleball to Seattle city residents, asking for more venues and play opportunities and urging the cancellation of the planned non-public hours closures in January of 2020. Thank you to every one who took the time to send a message to the SPR officials, and who copied us. Your email messages are having an impact, and we urge you to keep them going.
August to early September of 2019 is a critical time period to provide your comments before the opportunity window closes on being able to affect the budget process. If you haven’t yet done so, please email the Superintendent (jesus.aguirre@seattle.gov) and the Director of Recreation (justin.cutler@seattle.gov) and tell them of the importance of pickleball to you and the community benefits that pickleball provides to so many people. Ask for more play opportunities both indoors and outdoors and urge them to fund dedicated pickleball courts in those areas where pickleball play is the highest. This is no time to sit on the bench and let others carry the load in getting more courts for Seattle.
A Pickleball League of Our Own
Medal rounds capped the summer league play at Soundview pickleball courts in north Seattle. Watch for future league play announcements on the SMPA website Play page.
SMPA President’s August 2019 Message
Pickleball Friends,
The presence and voice of the pickleball community in the greater Seattle area exploded in July. Bits of rain and tons of play marked the month. First, one request: if your SMPA membership is expiring, please renew. And if you have not yet joined SMPA, please do so today. We can only continue to grow the voice of pickleball and increase pickleball opportunities with your support. Annual Membership costs less than $2/month! Hopefully you agree that this is a low-cost investment for the benefits received.
For many of us in Seattle pickleball, the crown jewel pickleball event last month, and possibly of the summer, was the inaugural Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic tournament held July 26-28, 2019 at Shoreview Park in Shoreline.
- Over 300 players enjoyed the tournament from nine different states and Canada.
- Three USAPA Hall of Fame members competed alongside one USAPA Ambassador from New Jersey.
- Open division players competed for and won more than seven thousand dollars in addition to beautiful custom SMPA medals.
- King 5 TV did a televised interview of SMPAs own director Frank Chiappone who enthusiastically promoted our sport.
- Tournament Director Mike Hoxie from Pickleball is Great (PIG) did an outstanding job.
- Pickleball friends from South Park, Green Lake, Gig Harbor, Bellingham, Anacortes, Kent, and other venues played and medaled. The pro players who teach at Pickleball Station medaled and took home cash in the Open Division.
- Visiting VIPs included Seattle Parks and Recreation Department Director Justin Cutler, the Shoreline Director of Parks, Eric Friedli, a Shoreline city council member, and the President of Seattle’s Lifelong Recreation Advisory Council.
From the effusive compliments we received and glowing social media comments, clearly the organizing committee and its teams of over 100 volunteers made the tournament a resounding success. We are looking forward to an even bigger and better event next year. The dates are set, so put July 24, 26 and 26th of 2020 on your play calendars now! We promise to make the event worth everyone’s while, and continue to showcase pickleball in the metropolitan Seattle area.
The summer hasn’t been all fun and pickleball games. The SMPA Board of Directors submitted last week a prioritization recommendations for adding pickleball lines to several other sites that we understand are part of the SPR tennis court resurfacing projects now being planned. This 23-page report included reasons for adding lined courts, proposed layouts of clusters of courts for each site, and other information relevant to SPR’s decision making. We have asked to be included in the ongoing decision process and will keep you posted as we learn more.
- An SMPA committee continues to meet SPR representatives to request additional lined pickleball courts in Seattle. These meetings provide crucial information about pending activities in SPR, and we’re grateful for their willingness to share details about pending closures or projects that sometimes pass under the public radar.
- At the request of the SMPA Board of Directors, in our effort to broaden contacts with SPR and increase their responsiveness, I’ve requested meetings with SPR Superintendent, Jesus Aguirre, and Director of Recreation, Justin Cutler, so that we can discuss how to improve communications with the pickleball community and develop workable approaches to increase pickleball play opportunities and venues. We are still looking for those dates, although they’ve indicated that a response should be forthcoming.
I hope that August holds many hours of pickleball fun for all of you and that when I report to you next month, I can share that more substantive actions are being undertaken by the City of Seattle to address the concerns and needs of our large community.
Until next time, play hard and have fun on the courts.
Seattle Metro Pickleball Association
Jerry Kindinger, President
SPR FaceBook Surveys – Take One, Take All
Seattle Parks and Recreation department has posted several informal Facebook surveys asking “What recreation activities would you like to see more of in Seattle?” If you play, live, or work in Seattle, this survey is for you.
If you have a Facebook account, click to go to Facebook and we suggest that you:
- tell them you would like more indoor and outdoor pickleball, and
- tell them why you would like more courts for indoor and outdoor pickleball.
Take the time on Facebook to “Like” the other comments that advocate for more pickleball. If you don’t have a Facebook account, ask a friend to leave a comment in your name. Seattle keeps saying they want to hear from us citizens. Let’s see if they mean it.
Now that you got the hang of it, go ahead and add your comments here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
