Category: Newsletter

Mosqueda Wants Input on Seattle’s Budget

Seattle Citywide Council Member Teresa Mosqueda, as new Chair of the Housing and Finance Committee, wants to share her priorities for the city’s 2021 budget. As she points out in her mailing, the Council and the public (that’s you and me, pickleball players!) get about two months for the budget process. In those two months, they have to receive, review, understand, change, and pass the budget. They are doing what they call a “robust community engagement process” in the next few months.

That means we need to ready our pens, pencils, keyboards, and any other means of communicating to the Seattle City Council’s and the Finance and Housing committee. Take a few minutes to let them know that it’s time to put pickleball into the budget as a line item and not leave us begging for Seattle Parks and Rec (SPR) leftovers.

Ask them to treat us as a viable sport, and request that they line more courts, make more indoor time available, and work toward dedicated pickleball facilities. You can click the image to send an email. As you can see, SPR and the City Council know we’re here and we’re not going away.

Parks District Wants to Hear From You!

This past summer, SPR began a strategic planning process where they talked to over 10,000 community members about the future of Seattle’s parks and recreation facilities. They’ve used that input to develop a plan that further commits their department to using SPR resources to create equity in Seattle through investments in creating a healthy environment, supporting healthy lifestyles, and uplifting and strengthening our communities. The Park District budget will support these commitments.

There are many ways to join in the discussion for the next 6-year budget, and as you may have noted in the lead article featuring Citywide Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, there is a very short cycle for setting, reviewing, and ultimately passing the SPR budget. You can reach the Parks District budget planners using any or all of the following means.

• Attend one of the public meetings
• Email them at PDplanning@seattle.gov
• Take a look at their website
• Get yourself and some pickleball pals and give public testimony at an upcoming Park District Oversight/Park Board Committee Meeting, February 2020 through May 2020. Find a night to attend and take your paddles and pickleball partners. Meeting dates are listed here.

Better yet, try to attend one of these meetings.

SMPA Anchor Events in 2020

You made your year-end donations to the organizations you most love. Next up, getting involved in things you love. Whether you’re feeling a bit short of cash or not, this is an excellent time to consider becoming a volunteer for the coming SMPA events that we’ve planned.

In 2020, the SMPA Board hosts the Annual Member meeting at the end of March, a well-liked Fourth of July Shootout event, the SMPC tournament in July, and has plans for clinics, a Meet and Greet and Play Day, and new this year, Junior clinics and play events. Events such as these are only possible because of the generous involvement of pickleball volunteers.

We invite you, and maybe even beg a little, too, to send a note to Volunteer. One of our Board members will connect you to an event that suits you, and together we can welcome new players into the fold, introduce junior players to the great game of pickleball, or make sure that our planned events run smoothly. Join in! Meet new pickleball friends! Give back to the sport of pickleball. It’s a service you won’t regret.

SMPA President’s 2020 Message

2020 is off to a busy start with some great things queued up for the year.

SAVE THE DATE! Our second SMPA Annual Meeting is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, March 29, 2020, at Rainer Community Center. Our Planning Committee is working on a slightly different format this year which is intended to provide more pickleball play and less waiting than last year. The business portion of the meeting will again be short. Next month and in advance of the meeting, we’ll publish the formal Annual Meeting notice with the Agenda and slate of directors recommended by the Board for election.

The Board continues to work to develop more pickleball play opportunities. In response to member input, Frank Chiappone, Director and Chairman of our Play Committee has been working with SPR to create special “members only” weekend play opportunities. SMPA will soon be publishing a couple of possible programs and asking for members’ input. Based upon members’ responses, SMPA will secure certain community centers for the days and times preferred. Please be sure to respond to Frank’s solicitation if your are interested. Depending upon the level of interest additional “members only” weekend or weeknight opportunities may be offered later.

We are pleased to announce that SMPA member Dennis Jackson has been working with our Treasurer, Drew Thoresen, to submit another grant to be used to purchase three outdoor semi-permanent pickleball nets to be placed at Delridge. If any other members are interested in applying for net grants where they play definitely let us know. We are happy to assist in guiding you through this process.

We continue to search for potential dedicated pickleball court sites. In the past month alone we considered two or three sites working with SMPA member Paul Reed. These efforts remain a work in process. Progress is slow; regardless, we invite anyone who has any ideas about locations to contact us. We promise to follow up on any suggestions and are happy to work with or support your efforts to do so.

On January 29th, several SMPA Directors met with Tim Pretare of SPR to discuss a variety of topics, particularly involving indoor play, which is under Tim’s purview. The meeting was informative and Tim was, as always, helpful. During the meeting, Tim indicated that SPR had favorably considered providing pickleball machines at South Park and Delridge, with details to be worked out. He promised no dates for delivery, however, we understood it would be in the near term. The original “ask” for pickleball machines and surrounding organizing efforts were the result of SMPA members working behind the scenes. Kudos to all of you who’ve written and emailed SPR!

Last month, we worked with two pickleball groups in our metro area to promote our beloved sport.

• First, we were contacted by one of the organizers of a new pickleball club, the Thurston County Pickleball Club. This group is in the early formative stages and we were delighted to answer their questions and share our experience. We welcome the Thurston County Pickleball Club to Thurston County and wish them every success.
• Second, we committed to work with the Bainbridge Founders club to jointly promote our respective tournaments this summer. Our SMPC Tournament Committee will be working with them and we are pleased to develop this relationship further. We were happy to support the building of the Bainbridge Island Founders Courts by purchasing a commemorative brick in the name of Seattle Metro Pickleball Association.

Finally, we completed negotiations with Mike Hoxie, of Pickleball is Great, to return as our Tournament Director again this year for the SMPC Tournament, July 24-26, 2020. Mike was just recognized as an “Ultimate Influencer” of our sport in this month’s USAPA Magazine, and we look forward to another terrific tournament under Mike’s direction.

Until next time, play hard and have fun on the courts.

Seattle Metro Pickleball Association

Jerry Kindinger, President

USAPA Pickleball Magazine – Latest Edition

USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) does many things, including publishing a newsletter 6 times a year.

Check it out this month for an article on Pickleball Influencers, including our SMPC Tournament Director and Pacific NorthWest Region Ambassador, Mike Hoxie. Good pickleball news even if you aren’t a USAPA member yet, read it here.

Mercer Island Parks Looks to Add to Parks

The City of Mercer Island has begun a community-driven process to update their Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Plan (PROS Plan). They are looking for help determining how to prioritize projects and where to focus to keep the island parks and programs thriving. The process includes extensive public engagement, and final review of the Plan is tentatively scheduled for the end of 2020.

The pickleball players who fill the gym for play during the week and on Sundays, and yes, many of us Seattle, Bellevue, Edmonds, and area players have used their lovely six-court gym, are looking for some help, too. That is, help in letting Mercer Island Parks and Rec know how, why, when we use their parks and how much miss outdoor pickleball options there.

Go to the PROS Plan web page and subscribe today so that you can have a chance to make your voice heard when the moment comes”. The PROS plan page just changed today and announced a survey that will be publicly available on Feb 12, 2020.

SPR Spring Indoor Pickleball Tournament

Seattle Parks and Recreation hosts a spring Men’s and Women’s Doubles tournament. The tournament is scheduled for Saturday, April 18, 2020, at Rainier Community Center, 4600 38th Avenue South, Seattle, 10 AM to 4 PM with gym open at 9 AM for practice.

The tournament has a skills division for women rated 3.0 and under (UTPR or self-rated) and 3.5 to 4.0, and as well a men’s skill division of 3.0 and under and another 3.5 and 4.0. You must register and pay $20 per team by April 10th. Use the activity codes listed here when you register online, or call Adult Sports at 206-684-7092.

Activity codes and ratings, either UTPR or self-rated skills divisions:

• 35939 Women’s Doubles 3.0 and under
• 37957 Women’s Doubles 3.5 and 4.0
• 35938 Men’s Doubles 3.0 and under
• 37956 Men’s Doubles 3.5 and 4.0 division

Consider becoming an SMPA member today. Click this Join button to go to the MemberPlanet website.

MemberPlanet securely manages our membership database so we can focus on pickleball, our members, and growing the sport across the Seattle metro area.

SMPA President’s Fall/Winter Message

Seasons Greetings all,

Holidays are upon us! That means several community centers will be closed to pickleball for 1-2 weeks this month, or at the very least, on the holidays. Be sure to call before going to your favorite community center venue to play PB after December 15th. Check with the community center to confirm that they are open for pickleball at the times you regularly play. Alternatively, you can check online at Time for Pickleball to confirm that drop-in play is occurring when you expect.

Searching For Pickleball Venues
This past month, the SMPA Directors began working on some of the goals the Board established for SMPA for 2020. Specifically, one of our members, Paul Reed, has been working with commercial real estate brokers to find a potential privately owned site that could be developed and serve as a year round indoor pickleball facility. Thank you Paul for all of your efforts! This is not a quick remedy to the problem of how to get more pickleball courts, however, we need to look at every possibility, reasonable and otherwise.

We are looking to our members in our search for a year round site for indoor pickleball. I ask that all SMPA members help us identify potential sites that could satisfy this long term SMPA goal. If you know of any potential site that could accommodate 12-24 indoor pickleball courts with available parking, or if you know someone who owns or controls such a site and may be interested in entertaining discussions about developing their facility or their property, please let me know by sending a note to SMPA. This request is open until we find a suitable site. Please keep your antenna up throughout 2020, and we promise to advise our members when we identify an acceptable site.

We continue to pursue sites on City of Seattle property. As previously reported, in late 2018 and into 2019, the SMPA Board investigated over 40 different sites on Seattle city property with the SPR’s knowledge and using criteria approved by SPR. These sites were winnowed down to the top eight that we believed best met the criteria. Substantial additional investigative work was done on these eight sites. Each site was analyzed using the City’s Race and Social Justice initiative, which seeks to develop and ensure equity in delivering services. Demographic analyses, court development potential, parking availability, public transportation, accessibility, and other factors were applied. In all, several hundred hours were expended in this effort. The final eight sites and all surrounding research were then submitted to SPR twice (last February and again in June) with a request for feedback on the preferred sites. SPR never responded, and moved forward on a West Seattle court complex not on our list. Still we have not abandoned the idea of establishing a partnership with the City on one of these sites. Last month we began inquiring about potential partnership structures with the City. For now we intend to pursue dual tracks, exploring potential opportunities on both Seattle city and metro area private properties. This is a long term activity that tests everyone’s patience. Stay tuned.

Website Redesign
One of our strategic goals for 2020 is to revamp our website to make it more informational and user friendly. We need your help. We are looking for volunteers with web site design expertise who are willing to work with us in achieving this goal. If you have this talent or know of someone who does, please send us an email.

Holiday Giving
This seems like the perfect time remind you all that giving a $20 annual SMPA membership to one of your pickleball friends is a wonderful stocking stuffer and holiday gift. We continue to work on growing our membership so that we can speak with a greater voice. Also, as you consider year end charitable contributions please remember that SMPA is a 501c(3) organization. Know that 100% of all contributions are used to promote pickleball or offer more pickleball opportunities to our members. How to give: log in to your MemberPlanet membership account and make a direct gift; send a check to the address at the bottom of this message, or if you are a FaceBook user, click the Donate button associated with the latest newsletter notification. All SMPA officers and directors serve without any form of compensation on a completely volunteer basis. Thanks for your consideration.

Holiday Wishes
Finally, on behalf of the entire SMPA Board of Directors, we wish each of you the blessings of good health, joy, and peace of the season. With your help and support, much has been accomplished. We are grateful for you all and look forward to spending fun times on the courts in 2020.

Until next time, play hard and have fun on the courts.

Seattle Metro Pickleball Association

Jerry Kindinger, President

North Seattle Pickleball Players Invite All

The North Seattle Pickleball Players at Shoreview Park invite one and all to an End of Year Pickleball Celebration, this weekend, December 15th, 2019. They promise Latin Jazz with no cover, dancing for the brazen, and door prizes. gathering at Aurora Borealis at 16708 Aurora Avenue, Shoreline, WA. Please RSVP so they know how many tables to reserve, and include your plus-one or partner. See you there!

Give Back to Pickleball by Volunteering

Volunteers make the world go ’round, and make events such as Pickleball in the Park and the SMPC tournament possible. We can’t do this work alone, and want to invite our members to apply to the (yes, unpaid volunteer) position of Volunteer Coordinator for Seattle Metro Pickleball Association. Think how that would look on your CV! The job description is summed up in this: Develop more opportunities for SMPA members to participate in SMPA functions. You can send a note to Volunteer about why you would best fill that role. The Board meets in January, and would love to make a decision, followed by a glowing announcement, and then kick open the doors to some great 2020 volunteer opportunities for pickleball play in the metro area.

Court News

We have so much court-related news to report that we put it all on our News Bulletin page.

Playing at Ravenna? Be prepared to pay!

If want to play at Ravenna, you now need to sign up here and pay $33 if you want to play on Mondays, or $33 to play on Wednesdays, and/or $33 to play on Fridays. Play all 3 days, it’s $33 x 3 for the quarter.

Note that this was the decision of the local Community Center Coordinator as a means of allowing pickleball to take place during hours when the gym is not open to the public. You can read much more about it on the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association website in an article that outlines the alarming state of pickleball, indoor and outdoor, in Seattle. If you are concerned about this development, we recommend that you email Justin Cutler, SPR Director of Recreation (justin.cutler@seattle.gov) to offer your praise or complaint.

Pickleball Instruction and Skills

Miller Community Center offers pickleball instruction and skills sessions as part of the LifeLong Learning schedule. Keep an eye out on FaceBook, as well as Time for Pickleball for classes. Don’t forget about Pickleball Station for the great free pickleball intro classes.

USAPA Pickleball Magazine – Special Edition

USAPA National Championships in Indian Wells, California ended November 10, 2019, yielding some memorable matches on center court as well as along the other 48 dedicated pickleball courts that took over the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. USAPA just issued a special edition of their magazine, which includes photos of every medal winner. You’ll also see plenty of advertising, and a lot of great shots of your favorite pros who continue to elevate the game of pickleball. You can read the year-end special edition issue here.

Winter Tournaments

Looking for more competitive play? Grab a partner, sign in to Pickleball Tournaments and look at the schedule for December. Woodinville Sports Club, in association with Pickleball Is Great, is hosting the NW Washington Winter Holiday Classic by PIG at the Woodinville Sports Club, December 20 to 22nd at the indoor facility in Woodinville, WA. Hurry, though, because registration closes this weekend, December 15, 2019. In its second year, this tournament features lots of local players, and you two could be wearing a medal to Christmas dinner. Take a look at their flyer and get out and play!

For the second year, Pickleball is Great presents the 2019 ETC/Kirkland Holiday Pickleball Smash Tournament on December 27 to December 29, 2019 at the Eastside Tennis Center in Kirkland, WA. This tournament drew a great field of local and regional players last year, and promises to do the same. Registration closes on December 19th, so pick a partner and your favorite paddle and head to Kirkland.

Looking further afield, Pickleball is Great (P.I.G) is also presenting the 2020 Olympic Pickleball Tournament at the end of February in Port Angeles. You can view the flyer for more information.

Falling Leaves and Winter Pickleball

We’re skipping a month or two of newsletter editions so that we can include a number of items in this Fall/Winter edition. Seattle Metro Pickleball Association (SMPA) doesn’t rest, and the Board has been busy with a number of tasks. There’s a tournament to plan for next summer, events to plan for this winter, a search for new Board members, continuing to meet with city and other officials to look at everything from court access indoors to lining courts outdoors. And the Board is plotting activities for 2020 in our Strategic Plans that we’ll share here and as the year progresses. We put out a question to our SMPA members on Facebook and by email, and our member priorities remain dedicated facilities, indoor access to courts and more outdoor courts. We’re on it!

SMPC 2020 Planning Underway

After taking some needed time off, the Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic (SMPC) tournament planning committee reconvened last month to get started on next year’s tournament. If you’re one of those picklers that likes to plan way ahead, save the dates July 24th – 26th, 2020. The tournament will once again be held at Shoreview Park in Shoreline, WA.

July 2019’s SMPC tournament was the largest outdoor pickleball tournament in the Seattle-metro area, welcoming 305 players from around the country playing 388 matches over the span of 3 days. In the weeks that followed, we heard from many of you about things you thought went really well and ways we could make the tournament even better. The planning committee listened and now we’re back at it looking to build on that foundation to create a uniquely northwest pickleball event. While we don’t have a lot of details to share yet, we can tell you that Pickleball is Great has been retained to run the show in 2020, and we’re excited to partner once again with Mike Hoxie and Gigi Guerra.

Stay tuned over the coming months for more news coming from the planning committee including things you asked for like a pre-tournament clinic, a night to play with pros and a junior tournament. We’ll keep you posted.

By the way, if you are interested in volunteering to help organize the 2020 event, send a note to info@seattlemetropickleball.com And if you’ve not made your way through the photos documenting the highly successful tournament, take a look by visiting the SMPA website. You can view tournament results here to see a list of all the medalists.

SMPA Members Played and Medaled at USAPA National Championships

Seattle was well represented across all age and skill groups at the USAPA National Championships that concluded November 10th, 2019. A record number of players made their way to the desert to compete, and in addition to all around great matches from our local talent, Seattle pickleball players brought home a medal or two.

Gold Medalists (note bold indicates SMPA member)

• Joyce Jones – Women’s Singles 75+,85+
• Brian Hunter/Lisa Schwab – Mixed Doubles 3.5 50+
• Kitty Danger/Danger Danger – Mixed Doubles 3.0 50+
• John Lui – Men’s Singles, 3.5 50+
• Theresa Haynie/Susan Crossland – Women’s 3.0 70+

Silver Medalists

• Jo Gries – Women’s Singles, 3.5, 50+

Bronze Medalists

• Stuart Silk/Christopher Kern – Men’s Doubles, 3.0 65+

There were plenty of non-SMPA Seattle regional players who brought home hardware, including Jim Cooke of Pickleball Station, Dora Masada of Redmond, and Jane Meadows of Redmond. For a full list of brackets and winners, visit the Margaritaville 2019 USAPA National Championships site.

SMASH Pickleball Winter Leagues

SMASH Winter Pickleball Leagues are now open for registration. Join the SMASH pickleball players this winter for exciting pickleball play in two locations: Seattle and Mercer Island. All skill levels welcome: they have divisions that match your skill level. Sign up here.

SMPA President’s Fall/Winter Message

Pickleball Friends,

Winter brings short days and some very cold mornings to Seattle, and I hope you are getting your heart rate up and staying warm in one of the many gyms open for pickleball play around the metro area.

Your SMPA Board of Directors held a Strategic Planning Retreat for the purpose of setting goals and focus priorities for calendar year 2020. Prior to the meeting, we received approximately 30 emails from members listing their top three priorities for SMPA. Those emails were integral to the Board discussion and decisions. Thank you for the input.

After much discussion, we identified five priorities that SMPA will concentrate on for the coming year. We will be reaching out to members and soliciting volunteers to help achieve these goals as we move forward. We also want to extend an open invitation to all members to communicate their ideas and suggestions regarding these priorities at any time. We are dedicated to making 2020 our best year yet and to making material improvements in the state of Pickleball in the greater metropolitan area.

SMPA 2020 Priorities

1. Dedicated Pickleball Courts We intend to pursue development of dedicated pickleball courts. We expect to work on parallel tracks toward development of clusters of outdoor courts as well as a year round indoor/outdoor pickleball complex. While we will continue to work with SPR to develop locations, we intend to broaden our focus beyond SPR controlled property attempting to explore an array of possibilities, public and private, in Seattle as well as surrounding municipalities.
2. Indoor Play Time We will seek to expand available venues and hours for indoor play. We will work both with SPR decision makers as well as community center directors to develop more play opportunities. We will also work to develop play opportunities at non SPR controlled sites and establish mutually beneficial relationships with other entities toward this end.
3. Establish New Play Programs We plan to develop a junior play program for youth and to support that effort with clinics and instructional play in order to broaden interest among youth. For adults, we intend to hold some introductory sessions for those new to pickleball and to continue sponsoring clinics for beginning and intermediate skill levels. Last, we want to offer more league play.
4. Improve Member Communications We will upgrade our website in order to increase the informational content and make it easier to navigate. We intend to also increase communications with the membership.
5. Increase Member Participation. We intend to develop more opportunities for members to actively participate in association functions and activities and to assist with all aspects of SMPA efforts to grow pickleball and our association. We expect to create a Volunteer Coordinator position in order to facilitate participation by members. To achieve our goals we need input and participation from everyone.

We look forward to playing and working with you all as we work on these priorities in 2020. Best regards.

Until next time, play hard and have fun on the courts.

Seattle Metro Pickleball Association

Jerry Kindinger, President

Play around the Sound

Camano, Kirkland, Shoreline, Kent: Lots of choices

The SMPA website tracks pickleball play events. If you don’t find something there, drag your pickleball playing friends to Green Lake on Saturdays and Sundays, Shoreview Park any Saturday or Sunday, or Pickleball Station during their open play. The Woodinville Sports Club also keeps a drop in play schedule.

Bainbridge Island Dedicated Pickleball Courts

Following on their successful summer fundraiser, the Bainbridge Island Founders Tournament, the Bainbridge Island Pickleball Club embarked on a program to build out the entrance to the courts with engraved paving bricks. They are inviting players, clubs around the country, and anyone wanting to be a part of history to purchase a brick. You’ll have to visit their Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation website for updates or to buy a brick for your favorite pickleball player.

Calling All South Sounders – PenMet Project

Gig Harbor players experienced great disappointment when the Parks folks scratched plans for a covered court area as part of the massive revision to PenMet parks. That’s being revisited, so perhaps there’s better news ahead. Otherwise, when the weather is good, check out the South Sound Pickleball Facebook page to see if the weather is accommodating for outdoor play. After that, it’s the Y in Gig Harbor.

Camano Island Pickleball

Camano Island Pickleball Club continues to play outdoors as long as the weather holds. Check their Facebook page for updates.

Mercer Island Player Report

Looking for indoor play on weekends? When weather drives pickleball players inside, Mercer Island Community Center is open on Sundays and during the week as well for pickleball play. Note that non-Mercer Island residents pay $5.75 to play. Good lighting, good competition, often crowded.

Skills and Drills Sessions

Miller Community Center Skills class ends at the end of November, however pickleball instruction and planned skills sessions will resume with the next LifeLong Learning schedule change. Keep an eye out on FaceBook, and Time for Pickleball for planned classes. Don’t forget about Pickleball Station for the great clinics and free intro classes they offer.

Play around the Sound

While it’s still summer: play!

Looking for where to play during these dog days of summer? Our SMPA website now has a page to keep track of pickleball play events. If you don’t find something there, drag your pickleball playing friends to Green Lake on Saturdays and Sundays, Shoreview Park any Saturday or Sunday, or Pickleball Station during their open play. Woodinville Sports Club also keeps a drop in play schedule.

Bainbridge Action

The Bainbridge Island Parks Commissioners finally did their “official” vote to approve 6 new stand alone pickleball courts right next to existing 6 temporary pickleball courts. Construction is set to begin late summer. The local Bainbridge pickleball community is excited to get these Founders Courts completed, and plan to have one of pickleball’s inventors, Barney McCallum, at ground breaking. SMPA will post an Action Alert and help spread the word in social media when a date is set. If you haven’t planned to attend, put the Bainbridge Island Founders Tournament, August 22 to 25th, 2019, on your calendars.

SPR August Big Play Day

At the request of SPR, SMPA is to provide instructional clinics for beginning and intermediate skill levels at the Big Day of Play that Seattle Parks is holding at the Rainier Community Center from 11 AM to 1 PM on Saturday, August 17, 2019. Tom Grubb has generously agreed to conduct the intermediate clinic in the gym. Come and play!

Calling All South Sounders – PenMet Project

Gig Harbor players expect to attend the public hearing with Pierce County regarding amendments to the plans and permits for the PenMet Parks Community Recreation center. This would provide indoor sports fields in an air dome for year-round use. The public meeting is to be held Wednesday, August 21, 2019 at 1 PM in the Public Services Building Annex at 2401 South 35th Street, Tacoma, WA. If you want to comment or support the players in the South Sound, here’s your chance.

Camano Island Pickleball Tournaments

Camano Island Pickleball Club has filled up their Camano Cup on August 16,17, and 18th, 2019, and you are welcome to come watch your pals romp, dink, smash, and score during the weekend. Loads of fun, this great group demonstrates why fun, fitness, and friendship equals pickleball.

Camano club members are hosts again in the fall for the Lake Chelan Pickleball Tournament, billed as the first ever Pickleball Round Robin Tournament with Shoot Out for doubles and singles events! Registration is now open. You can find more information on their FaceBook page.

Mercer Island Player Report

Due to Cheerleader Camps and Other Programs in August, Mercer Island Community Center pickleball is canceled on these dates:

• Monday Aug 12th, Wednesday Aug 14th, and Friday Aug 16th
• NEW: Wednesday August 21st
• Monday Aug 26th
• Wednesday Aug 28th
• Friday Aug 30th

Island pickleball players thought they had a deal last summer to paint pickleball lines on two of the three Luther Burbank tennis courts. However, Parks shut the courts down completely for excessive cracking. As most now know, in November 2019 Mercer Islanders failed to pass a bond levy that caused Mercer Island Parks and Rec to cut a number of programs, including pickleball hours at MICEC. A King County grant allowed them to reopen the community center for weekend play again on Sundays. Local players are still working on getting something going for outside play.

Tom Grubb Skills and Drills Sessions

IPTPA instructor and SMPA Board member Tom Grubb is offering free weekend morning pickleball drill sessions in mid-August at both Green Lake and Shoreview before the courts get too crowded. Arrive early to get in some high-quality instruction before settling in for a day of pickleball play. Dates for the one-hour long Tom Grubb Skills and Drills sessions are:

• August 17, 2019 – 8 AM at Green Lake pickleball courts prior to start of drop-in play
• August 18, 2019 – 8 AM at Shoreview pickleball courts prior to start of drop-in play

Smash(ing) Success

Pickleball players from the 2.0 level to the 4.0 level enjoyed a great Saturday of competition in June. The Smash Pickleball Pride Palooza featured nearly 100 players divvied up for the day into skills-based round robin groups. Each team got to play the others in their division 3 times, and by the sounds coming from the court and the satisfied players, yes, even those on the losing end of the matches, everyone enjoyed the event, with proceeds benefiting Lambert House in Seattle.

Organized by Smash Pickleball, a local pickleball company that runs leagues, tournaments, lessons, and also sells a great array of pickleball equipment, the day of play filled the Green Lake pickleball courts with many great matches. As players were eliminated from the brackets, the organizers encouraged them to continue playing, so that even with medal matches underway, there were seldom empty courts as each group played out their alloted time.

Just around the corner: Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic Tournament

The Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic expects to be the largest outdoor tournament yet in the Seattle metro area, with a projected 300 players ready for action on the Shoreview pickleball courts at Shoreview Park in Shoreline, WA. And there are still unfilled teams for female 4.5 and 5.0 Open play. Several male partners looking for mixed doubles partners. Check out the Players Needing Partners list on the Pickleball Tournaments registration page, and help make pickleball history. There are some great local and national players looking for a partner to get them to the medal stand. We know you’re out there.

The Tournament Committee can use every single volunteer available! All volunteer roles are important, and the Tournament team has made it easy to sign up as a volunteer through SignUp Genius.

Be sure to visit the Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic tournament Facebook page for more information about the tournament.

Camano Island Pickleball News

Want to spread your wings and get in some play just beyond the Seattle borders? The Camano Island Pickleball Club hosts several hotly competitive pickleball tournaments throughout the year at their courts and also at the local YMCA in Stanwood throughout the summer. Players attend from all over the region.

Camano Island pickleball players actively promote and participate in two large tournaments at Darnell’s Resort at Lake Chelan, WA. When you visit or play in a tournament on Camano, they make it clear that they enjoy the fun, exercise and the social aspects of pickleball, and that they’re all learning together. This summer, the club is hosting a series of Monday night clinics at the Camano Island courts.

The club plays on portable nets at the Island County Outdoor Tennis courts located at 141 N East Camano Drive, Camano Island, Washington 98282. Their play schedule of 5 to 7 days a week varies with the time of the year and weather, and play happens Sundays, then Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM. Every Saturday morning from 8:30 AM to 12 PM, they enjoy a friendly Round Robin Tournament as just another great way to get to know all the players. Check out the Camano Pickleball Facebook page.

Lastly, they invite you to sign up for the Camano Cup on August 16,17, and 18th, 2019, for a fun day of play and friendship, on top of the great competition. Details on their Facebook page.

Have you seen this on Facebook?

Seattle Parks and Recreation department has posted an informal Facebook survey asking “What recreation activities would you like to see more of in Seattle?” If you work, live or play in Seattle, this survey is for you.

We want pickleball to be well represented in the answers. So far, “roller derby” has the most support.

If you have a Facebook account, click to go to Facebook and

• say you would like more indoor and outdoor pickleball,
• say why you would like more indoor and outdoor pickleball,
• “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.

Bothell Parks and Rec’ 6-year Plan Survey

The Bothell Parks and Recreation Department is working on a new 6-year plan. If you live, work or play in Bothell, take their survey and tell them that you would like more indoor and/or outdoor pickleball.

SMPA President’s July 2019 Message

Pickleball Friends,

First the good news. The Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic Tournament is coming together nicely. As of now, 298 pickleball players have registered to play in all divisions, from 3.0 to the professionals. Over 650 matches will be played Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. There is still room in some brackets, although the deadline for registering and paying your fees is fast approaching. Don’t miss the opportunity to be a part of this great event.

And now the more challenging news. Now through September is a crucial period for the near-term future of pickleball with the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department (SPR). SPR is tweaking the budget process, allocating funds, and making some schedule and program adjustments that are sure to affect pickleball, particularly for indoor pickleball next winter. Effective January 1, 2020, SPR plans to terminate all non-public programs that take place at various community centers throughout Seattle. That is, each community center has standard operational hours that may not be what you think; “non-public hours” are those times outside of the “standard operational hours.” Classes and activities such as yoga, Zumba, and pickleball, too, are considered non-public programs held “outside of published operating hours of the community centers.” What does that mean for pickleball? Most significantly, the available time for pickleball play will likely be decreased as other activities are squeezed into limited community center hours. In several community centers, pickleball typically happens during non-public hours. The fate of pickleball at some community centers is uncertain because those non-public hour policies go into effect as of January 2020, and some community centers will not open except for pay-to-play events. We are pressing for more information on this and expect to provide more detail after our next SPR-SMPA meeting.

What should you do? I urge every pickleball player to email SPR Superintendent Jesus Aguirre (jesus.aguirre@seattle.gov) and SPR Director of Recreation, Justin Cutler (justin.cutler@seattle.gov) . Tell them the importance of pickleball to you and all of your friends. Entreat them to add, not reduce, pickleball play opportunities both indoor and outdoors. Ask them to fund dedicated Pickleball courts at locations in the City where the number of people who play pickleball is high. Time is crucial. Decisions will be made in part based upon the input these folks receive. Importantly, after September, the City will make its budget decisions and the opportunity to effect near term change will be lost.

SMPA continues to meet every other week with SPR representatives to promote Pickleball play opportunities and to encourage addition of more outdoor courts and indoor play time. Progress with the city is painfully slow.

• Still no final report on the results of last year’s pilot program under which several tennis courts were lined for pickleball. No report has been issued notwithstanding frequent promises that it will be forthcoming soon. We believe that this program demonstrated the significant popularity of our sport and justified not only additional outside lined courts, but creation of dedicated courts as well.
• SPR communications regarding pickleball times for community centers remains uncoordinated.
• In the last few days several dozen players appeared at Yesler to play only to be told they could not play and were turned away. At Loyal Heights, times were announced for play, but when players appeared, they were told time had been cut in half.

What is painfully clear is that SPR does not have its act together, and this is hurting play opportunities for many pickleball players. Your Seattle Metro Pickleball Association Board of Directors intends to stay engaged with SPR. This means that we have to broaden our contacts with the Seattle city representatives so that we can deliver our message to more people and achieve some meaningful changes for the benefit of the several hundred members of the pickleball community.

We have also begun exploring potential partnerships with third parties to explore the feasibility of developing dedicated courts available for year-round play. We plan to reach out to other cities that have taken the initiative to develop dedicated courts and gather information about their successes. We commit to keeping you posted on these efforts. In the mean time, I encourage each of you to share any ideas you have about improving pickleball opportunities in the City with me, and please continue to communicate your concerns to SPR.

Until next time, play hard and have fun on the courts.

Seattle Metro Pickleball Association

Jerry Kindinger, President

Summer Play Reminders

Looking for where to play this summer? Look no further than the summer play events page. Our SMPA website now has a page to keep track of pickleball play events. This is a sampling of what is keeping pickleball players occupied in Seattle this summer.

• Jennifer Lucore and Alex Hamner clinic, July 10th, 1 PM to 3 PM Shoreview Park pickleball courts, 700 Innis Arden Drive, Shoreline. Limited to 16 players, this $50 clinic, Doubles Strategy to Win and have FUN! is for players 3.0 to 4.0.
• Outdoor weekly drop in play at Miller, Green Lake, Shoreview, and Delridge pickleball courts (free).
• 8-week long Leagues – flex and fixed (set fee) are underway at Soundview and Green Lake.
• 4th of July Round Robin Shootout – fun play at Green Lake before the fireworks begin. The event is sold out, and viewers and supporters welcome.
• Shoreview Park in Shoreline expects a crowd of players on Thursday, July 4th. If you’re not in the Shootout at Green Lake, head on up to Shoreline to play.
• When the sun is out, players pack the Yost courts in Edmonds most weekday mornings, and very often after working hours until dark. See their Facebook page.
• Seattle Metro Classic Pickleball Tournament – registration ends July 19, 2019. Sign up here

Free Refereeing Clinic

Where there are tournaments, there is generally a need for referees. You can do this, too! The next SMPA-sponsored free refereeing clinic (weather permitting) starts at 8 AM on Saturday, July 20, 2019 at the Green Lake Pickleball Courts. Following the clinic, you can practice refereeing during the morning’s open play games. Instructor Tom Grubb is a USAPA Certified Referee and Registered Trainer and IPTPA Level II Certified Pickleball Teaching Professional. This class can only help hone your knowledge of pickleball rules.

Tom Grubb Skills and Drills Sessions

IPTPA instructor and SMPA Board member Tom Grubb is offering free weekend morning pickleball drill sessions in mid-August at both Green Lake and Shoreview before the courts get too crowded. Arrive early to get in some high-quality instruction before settling in for a day of pickleball play. Dates for the one-hour long Tom Grubb Skills and Drills sessions are:

• August 17, 8 AM at Green Lake pickleball courts prior to start of drop-in play
• August 18, 8 AM at Shoreview pickleball courts prior to start of drop-in play

ThirdShot Sports Clinic Canceled for Seattle

The timing wasn’t quite right, and Mark Renneson, of ThirdShot Sports has canceled his scheduled clinics at Woodinville Sports Center. You can still sign up for his Vancouver and Nanaimo clinics, and he promises to return to Seattle sometime over the winter to offer his tournament prep clinic.

Driest June? More Outdoor Play!

This month, we start the newsletter with the President’s message to members and other readers because there are key events brewing behind the scenes. Seattle Metro Pickleball Association (SMPA) was formed to help grow pickleball venues in Seattle to further pickleball for all ages and abilities in a welcoming, inclusive, and healthy environment. By creating a sustainable organization, we wanted to make clear to the city officials that we are here for the long run, that we remain a steady presence regardless of changing personnel (their side or ours), and that our formation of SMPA in 2017 wasn’t an indication of our “newness” of pickleball as a sport but our dedication to the future of pickleball in the region.

As you read Jerry’s letter, consider what SMPA has accomplished and what can be accomplished with the full participation of our almost 250 members. Encourage your non-member pickleball pals to join with us by becoming a member. These membership numbers count in our dealings with cities. Our work as an organization is ongoing, and we need every one of you to help us continue in our work with the often slow-moving entities who control our access to courts.

SMPA President’s Message

Pickleball Friends,

May 2019 was a busy month and June promises to be even more so. I want to update you regarding recent SMPA efforts to promote pickleball and our continuing work to expand Pickleball play opportunities and venues in the metro area.

SMPA Board members continue to meet with Seattle Parks & Recreation (SPR) representatives every other week to discuss ways in which the City of Seattle can better serve the pickleball community in the greater metropolitan area. Progress is slow, however we remain steadfast in our efforts to move the city forward. While not brief, this summarizes our recent meetings:

• SPR advised us that they are finally readying the release of a formal report on the results of the Pickleball Pilot program that ended last October. We have no details of the contents of the report, although SPR has suggested that it will likely recommend that future pickleball courts be created in clusters of multiple courts and likely near community centers. They are hinting that SPR may recommend the creation of dedicated pickleball courts in addition to 2 or three additional locations where tennis courts will be lined in order to provide more places to play. As always, the devil is in the details, although we consider this to be movement in a positive direction. We expect to make the final SPR pilot program report available to you as soon as it is released. Stay tuned.
• SMPA submitted some months ago eight different sites for creation of clusters of dedicated pickleball courts. At this writing, we are awaiting feedback from SPR on these recommendations. While we know they are reviewing the extensive data we provided, including Social Justice Initiative screening, accessibility, court condition, adaptability for pickleball, they’ve not committed to anything yet.
• SPR held the first of two public Park Fests in early June for the purpose of giving citizens an opportunity to provide input about what is most wanted in parks and to ask questions of SPR officials about its plans for the near term. The Fest was held at Green Lake and drew several hundred folks. Individuals had an opportunity to “vote” on the activities they most wanted SPR to concentrate on improving. More votes were cast for improving play and venue opportunities for pickleball than any other of the more than a dozen choices provided. In addition, 65 to 75 players filled eight pickleball courts for open play from 10 AM to 3 PM. At least one of the ranking officials from SPR came to observe the play and commented upon pickleball’s popularity.
• SPR holds its next (and last) Park Fest Sunday, June 9th from 10 AM to 3 PM at the Yesler Community Center. If you were unable to attend the Green Lake event, please get to Yesler and tell the SPR representatives your big ideas about what the Parks Department should be doing to accommodate the demand for pickleball for the next 12 years. This opportunity may well be the last public meeting before SPR develops its strategic multi-year plan going forward. Budgets will be developed based upon input received from us regarding pickleball. Without your input, there’s the risk that budgets for the next several years will be formulated that don’t adequately consider the growth of our sport and the needs of the pickleball community in greater Seattle.
• SPR hosts a Pickleball Summit at the Miller Community Center on June 20th from 6:30 PM to 8 PM. This event is solely for pickleball enthusiasts, and SPR representatives will be available to explain various aspects of near-term Pickleball play opportunities that they are considering. They explain that they’ll listen to all suggestions made by the pickleball community. Please attend if at all possible. Think big and voice your opinions.

In the past month SMPA has explored partnerships with a couple of different organizations under which additional venues could be made available. We listen for any available opportunity, and continue to look for creative associations related to our mission of expanding pickleball opportunities.

We hope to see all of you at the Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic Tournament scheduled July 26-28, 2019. At this point, registration is going full steam with some brackets filled. However, the tournament can accommodate more players, and for the full brackets, the tournament director is accepting waitlist registrants. There are always last minute withdrawals or injuries that create opportunities for backup players, so do register soon if you want to be part of what is promising to be a great weekend of northwest pickleball. SMPA is inviting several City VIPs to attend this event so that we can demonstrate why a large multi-court regional pickleball facility should be developed in Seattle.

Until next time, play hard and have fun on the courts.

Seattle Metro Pickleball Association

Jerry Kindinger, President

Summer Pickleball in Seattle

Check out the SMPA website to see the descriptions of summer play events. We’ll try to keep the Play page updated for you. For members, these events provide a good time to see your pickleball pals, and for nonmembers, they’re a good opportunity to see and feel the excitement building for pickleball in Seattle.

• Outdoor weekly drop in play at Miller, Green Lake, Shoreview, and Delridge pickleball courts (free). Join in the fun.
• SMPA Pickleball in the Park events will return June through September (free). We’ll broadcast dates soon.
• 8-week long Leagues – flex and fixed (set fee) have started. Paddles ready!
• 4th of July Round Robin Shootout – fun play at Green Lake before the fireworks begin.
• Seattle Metro Classic Pickleball Tournament – come play at Shoreview. Sign up here. Registration ends July 29, 2019.

Pickleball Summit at Miller Community Center

SPR wants to hear from a wide cross-section of the pickleball community, and to that end they have scheduled an evening of information gathering and pickleball play. The event is scheduled for Thursday, June 20th, 2019, from 6:30 PM to 8 PM in the Miller Community Center gym (see flyer ad in this newsletter). They have an agenda, and would like to hear from the pickeball community on the following issues:

• Managing the indoor court schedule to fit all Pickleball within operating hours at each Community Center.
• Coordinating the indoor Pickleball schedule to best accommodate all levels of play, instructional programs, and greatest community need.
• How to develop a player skill level rating system where the Pickleball community can self-select to play in defined player groups by skill level. In other words; how do you divide yourselves into beginner, intermediate and advanced/competitive skill levels (and do it on your own).
• What is the best way to for the Parks and Recreation Department to receive feedback from the community (we are thinking about using Survey Monkey)? And what are some examples of questions that could be in a survey?

June Update for July Pickleball Classic Tournament

The Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic enters new territory in Shoreline, Washington in July, as the nearly 300 players registered signal pickleball’s resurgence in Seattle. Currently, there are still open player spots for female 4.5/5.0 Open play, with several male partners looking for mixed doubles partners. Check out the Players Needing Partners list on Pickleball Tournaments registration page, and help make pickleball history. There are some great local and national players looking for a partner to get them to the medal stand. We know you’re out there.

Volunteers encouraged to apply! Being there, being a part of the action, being a referee, being a parking guide, or just being a fan, every role is important, and we of SMPA are all in for the weekend of play. You can sign up as a volunteer through SignUp Genius. We’ve asked before, and we’ll keep asking because we need you and want to share the experience and challenges of this big event in our local pickleball community.

Be sure to visit the Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic tournament Facebook page for more information about the tournament. We are currently updating our SMPA website to include a page of tournament information, so stay tuned.

Other Pickleball Happenings

SPR June Play Fest at Yesler

SPR is hosting another Park Fest at June 9, 2019 at Yesler Community Center. SPR plans various activities, resources and opportunities they provide to the community. The day features music, food trucks, games, activities, and booths to learn more about Seattle Parks & Recreation. This is another chance to speak out to Seattle City officials about the needs of the pickleball playing community.

Join a Free Refereeing Clinic

Arrive early for parking and bring a camp chair for the opening lecture from teaching professional Tom Grubb. The upcoming Seattle Metro Classic Pickleball Tournament will need a minimum of 30 volunteer referees per day. SMPA is hosting free clinics (weather permitting) from 8-11 AM on June 8, June 29, and July 20, 2019 at the Green Lake Pickleball Courts. Following the clinic, you can practice refereeing at the Green Lake courts. Instructor Tom Grubb is a USAPA Certified Referee/Registered Trainer & IPTPA Level II Certified Pickleball Teaching Professional. Join in the fun, learn something new, and give something back to the sport of pickleball.

Playtime Scheduler

Notifying other players about where and when to play is easy with the free tool Playtime Scheduler. Sign in at Playtime Scheduler. Choose Greater Seattle as your area and select, for example, Shoreview or Green Lake or SeaTac, and then you can create a session, indicate the level you’re looking to play with, and make a note about the game you’re organizing. Subscribed users receive email notification of the session. We said free, right? Requires an email account but NO Facebook needed.

Eastside and Westside, all around the Sound

Weekend pickleball play is back at Mercer Island Community Center as of June 2, 2019. Read about it here.

Your support helped! Kirkland is moving forward with the conversion of existing Everest Park outdoor tennis courts into three pickleball courts. Thanks to all who contacted the Kirkland City Parks Manager, Jason Filan, at (425) 587-3341 or jfilan@kirklandwa.gov. Sending a note of thanks never hurts, and we look forward to playing at this renovated facility. And better yet, Jason just broadcasted the following text from the sign posted at the Everest Park courts: Pickleball Renovation – Coming Soon Thank you for your feedback on the proposed renovation to install pickleball courts at Everest Park. With overwhelming Community support for this project, the City of Kirkland will be replacing this tennis court with three dedicated pickleball courts. We expect the new courts to open by mid-July and thank you for your patience while the renovation is underway. Questions? Call 425-587-3341.

More than 150 avid pickleball players showed up for the Woodinville Sports Club Open House in mid May. Call them for open play schedule.

Pickleball Clinics Come to Town

Prepare for your upcoming tournament play in a 2-day clinic with Canadian player and international pickleball coach, Mark Renneson, of ThirdShot Sports, July 15 and 16, 2019, at Woodinville Sports Center. Mark, his clinics, and his upbeat style focus on helping you play your best pickleball. This is a great new facility with outdoor courts and an indoor setting. Prices vary based on session type.

US Open Champion and pro, Tyson McGuffin, brings his signature pickleball playing style and his LevelUp Pickleball Camp to Shoreview pickleball courts in Shoreline, WA August 27-29, 2019. Call Wayne Dollard at 888.308.3720 and visit the LevelUp Pickleball Camps to sign up. Cost is $595 for 3 days (15 hours) of high-level training.

Annual SMPA Member Meeting
Sunday April 7, 2019

Come one, come all dues-paying Seattle Metro Pickleball Association (SMPA) members to Rainier Community Center for our first ever Annual Member Meeting. If you’ve gotten the invite but haven’t RSVP’d, then do so quickly. We have food to prepare and don’t want to fall short on the cookie count.

We are committed to a short business meeting starting promptly at 12:30 PM to take care of the required tasks, hold a raffle with some great pickleball prizes (Paddles!Hats!Balls!and more) and quick Q&A, and on to the courts. SMPA Board members will be available throughout the afternoon to answer any questions. Play will be divided into 3 courts for rec play with paddle stacks if necessary, and then 3 courts for some competitive games and some form of king/queen of the courts.

Local Seattle Players Medal at IIPC

SMPA members were well represented on the medal stands on the just-concluded International Indoor Pickleball Championships (IIPC) in Centralia, Washington. Billed as the largest indoor pickleball tournament, the 2019 edition enjoyed participation from more than 580 players from the US and Canada this year, up from 2018. A qualifying, sanctioned tournament, the IIPC filled out the Northwest Sports Hub with 31 competition courts, as well as practice courts, a massage station, and a Pickleball Central store. This partial list of SMPA members (please forgive us if we missed you) shows the level of interest in competitive events for players from 3.0 to local professionals.

• Mary Ann Benack (multi medalist)
• Frank Chiappone
• Lynette Danger (medalist)
• Breann Kay
• Tom Grubb
• Theresa Haynie (silver medalist)
• Marianne Salce Johnson
• Patrick Johnson
• John Lui (multi medalist)
• See Lui (gold medalist)
• Tonja Major (silver medalist)
• Oscar Montes
• Fran Myer (bronze medalist, Hall of Fame)
• Tuyen Nguyen (multi medalist)
• Erin O’Rourke (multi medalist)
• Sean Oldridge
• Justine Park
• Tom Paull (medalist)
• Lisa Schwab (medalist)
• James Steadman
• Karen Thomas
• Kathy Wehle

Congrats to medalists and participants alike. The SMPA tee shirts were abundant on the courts, and that visibility reminded the pickleball world of the high level of play available in the Seattle metro area. As we are writing this newsletter, play is concluding and there are still medals being distributed. If we’ve left you off the list, it’s not intentional, and you can let us know with an email to info@seattlemetropickleball.com and we’ll give you the thanks you deserve for getting on the court under the bright lights of the IIPC.

Foot Fault? Look to the Referee

Sanctioned tournaments can’t happen without referees, and thanks to efforts of SMPA, a batch of newly trained referees filled the ranks in the last week of March at the International Indoor Pickleball Championships down in Centralia. Most of these same pickleball referee/players are now available for the summer and the Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic as well.

USAPA Certified Referee Jim Cooke of Pickleball Station in Kent led the training of a handful of SMPA and Green Lake pickleball players. SMPA Board member Sean Oldridge organized the free pickleball Referee clinic in Seattle just before the IIPC tournament. Seven eager students spent their Saturday morning learning the protocols and methods for calling NVZ and service faults, enforcing the official rules, and keeping the peace on the pickleball court during hotly contested games. Afterwards, the newly trained referees traipsed across the street to the Green Lake courts to put all their newfound knowledge to immediate use by refereeing the morning’s recreational games.

Local Seattle running store Super Jock ‘N Jill provided meeting space for the pre-court instruction at their Green Lake location right across the street from the Green Lake pickleball courts.

Preparing for the Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic Tournament

Registration continues for the Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic as we reach the 50 percent filled mark. The tournament committee plans for a great summer event, and you can register at PickleballTournaments.com. SMPA members get a $5 discount on the registration fee. Will you be there? We can use you as a volunteer if you don’t want to play as there’s plenty of work keeping the event running smoothly.

Visit the Facebook page for the Seattle Metro Classic tournament for up to date or breaking news about the event.

Other Pickleball Happenings

Playtime Scheduler

Who’s playing and where? Once you register (and it’s free!) in the Playtime Scheduler tool and choose Greater Seattle as your area, you can schedule a game. You can use it to indicate that you’ll be playing at one of the existing Community Center play times, or set up an outdoor game when you select Shoreview or Green Lake or SeaTac, for example. You simply create a session, indicate the level you’re looking to play with, and make any notes relevant to the game you’re trying to set up. Subscribed users receive email notification of the session.

In Memoriam: Bob Hassan

On March 28th, we lost SMPA member Bob Hassan to a terrible tragedy in our city. Bob was a regular at Maple Leaf and then at Green Lake pickleball courts. He also spearheaded and organized outdoor pickleball play at the old Magnuson Park tennis courts last summer. A true sportsman, Bob made friends wherever he played, and we’ll miss his presence on and off the pickleball court. On Saturday, March 30^th, players at the Green Lake pickleball courts paused play to hold a brief remembrance ceremony in Bob’s honor.

You, too, Can Renew

February 2019 marked the first of renewal emails on their way to encourage SMPA members to re-up their membership. Seattle METRO Pickleball Association promotes and assists the growth of indoor and outdoor pickleball all around the Seattle area.

You can renew or join SMPA by visiting our website, and with your credit card and by supplying some limited personal information become a member of the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association. Note that all financial transactions are managed by a secure third-party membership management app, that we reviewed and selected based on their list management and processing security tools.

That’s a wrap: the 2019 Annual SMPA Member Meeting

The Seattle Metro Pickleball Association (SMPA) Board of Directors remembered Bob Hassan, honored the early advocates for pickleball in the region with Joyce Jones and Niki Ryan, gave an ovation to member and Hall of Famer, Fran Myer, held the most concise of business meetings to meet bylaw requirements, and then cheered on play for the 61 members and 25 or so guests who came indoors to Rainier Community Center on April 7th. We greeted members old and new, enjoyed great play on the courts, and shared our accomplishments of the time since our start in 2017 and becoming a registered nonprofit in 2018.

As a first of many annual member meetings, the rainy April afternoon of pickleball was a wonderful display of the community that we are building with the organization. SMPA Board members served as organizers for this first one, and used the occasion to encourage volunteers to join in the fun. We hope to grow the meeting in the coming years to be full day of pickleball, renewed playing relationships, and a confirmation of the vision for pickleball in the Greater Seattle area, where we are driven by commitment to fun, fitness, and friendship in an inclusive and welcoming environment.

Up Next: Summer Pickleball in Seattle

Among the major updates to the SMPA website is the addition of a page filled with summer play events planned for our members. Check out the Play page and put these dates on your calendars. For members, these events provide a good time to see your pickleball pals, and for nonmembers, they’re a good opportunity to see and feel the excitement building for pickleball in Seattle.

• Outdoor weekly drop in play at Miller, Green Lake, Shoreview, and Delridge pickleball courts (free)
• Pickleball in the Park returns June through September (free)
• 8-week long Leagues – flex and fixed (set fee)
• 4th of July Round Robin Shootout – start your day with a bang, a dink, or a lob. Details to follow.
• Registration required for the Seattle Metro Classic Pickleball Tournament – and it’s almost full!

Rainbow Recreation at Miller Community Center

Working hard to keep the adult community fit and engaged, Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) has a full schedule of Rainbow fitness activities focused on the LGBTQ community. When we realized that the schedule did not include pickleball, a quick email and call got us on the schedule. For 8 weeks, starting in July, Rainbow Recreation will offer an Introduction to Pickleball class each Thursday morning at Miller Community Center. There is a small fee for the class that will feature a series of instructors from the SMPA pickleball community. Spread the word, or come out and play with the group ready to pick up paddles and keep moving.

Rainbow Recreation is a partnership between Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Lifelong Recreation and Generations Aging with Pride to provide recreational opportunities for LGBTQ adults 50+.

What it takes to run a Tournament

To tournament players, picking a partner, registering, and practicing together may constitute much of the work required to do well. For those involved in making the tournament itself succeed, there is oh, so much more. The Seattle Metro Classic Pickleball Tournament scheduled for July 26-28th, 2019, began as a gleam in the competitive eyes of SMPA members Patrick and Marianne Johnson of Edmonds, and then grabbed the attention of SMPA board member and Play committee chair, Frank Chiappone, events chair, Sean Oldridge, and local pro player, Tonja Major. Along with several more tournament fanatics, the Seattle Metro Classic has morphed into a 200+ player event that may well be the biggest, to date, pickleball tournament in the Seattle metro area. These events don’t happen by magic.

What Patrick and Marianne dreamed of now has major outside sponsors, volunteers, pro players, and the services of Mike Hoxie, owner of Pickleball Is Great (PIG) and a well-known tournament organizer in the Pacific Northwest. The tournament expects to draw close to 250 players, will require 100+ volunteers, 60 or more trained referees, and offers a full weekend of pickleball competition and fun at beautiful Shoreview Park in Shoreline, Washington.

The level of planning going into the tournament is an amazing display of commitment to the sport of pickleball. Meetings started in January, and continue now weekly as the Tournament Committee ramps up to fill out the player, sponsor, and volunteer rosters. SMPA member and local pickleball player, Joan Hanson, has been buttonholing potential volunteers in between her play and writing quilting books. With full support of the SMPA Board, the tournament organizers are drawing from the membership to fill out roles that will include Guest Relations hosts, bathroom patrol, player check in, tournament management, court buildout, and more.

Why should you get involved? For one, the energy surrounding a tournament is just different, to quote an USAPA Ambassador. The energy field is elevated, the play ticks up several levels, the air is abuzz with chatter about play and players and exciting points and dramatic wins and losses. You head home at the end of the day with a head filled with thoughts of points that should have been won, games that were fulfilling and fun and supercharged, and if you’re among the lucky players, a medal around your neck. And if you’re not a medalist, you’ll have new war stories to share.

The Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic can happen only because of the tenacity of the handful of players who got together to say “let’s put on a tournament.” And following on their enthusiasm, expertise, and love of the sport, a tournament happens. This particular tournament, on the heels of its smaller version that kicked off in the summer of 2018, makes the Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic another pin in the must-play pickleball tournament map, and it doesn’t happen without the many hours that the committee has already put in, and the many hours still to go. The Tournament Committee invites all SMPA members and local pickleball players to be a part of history and help make the Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic a memorable and successful tournament. Sign up as a volunteer through SignUp Genius. We need you and want to share the experience and, yes, the workload of this fun event in our local pickleball community.

Visit the Facebook page for the Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic tournament for up to date or breaking news about the event.

May Membership Drive

If we, the Board and members of SMPA, haven’t thanked you for your membership, allow us to do that now! As we close in on almost 250 members, know that your voice is critical to the work we do to get more play time, more painted courts, and ultimately, dedicated pickleball facilities in the Seattle Metro area.

You may be tagged by a membership committee member in May as we urge you to renew or join SMPA. Click here, enter your credit card and some limited personal information, and lend your voice to the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association family. You may notice when you join or renew that all financial transactions are managed by a secure third-party membership management app, that we reviewed and selected based on their list management and processing security tools.

Other Pickleball Happenings

Action Alert for Kirkland Pickleball

Your support is needed: speak up for plans for dedicated pickleball courts right here in Kirkland, Washington. The City of Kirkland is weighing the conversion of existing Everest Park outdoor tennis courts into three pickleball courts. Before they proceed, they need to hear from you. Who doesn’t want more dedicated pickleball courts? Now is the time to contact the Kirkland City Parks Manager, Jason Filan, by calling him at (425) 587-3341 or emailing him at jfilan@kirklandwa.gov. More details in our Action Alert page.

SPR June Play Fests at Green Lake and Yesler

SPR is hosting a Parks & Rec Fest at Green Lake Park and Community Center on Saturday, June 1st from 10 AM to 3 PM, and a week later on June 9th at Yesler Community Center. SPR plans to showcase various activities, resources and opportunities they provide to the community. The day features music, food trucks, games, activities, and booths to learn more about Seattle Parks & Recreation. Pickleball, too! Bring sunscreen (we hope) and your paddles. SMPA will be there to demo and play.

Give back to the sport? Become a referee!

In anticipation of the coming summer tournament season, including the Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic tournament, Tom Grubb will be hosting free referee clinics (weather permitting) from 8 to 9:30 AM on May 25, June 8, and June 29, 2019 at the Green Lake Pickleball Courts. Get there early to find parking.

Playtime Scheduler

Want to get players on the courts for play at Yost, Shoreview, Green Lake, or wherever? Sign up at Playtime Scheduler. Choose Greater Seattle as your area and select, for example, Shoreview or Green Lake or SeaTac, and then simply create a session, indicate the level you’re looking to play with, and make a note about the game you’re organizing. Subscribed users receive email notification of the session. It’s free and very functional.

Eastside and Westside, all around the Sound

Mercer Island pickleball news includes concerns over the performance of the Onix Fuse ball, and a plan to reopen the indoor facilities after the failure of the levy last fall. Read about it here.

Eckstein court project, run by Kathy Schmidtke, is on track, and she has updates to share.

Annual SMPA Member Meeting
Sunday April 7, 2019

Check your email inbox for the invites, as we encourage all dues-paying Seattle Metro Pickleball Association (SMPA) members to come to Rainier Community Center for our first ever Annual Member Meeting.

A very short business meeting should take care of legalities, handing out the raffle prizes, a quick Q&A, and then we can get down the fun stuff of playing on the 6 indoor courts. We have the gym reserved from the meeting start at 12:20 PM until 4 PM, and are hoping to get in lots of play. In addition to vying for the raffle prizes (paddles, hats, balls), you can meet many of the other area pickleball players who’ve come together to move pickleball forward in the Seattle metro area. more pickleball venues created in the metro area.

Pickleball Activism

SMPA has yet to see a final SPR report on the 2018 Pickleball Pilot project. In addition to being an active member of SMPA, your persistent comments to those in the city who control our access to pickleball venues is part of the grand plan.

If you haven’t done so, send an email message to remind SPR that pickleball players in Seattle need their support. You can click the following links and from your email app or account send an email to Christopher Williams, acting Seattle Parks superintendent, and also to the Board of Park Commissioners.

Pickleball Scheduler App

Little by little, court by court, game by game, Seattle pickleball players are exploring and using the game-scheduling tool that we introduced this winter, Playtime Scheduler. Modified by the California developer for Seattle and select other regions, the Playtime Scheduler tool lets you register, then after you choose Greater Seattle as your area, schedule a game. You can use it to indicate that you’ll be playing at one of the existing Community Center play times, or set up a game outside the programmed times when you select Shoreview or Green Lake or SeaTac, for example. You simply create a session, indicate the level you’re looking to play with, and make any notes (advanced, all levels welcome, and so on.). Subscribed users receive email notification of the session.

Playtime Scheduler’s real value should be apparent this summer when Green Lake Pickleball courts and Shoreview Pickleball courts battle for which can book more players in on a daily basis. SMPA members already fill those courts on the weekends, despite the cold and wet mornings. Still, the play is hot, and the Playtime Scheduler should help players set up and use the courts all day long. Give it a try – and no, SMPA is not associated and makes no money off the service to our local pickleball community. Let’s get out and play!

International Indoor Pickleball Championships

The last week of March brings us to the International Indoor Pickleball Championship (IIPC) to be held at the NW Sports Hub, Centralia, Washington. The tournament runs from Tuesday, March 26th through Sunday March 31st.

This very fun, challenging tournament serves as a qualifying event for those who plan to play in the 2019 USAPA National Pickleball Championship in 2019. You can sign up until March 12, 2019 by going to Pickleball Tournaments. Join your local and Canadian pals for this great indoor event.

Register now for summer Classic Tournament – and Volunteer, Too

Registration for the Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic opens Saturday, March 2nd so jump on now and register. SMPA members get a $5 discount on the registration fee. The tournament committee is hard at work on building out the Seattle Metro Classic Pickleball Tournament. From lining up sponsors, arranging for referees, pro participants, housing for visiting pros, the committee is working to make sure that the largest Seattle area pickleball tournament will succeed. Prize money, great play, engaged volunteers, this opportunity to present the first large pickleball tournament in metro Seattle (Shoreline) can only help to put Seattle, next door to the birthplace of pickleball, squarely on the map of pickleball destinations.

Visit the Facebook page for the Seattle Metro Classic tournament for up to date or breaking news about the event.

And in other news…

Spring Outdoor Play

Looking for a game? As the weather improves, you’ll find players starting up early at Green Lake Pickleball Courts and Shoreview in North Seattle, Miller in central Seattle, Delridge in West Seattle, Perrigo Park in Redmond, and Bellevue International School. Want to play Pickleball Station? Be sure to call first, as they’ve been running great tournaments all winter long. Let’s hit the courts!

Facebook Pickleball Groups

If you follow Pickleball Forum on Facebook, you already know that pickleball players have lots of questions about rules, play, and places to play. When you’re traveling, the USAPA app Places2Play is your best guide, as the Places2Play displays a map and provides the best known info about times and locations.

And if you’re lucky enough to travel internationally, FaceBook can be a great resource for locating local pickleball groups and contacts. Use the search feature in Facebook to look for the name of the city or country you’re visiting, or search for city+pickleball to locate a local pickleball club or group. Go to interesting places, make new friends, play pickleball. Have paddle, will travel.

Renew or Join SMPA Today

February 2019 marks the first renewal emails on their way to encourage our association members to re-up their membership. We’re Seattle METRO Pickleball Association because we promote and assist the growth of pickleball all around the Seattle area.

You can help us grow. Renew or join SMPA by clicking here, and with your credit card and by supplying some limited personal information become a member of the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association.