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.
SMPA President’s March 2019 Message
Pickleball Friends,
SMPA is completing our first year of active membership and most of our members’ yearly membership renewals are coming due. I want to personally urge you all to renew your SMPA membership. Our sport is growing by faster than a Tyson McGuffin slam. The USAPA now estimates that more than 3 million people are playing in this country alone. As I play at different pickleball venues this past year, I see them filled to capacity with players waiting for their 20 minutes of game play.
What can SMPA do for pickleball? SMPA provides a vocal and visible platform for pickleball players both competitive and casual to realize their goals and aspirations. We are working to help local players have their needs addressed. We collate and share current information about what’s going in our sport. Having a substantial and representative membership is the life blood of SMPA. It allows us to speak with larger unified voice in the Seattle metropolitan pickleball community. This is particularly important as we interact on your behalf with the Seattle Parks and Recreations Department in order to increase pickleball opportunities for everyone. The power of numbers of members cannot be underestimated. And having a representative and substantial membership base materially impacts what we are able to achieve.
In the past year, we have been active in working with the City to improve and expand opportunities to play pickleball throughout Seattle. League play, tournaments, equipment and increased available court times have resulted from the work of your organization. It has been my privilege to act as SMPA’s government liaison in working with SPR on a variety of projects. With much accomplished in 2018, we know we have more work to do. We anticipate even larger projects to be accomplished or begun in 2019. We will continue to keep you posted on our progress. We welcome volunteers to assist us in every aspect of our efforts. We remain grateful for the work of the many volunteers who made for several successful events this past year. We invite you to put your mark on the pickleball scene in Seattle area by volunteering to help us grow the sport.
On April 7th, SMPA proudly holds our initial annual members meeting at the Rainier Community Center. I encourage all members to attend. We plan to have a short business meeting with an opportunity for you to ask any questions. We are genuinely interested in what you want to SMPA to focus on in the year ahead, so please ask any questions and bring us your ideas.
After the business portion of the meeting, members will have an opportunity to play on the indoor courts, so don’t forget your paddles. Also, throughout the afternoon, all directors will be available to respond to any questions that we might not have been able to cover during the business portion of the event. I look forward to seeing you all at this very fun event.
Thank you again for your support this past year. On behalf of the SMPA Board of Directors, we look forward to serving your pickleball needs in the year ahead.
Seattle Metro Pickleball Association
Jerry Kindinger, President
