Spring 2022 SMPA News

2022 Annual Meeting

Seattle Metro Pickleball Association (SMPA) will again hold the Annual Meeting online for 2022.

Join us on Zoom (link will be emailed to all Active, paid SMPA members) on the afternoon of Monday, May 16, 2022, to elect the new slate of Directors, say goodbye to retiring and termed-out Directors, and ratify the newest Director and Treasurer, Amy Greger, who steps in to fill a director slot for an unexpired term.

In addition to giving members a view into the financial health of SMPA (it’s good), SMPA President Frank Chiappone will give an update on future plans for the organization.

We miss greeting our members face-to-face, however we do plan to hold another Member Playdate sometime in August, to let you meet and chat with Board members during a day of SMPA member-only play.

  • Board-Approved Slate of Directors:
    • Linda Fane, West Seattle
    • Gordon Sata, Central Seattle
  • Ballots sent by email to members in mid April 2022
  • Online Annual Meeting 5.15.22
    • Election of Directors
    • Ratification of Director/Treasurer
    • SMPA Business Report
    • Trivia contest with prizes

Volunteers Needed!

The Humana Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic (SMPC) tournament needs you to help deliver a successful July 2022 pickleball tournament at Shoreview Park in Shoreline.

From helping to park cars, to run scoresheets to the Tournament Director, monitor courts, feed volunteers, and help check in players, we’ve a job for everyone.

Take a look at the available tournament week tasks and shifts on the Pickleball Desk signup site. You’ll meet lots of pickleball fanatics while giving back to the sport we’re all a little crazy about.

Seattle Plans and Promises

Seattle Parks District (SPR) is at work on the funding cycle for the next six years. We can hold out some hope for pickleball in Seattle. The proposed budget currently includes some money for dedicated pickleball courts and some money to extend the community centers’ opening hours.

Access the current budget proposal here, or copy and paste this in your browser: https://www.seattle.gov/seattle-park-district/park-district-planning/park-district-funding-plan.

You can find the part about dedicated pickleball courts on the last page of the “Restoring Clean, Safe & Welcoming Parks & Facilities” document.

You can also provide feedback by accessing 3 briefs survey here, by emailing PDPlanning@seattle.gov, and by participating in the Community Check-In at the upcoming April 14, 2022, 6:30pm Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners online meeting.

SMPA Apparel Store Updates

SMPA opened a new online merchandise store late last year, now updated with shirts and hoodies for the Humana SMPC.

Also, we now have tees and hoodies to celebrate Pickleball as the Washington State sport. Check it out here!

SMPC Sponsors

Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic (SMPC) tournament proudly welcomes title sponsor, Humana Healthcare, in addition to Proliance Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, Onix Pickleball, OneShot Pickleball paddles, and Pickleball Central, the pickleball superstore.

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SMPA Membership Renewal

This is SMPA membership renewal time for many of you. Click Join to go directly to MemberPlanet, our 3rd party partner that securely manages our membership database.

Questions about your membership renewal or status? Contact us and we’ll try to help.

President’s Message

Greetings, SMPA friends! 

Thank you for the tremendous passion for pickleball and the never ending support you each give SMPA as we continue to grow the sport and work with local governments to improve play in the Seattle Metro area. We saw two clear examples of this in the past month, one of which I’ll touch upon briefly, and the other which will have lasting impact for years to come. 

At 8 AM on April 2, 2022, registration opened for the 2022 Humana Seattle Metro Pickleball Classic. Within the first 24 hours, we had 409 players registered. To give you a sense of how incredible that number is, we had 450 players total in last year’s tournament. We easily passed that number within the first 48 hours. We’re thrilled that you all are so excited to play in the SMPC. Some brackets filled quickly, however, here is still an opportunity for you to register and play in the best tournament in the region. You can sign up here. Also, many people work year round to plan and make this event a great tournament (see this article). The 2022 SMPC tournament runs July 20th to 24th at Shoreview Park in Shoreline.

The other example of pickleball’s growth is more profound. On Monday, March 28th, 2022, Governor Inslee signed Senate Bill 5615 to make Pickleball the official sport of the state of Washington. A special thanks needs to go out to Senator John Lovick, who introduced and sponsored the bill, and to SMPA member Kate Van Gent who tirelessly worked with government officials and pickleball players to garner support for the bill. Pickleball now takes its rightful place as the official sport of the state.

Fran Myer, Pickleball Hall of Fame, and Jessica Prince, SMPA Secretary, represent us at the Pickleball as Washington State Sport bill-signing event at the Bainbridge Island Founders Courts.

Several media outlets covered this story from the start, which brings attention to the need for more courts and more opportunity to play, and highlights pickleball’s role in keeping us active and healthy. We hope the designation will attract the private sector to invest and build more places to play and other pickleball-related businesses in the area.

Neither of those two moments would have been possible without the SMPA community stepping up, bringing their passion, and making themselves seen and heard. I love this community, and together we’ll continue to do great things.

Paddles up!
Frank Chiappone, SPMA President