BC 55+ Games

Four Nelson Pickleball players took part in the 55+ Games held in Kelowna this week. A good time was had by all.

Back Row: Tim Beecham, John Ferguson
Front Row: Tricia Timmermans, Gloria Beecham

2019-2020 Indoor Season

Hi Nelson and area Pickleball fans,

We are nearing the end of the summer “outside” pickleball season. On Friday October 4^th we will begin inside play at Mary Hall (Selkirk College’s 10^th Street Campus). Before you first play at Mary Hall, please remember to fill out the Waiver Form at the gym office (upstairs). This will be good for the 2019-2020 season. 

In order to ensure that all players have an opportunity to play, Selkirk College staff have allowed us to rent in 2-hour sessions, six days a week (Monday to Friday plus Sundays) for this 2019-2020 year. There will be no pickleball in multi-use times. We are extremely grateful to Selkirk for this concession, as, with our growing numbers, finding a time to play was becoming difficult. We will continue to use the Signup.com portal to make sure that one session does not become overloaded with players, while other sessions may have only a few players. Signup preference will be given to Nelson Pickleball Club members.

The Days of play will be:    

Monday to Friday 10:00 to 12:00 (Signup required) 

Sundays                 12:00 to 2:00    (No Signup required)

On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday there will be 3 Advanced courts with a limit of 14 players, and 2 Intermediate/New player courts with a limit of 10 players

Thursdays are open to All Abilities with a limit of 26 players. Sign up is necessary.

Sundays are open to All Abilities, with an unlimited numbers of players allowed, and No Sign up is necessary.

Membership cost for this year is $30.  Benefits to membership include:

Insurance

Membership in Pickleball BC and Pickleball Canada

Preferential sign up times

Lower rates

As rental costs will be higher because of the 2-hour sessions (as opposed to 1.5 hours last season), playing fees will be higher. To simplify collection we are offering a punch-card system.  Punch cards will be credit-card-sized to fit into your wallet. Twenty 2-hour sessions will cost $90 – equivalent to $4.50 per session. If you are a member but are paying for sessions each time, the cost will be $5 per two-hour session.  Fees for non-members (who may sign up 24 hours ahead if space is available) will be $6. The committee prefers that players buy a punch card to simplify money collection. Payment for punch cards can be made by cash, cheque, or e-transfer. E-transfers can be made to Pickleball@fp2.ca. Please note in the bank’s Message section what the payment is for. For example if you transfer $120, you would state your name, followed by Membership ($30) and 1 punch card ($90). Punch cards can be shared with other members.

Last session we offered a monthly fee, but this was not always economical, due to people going away unexpectedly, or, because of an injury they could not play, or, the gym would be unavailable for various reasons. However, should members prefer a monthly payment system, monthly payments can still be organized on a month-to-month basis. Cost would be set up to be slightly less than the punch card system payment (if they played every session during that month). The monthly pass for October will be $90 (for 24 possible sessions). This amount will change every month, depending on the  number of playing days.

A few notes:

1)   Please remember that Selkirk passes to the Mary Hall Gym are not valid for pickleball play. 

2)   The gym will be closed on Thanksgiving Monday (October 14). 

3)   We ask that if you have signed up and find you cannot play, to please remove your name from Signup.com at least 24 hours ahead of time.

4)   Keep in mind that October will be a trial month – we will re-evaluate in November.

From our experience last season, money collection (and depositing at Nelson District Credit Union) is quite a time-consuming task that was shared between too few people. Often the collector would miss the first game. For this reason, we encourage all to arrive five to ten minutes before the session starting time (especially on October 4^th), and to use the punch card system.  All cards will be punched before entry into the gym. It may be a bit confusing at first, but should become established quite quickly as an efficient solution.

We look forward to seeing you all on the courts come October. 

It has been a fabulous summer season with our new LVR courts, plus we have had the opportunity to play at Lakeside at any time.  

Best wishes from your Nelson Pickleball Club committee

Doug, Tricia and Gloria

PS: If you are reading this and are not on the Nelson Pickleball Club mailing list and wish to be, please email ttimmermans-at-gmail.com