POLICY HANDBOOK

Board Policies as of February 7, 2025

The Board will adhere to the requirements of the Club’s by-laws. In addition, the Board will adhere to the following policies:

Approval Process for Club Expenditures:
1. A Director or Club member may submit requested expenditures to the President, Vice President and the Treasurer for review and approval. The approvals should be consistent with previous Board discussions and the by-laws.
2. The President or Vice President and the Treasurer must approve the expenditure before it is made.
Fundraising and Grants:
1. As a non-profit organization, the Club may pursue funds through grant applications or through donations.
2. The President will appoint a Board member or members to review grant and funding opportunities.
3. The Board members appointed for this purpose will identify opportunities and bring them to the board’s attention for review.
4. If the Board wants to pursue a grant or fundraising opportunity, Board members will be assigned to complete the grant application or develop a fundraising plan. Applications and plans must be reviewed and approved by the Board before grant applications are submitted or fundraising activities undertaken.
5. The Treasurer will be responsible for tracking the use of any funds received from grants or fundraising, following the approval process for Club expenditures.
6. The President will appoint a Board member or members to ensure that all grant and fundraising requirements and stipulations tied to the funds received are followed.

Financial Reporting
1. In addition to the requirements of annual financial reporting in the by-laws, the Treasurer will provide the following financial information monthly in a written report:
  1. An accounting of all expenditures in that month and for the year to date, including a breakdown of how player fees for balls, equipment and administrative costs have been spent.
  2. An accounting of all guest fees.
  3. An accounting of all expenditures tied to grant money or donations received.

Record Keeping
1. The Treasurer is responsible for maintaining the records for all financial information, including those identified in the by-laws.
2. The Secretary is responsible for maintaining the record of all non-financial information.
3. The President and Vice President will work with the Treasurer and Secretary to ensure all record-keeping policies are followed.

Establishment of Club Sessions:
1. The Board will determine the number of Club sessions working with the town recreation department.
2. Currently, there are 2 distinct sessions:
  1. Session 1: Wednesday/ Friday/ Sunday from 10 am to noon.
  2. Session 2: Monday/ Wednesday/ Friday from noon to 2 pm.

Session Group Leaders are appointed by the board:
1. Current Session 1 Leaders: Mike Scott, Neville Magarvey, Brian Gibson.
2. Current Session 2 Leaders: Gary Davis, Ian Weston, Heather Garner, Sherri Davis.
3. Session leaders will be evaluated before the beginning of each pickleball session (i.e. August, January, June).
4. Session leaders will decide how their respective sessions are managed with oversight by the Board and will communicate that information to session participants.

Members
1. Session 1: Up to 6 members comprised of higher-level players playing on one court, as decided by the Board using guidelines from the by-laws.
2. Session 2: Up to 18 members comprised of players as decided by the Board using guidelines from the by-laws.
3. Members will be evaluated before the beginning of each pickleball session (i.e. August, January, June) and may be asked to leave if they have not followed the Code of Conduct, the Club waiver requirements or attendance policies.
4. Members must purchase Pickleball Nova Scotia membership for insurance purposes. Info at http://www.pickleballcanada.org/ Players in the sessions are responsible for obtaining and maintaining their own memberships.
5. Members will be recommended to join DUPR, but DUPR membership is not required. Having a DUPR rating may be a factor when considering players for Club sessions, but it is not the determining factor for considering players for Club sessions.

Session Fees
1. Session fees per player will be consistent with town public session fees charged for pickleball to pay for gym rental costs.
2. The Club may also charge additional fees to cover the costs of balls, equipment replacements, improvements or administrative costs of running the non-profit.

Player Substitutions
1. Session 1 will manage its own guests and Club-member substitutions. Guests must meet the same requirements for terms of admission for club members as listed in the by-laws.
2. Session 2 will manage its own guests and Club-member substitutions. Guests must meet the same requirements for terms of admission for club members as listed in the by-laws.
  1. There will be no guests in Session 2 per the session leaders.
3. Players registered in the town public sessions, registered or regular drop ins, who are not Club members will not be substitutes for Session 1 or Session 2.
4. If there are excessive substitutions needed to the point where a court is canceled for a session, Session 1 players will be able to play in Session 2 at no additional cost.

Guests/ Drop-ins
1. No drop-ins for Club sessions.
2. Guests for Session 1 or Session 2 are allowed if approved by all session leaders if space allows. Guests must meet the same requirements for terms of admission for club members as listed in the by-laws. We are interpreting guests to be players who do not play/are registered in a town of Annapolis Royal pickleball session and are usually from out of the area (exceptions may be granted by the Board).
3. Guests will be charged a session fee for participating in Session 1 or Session 2 that will be set by the session leaders.
4. Guests must be approved by session leaders preferably 2 days prior to day of play. No guests will be allowed if the leaders deem a session to be full.

Complaints and Concerns
1. We are a self-governing Club and the Town of Annapolis Royal will not be involved with managing the Society. Thus, all complaints and concerns should be emailed to arpballclub@gmail.com. The President and Secretary are responsible for managing responses to emails to the Club email. Members are expected to sign a waiver that will include a detailed Code of Conduct. Leaders will enforce the Code of Conduct during each session and will bring any actions to the attention of the Board. All incidents and actions taken involving Code of Conduct will be documented in writing. The Secretary will maintain these records. A warning will consist of asking a player not to continue the negative behavior (please don’t do it again). If the negative behavior continues, the player may be asked to leave the session (okay, you did it again, we are asking you to leave). Upon review by the board, the player may be asked to leave the club.
2. All players are expected to adhere to the Club Code of Conduct, waiver requirements and attendance policies. Failure to adhere by members may result in their being asked to leave the club.
Membership Promotion
1. Players registered for Club sessions are considered Club members. Players interested in joining the Club are asked to send an email expressing their interest to the Club email. These people will be placed on a waiting list.
2. If an opening in a session occurs, the people on the waiting list will be considered to fill the opening.
3. The Board will evaluate membership before the beginning of each pickleball session (i.e. August, January, June). Players who have exhibited attendance or behavioral issues may be asked to leave the Club.

Communication with Members
1. The Board annually establishes all policies regarding use of the Club email, Club Facebook page and other social media as applicable.
2. Communication with members will be through arpballclub@gmail.com or the Club Facebook page.
  1. The Secretary and/or other Board designee will manage the Facebook page. The Facebook page will be kept private and unsearchable.
  2. The President and Secretary and/or other Board designee will respond to emails sent to the Club email address.

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