Invermere Pickleball Club

Board of Directors Update

Good luck to Lisa McIntosh as the new President of the Invermere Pickleball Club. Please feel free to reach out to Lisa at president@ipbclulb.ca. Other new members of the Board include Cathy Howard and Rachid Ould-Hamouda. A big thank you to Simon Gingras and Wes Coulson for their work on the board as they are both stepping off this year. Here is the list of the complete Board. All are available to chat with members about any new ideas, questions, input, etc. We still have two open spots available. Please reach out to Lisa if you're interested.

Lisa McIntosh – President & Communications

John Robertson – Vice President

Sheila Stevenson – Treasurer

Kathy Billesberger – Secretary

Carol Keshin – Social

Ray Schoepfer – New Player Development

Cathy Howard

Rachid Ould-Hamouda

Position #9 & 10 – Open

Annual General Meeting 2023

Our Annual General Meeting is set for Sunday, September 10th at the Curling Club. Please mark it on your calendar. Pickleball play will go from 1-3 p.m. The AGM will start at 3 p.m. Socializing with refreshments to follow.

IPBC President, Ray Schoepfer, will be stepping down as President, so a new President will be officially appointed by the board.  Anyone with interest in potentially taking on this position or joining the Board, please reach out to Lisa McIntosh at glisamcintosh@yahoo. ca.

Club Social - Wednesday, August 16th

Don't forget we're set to have a potluck get together this Wednesday at Mt. Nelson Athletic Park following drop in play. The club will provide bratwurst and drinks and the rest of the goodies will be potluck style. If you can make it, please sign up on SignUpGenius, sign up on the sign up sheets at morning play OR drop Cathy Howard a note at chowardbc@gmail.com and let her know. All members are invited. A great way to get to know your follow pickleball players better. 

Beginner and Novice Play

August 8th & 10th - Beginner and Novice play - 10:30 to noon at Mt. Nelson Athletic Park - A great chance to get out and play with other players at your level and to have some fun! Please join us.  **Regular play this day will go from 8:00 to 10:30. 

Save The Dates - August/September

The Club has several events planned so please save the dates and join us.

August 8th & 10th - Beginner and Novice play - 10:30 Mt. Nelson Athletic Park (if this is well attended, we will make it a regular event)

August 16th - Club Social - Regular drop in play starting at 9 a.m. followed by pot luck lunch.

September 10th - Annual General Meeting - Will include play, meeting & social.

September 30th - Level One Coaching Course - full day at the curling rink.

Volunteer Appreciation Event - July 26th

Our Volunteer Appreciation Event is scheduled for July 26th. We will play some pickleball starting at 5:00 p.m. and then gather for dinner and some socializing. Please RSVP to Lisa at glisamcintosh@yahoo.ca if you have volunteered with the club in any way this year and would like to join in. You are welcome to bring a guest. time.

Save The Dates

A few special dates coming up. Please add them to your calendar.

* July 12th - Social Event - Regular morning play followed by a pot luck lunch.
* July 26th - Volunteer Appreciation Event - Fun play followed by dinner. Details to follow.
* Annual General Meeting - Details to follow. September 10th.

Kevin Stanley Lessons

The club has arranged for Kevin Stanley to return to Invermere for lessons and instruction on May 8th and 9th. For those of you that attended last years sessions I'm sure you will want to level up this year and if you haven't been to Kevins lessons its well worth the time. Sessions have been posted on signup genius, we have morning, afternoon and evening sessions available. Sign up early as they might fill up quickly! Cost will be $50 per session usually 2 to 3hrs of instruction. Pay by interac to "pickleballcv@gmail.com" and mention Kevin Stanley then go to signup genius to May 8th or 9th and sign up on whichever session you want. Below is Kevin's suggestions of how you might self rate yourself regarding the sessions.

Here are some ideas on how I would expect players to be able to play in each level.Novice Players (new to 2.5)

1. Know the Rules
2. Doesn't really know the proper paddle grip or ready position
3. Can practice dinking back and forth at the kitchen line 3-8 times without chasing the ball
4. Can serve successfully 2-4 times out of ten in a game scenario
5. Know basically where to stand when serving or receiving the serve
6. Can return the serve successfully 3-5 times out of 10 successfully
7. Seldom try to do third shot drops
8. Sometimes lob out of desperation
9. Don't know how to handle a lob shot done to them
10. Really struggles at resetting from no man's land

Intermediate Players (3.0+ - 3.5)

1. Understands the rules and can share same with Novice players as needed
2. Knows the proper grip and ready position but may not be consistent with executing
3. Can practice dinking drill 10-20+ hits without chasing the ball
4. Starting to move dink shots more effectively and strategically
5. Knows where to stand during serve and receive and executes properly 50-60% of the time
6. Can execute all 22 pickleball shots 40 to 60% of the time in a game scenario
7. Attempts and succeeds the third shot drop 40-50% of the time from forehand or backhand
8. Attempts a lob at strategic times and knows better on how to handle a lob
9. Successfully able to reset from no man's land 40-50% of the time
10. COmmunicates with his or her partner and works to move strategically with their partner more often than not

Advanced Players (3.5+ - 4.0)

1. Knows the rules and regulations of the game and is able to share with others
2. Knows the proper grip and ready position and may be starting to develop their own style
3. Can practice controlled dinking straight and crosscourt for 20 plus shots forehand and backhand fairly easily
4. Displays dinking accuracy that created chaos on the opponent's court
5. Instinctively knows where to be and court awareness with their partner
6. Attempts third shot or drive shots 60-80% of the time successfully in a game scenario
7. Rarely lobs but if so executes often and can defend a lob with a third shot drop or relob if appropriate
8. Comfortable resetting from mid court 68-80% of the time as needed
9. Communicates well and moves very well with their partner
10. Knows how to identify weaknesses in opponents and change game accordingly
11. Can execute all 22 pickleball shots with a 60-80% success rate in a game scenario

These guidelines are approximate but I find it fairly easy to recognize once we have people on the court. My job is to adjust the lesson or clinic based on what I see in terms of skill level within the first 15 minutes and modify the lesson as needed. To identify individual items and or issues and address them to individuals personally as I see them arise.

Outdoor Play Starts May 1st

Outdoor drop in play starts May 1st at Mt. Nelson from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Should the weather not cooperate on any given day, the host for the day will make the call to move play indoors to the curling club. Start time will get earlier as the mornings warm up.

*Note... For anyone still wanting to play indoors at the curling club you can for sure still do that. As long as one of you is trained as a host. Just use the SignUpGenius and make sure everyone signs in once they're there. Play indoors for non-members is $10 if you'd like to bring guests.

Spring Open Play Indoors

Lots of great play indoors at the Curling Club the past two weeks. We're going to continue have our open play there for the time being. Until it gets a bit warmer. The open session will run from 10 a.m. to noon Monday through Saturday. We are using Sign Up Genius to ensure at least four people will be attending AND that one person is willing to host (open up, etc.) If there are not enough signed up players or a host - the session will be canceled. It seems some folks are just dropping in, which is no problem, BUT you may find no one there if the sign up process isn't being used. 

2023 Season

Hello all members!
     Our new season is just around the corner.  Indoor play will start at the beginning of April. Weather permitting, we will start playing outdoors the week of April 19 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 1 till 3PM.
     We offer 4 courts and full facilities for indoor play. Our outdoor play is on the multi use court at Mt. Nelson park using our portable nets.  As you know, Mt Nelson offers us 4 courts, public washrooms, full fencing and a proper sport court surface.   
     Along with our scheduled play time, we are planning to have a few social events and tournaments.  All this requires volunteers.  Because we need open and close the indoor facility or put up portable nets to play outdoor, we will need hosts to unlock our equipment, set up, take down and lock up again for every session.  Being a host is easy.  To find out more about being a host, read this document, PB Host duties 2023.pdf. 
     Ultimately, how often we can play and what additional fun events and tournaments we can have ,will be determined by how many volunteers we can rely on.  We will also be trying out teams of host to make it easy to commit to helping out. 
   For all those who have not renewed your membership, please do so here.
   See everyone on the courts.

We Have Evening Play Indoors

     Four indoor courts on a really nice surface with great visibility, washrooms, spectator area with guest cooler and a nice lounge overlooking the playing surface. All conveniently located in downtown Invermere at the curling club, across from the liquor store.
     This facility will be dedicated to our club from April 1 to Sept 30 this 2023. 
     Please look at our Play Schedule tab above for the new programs we are offering for indoor evening play.
     We will also be using the facility as a bad weather backup to regular outdoor play (currently Mon to Sat, 10am to noon – host’s call, day by day).

$10 drop-in daily,  guests

   This is all included in your membership !

Curling Club Play Secured For 2023 Season

As we look forward to the 2023 season, we are thrilled to let everyone know ALL members are going to have access to the Curling Club from April 1st to September 30th next year. Six full months!! Play on the four indoor
courts turned out to be a hit with our members this year, particularly
on poor weather days, when we moved indoors as well as regular evening
play, lessons and club mixers. With the addition of Curling Club
access, we now have a place to hold meetings, parties, etc. Fees will
increase to approximately $100 for the season which includes the fees
for Pickleball Canada, Pickleball B.C. and the Invermere Pickleball
Club. It should be noted the price of $100 was suggested by members at
our recent AGM and was unanimously voted for.

Given the challenges with the District Of Invermere guaranteeing
access to outdoor courts at Mt. Nelson, having 24 hour, seven day a week
access to the four indoor courts, opens up so many possibilities.
Looking around the country at other pickleball clubs, it seems that we
are in a somewhat unique situation with the ability to have this indoor
play option available to us at such a great price - less than one round
of golf at many of the courses. We are looking forward to a super year
next year. We will be sending out a survey in February or March looking
for everyone's input on what they would like to see offered at the
indoor facility in terms of play and social events. Watch for that!

Volunteer Appreciation Night - Sept. 21st

The Volunteer Appreciation Event is set for Wednesday, September 21st from 5-9 p.m. We'll start with some pickleball play at 5:00 and then move to Lisa & Yarek's for refreshments and some fun. If you volunteered at all with the Club this year, YOU are invited. Please join us. You can RSVP to Lisa at glisamcintosh@yahoo.ca.

Volunteers Needed For Hosting Duties

Stay in the know and get to know some of the other members by joining our new Facebook group.  You can request to join at https://www.facebook.com/group.

Club Members win medals at the Nationals

In the Alberta Provincials Dean and his partner Bronze there in 3.0 17 and over age group. Sue medaled, with a Silver in Mixed Doubles 3.5 17-59 

Nationals  Sue Stevenson Brown Gold in ladies 4.0 age 50-59 Ladies partner Beth Tabor, Calgary Silver in mixed 4.0 age 60-69 Mixed partner Mel Louie, Calgary   Dean Kroetsch Bronze in the 3.0 age 17-59. Were given Silver for their age bracket 50-59 Men’s partner was Mike Dowse. More photos in our photo album See you on the courts.

To Quote Dean: We had an awesome time at the Canadian National Pickleball Championships the past week. There was some top notch Pickleball play to be seen with several high profile players attending. Cindy and I had good games
against some great people in our mixed play but came up short of the podium. Shoulda, coulda, woulda… we definitely came away with things to work on. Shout out to my men’s doubles partner Mike Dowse; we finishedbronze in the 3.0 combined play of the 17-59 age group but were given silver in our 50-59 age bracket. And yea, he’s a lot taller than I am

.

Club Members win medals at the Nationals

Two of our club members have won medals at the
Pickleball Canada National Championships held last week in Red Deer.
Congratulations to Sue Stevenson Brown and Dean Kroetsch. We are so
proud of your success.Photos and stories to follow.

Grand Opening Highlites - Mt Nelson Courts.

A very successful Grand opening-BBQ/Potluck was held on Aug 5th. Our sincere appreciation goes out to our Events coordinator Cathy Howard and the many volunteers that contributed time and food for the event.

Some highlights included, the cutting of the ribbon ceremony (Simon and Dan), John and Sharon's anniversary, and the awarding of the third annual Sportsmanship award to Bill Yaskiw by Randy Baker.

The Sportsmanship Award has been sponsored by Tom Wilkinson and Jan Guenigsman every year. More photos are in the Photo Gallery

Board of Directors Update

Good luck to Lisa McIntosh as the new President of the Invermere Pickleball Club. Please feel free to reach out to Lisa at president@ipbclulb.ca. Other new members of the Board include Cathy Howard and Rachid Ould-Hamouda. A big thank you to Simon Gingras and Wes Coulson for their work on the board as they are both stepping off this year. Here is the list of the complete Board. All are available to chat with members about any new ideas, questions, input, etc. We still have two open spots available. Please reach out to Lisa if you're interested.

Lisa McIntosh – President & Communications

John Robertson – Vice President

Sheila Stevenson – Treasurer

Kathy Billesberger – Secretary

Carol Keshin – Social

Ray Schoepfer – New Player Development

Cathy Howard

Rachid Ould-Hamouda

Position #9 & 10 – Open

Annual General Meeting 2023

Our Annual General Meeting is set for Sunday, September 10th at the Curling Club. Please mark it on your calendar. Pickleball play will go from 1-3 p.m. The AGM will start at 3 p.m. Socializing with refreshments to follow.

IPBC President, Ray Schoepfer, will be stepping down as President, so a new President will be officially appointed by the board.  Anyone with interest in potentially taking on this position or joining the Board, please reach out to Lisa McIntosh at glisamcintosh@yahoo. ca.

Club Social - Wednesday, August 16th

Don't forget we're set to have a potluck get together this Wednesday at Mt. Nelson Athletic Park following drop in play. The club will provide bratwurst and drinks and the rest of the goodies will be potluck style. If you can make it, please sign up on SignUpGenius, sign up on the sign up sheets at morning play OR drop Cathy Howard a note at chowardbc@gmail.com and let her know. All members are invited. A great way to get to know your follow pickleball players better. 

Beginner and Novice Play

August 8th & 10th - Beginner and Novice play - 10:30 to noon at Mt. Nelson Athletic Park - A great chance to get out and play with other players at your level and to have some fun! Please join us.  **Regular play this day will go from 8:00 to 10:30. 

Save The Dates - August/September

The Club has several events planned so please save the dates and join us.

August 8th & 10th - Beginner and Novice play - 10:30 Mt. Nelson Athletic Park (if this is well attended, we will make it a regular event)

August 16th - Club Social - Regular drop in play starting at 9 a.m. followed by pot luck lunch.

September 10th - Annual General Meeting - Will include play, meeting & social.

September 30th - Level One Coaching Course - full day at the curling rink.

Volunteer Appreciation Event - July 26th

Our Volunteer Appreciation Event is scheduled for July 26th. We will play some pickleball starting at 5:00 p.m. and then gather for dinner and some socializing. Please RSVP to Lisa at glisamcintosh@yahoo.ca if you have volunteered with the club in any way this year and would like to join in. You are welcome to bring a guest. time.

Save The Dates

A few special dates coming up. Please add them to your calendar.

* July 12th - Social Event - Regular morning play followed by a pot luck lunch.
* July 26th - Volunteer Appreciation Event - Fun play followed by dinner. Details to follow.
* Annual General Meeting - Details to follow. September 10th.

Kevin Stanley Lessons

The club has arranged for Kevin Stanley to return to Invermere for lessons and instruction on May 8th and 9th. For those of you that attended last years sessions I'm sure you will want to level up this year and if you haven't been to Kevins lessons its well worth the time. Sessions have been posted on signup genius, we have morning, afternoon and evening sessions available. Sign up early as they might fill up quickly! Cost will be $50 per session usually 2 to 3hrs of instruction. Pay by interac to "pickleballcv@gmail.com" and mention Kevin Stanley then go to signup genius to May 8th or 9th and sign up on whichever session you want. Below is Kevin's suggestions of how you might self rate yourself regarding the sessions.

Here are some ideas on how I would expect players to be able to play in each level.Novice Players (new to 2.5)

1. Know the Rules
2. Doesn't really know the proper paddle grip or ready position
3. Can practice dinking back and forth at the kitchen line 3-8 times without chasing the ball
4. Can serve successfully 2-4 times out of ten in a game scenario
5. Know basically where to stand when serving or receiving the serve
6. Can return the serve successfully 3-5 times out of 10 successfully
7. Seldom try to do third shot drops
8. Sometimes lob out of desperation
9. Don't know how to handle a lob shot done to them
10. Really struggles at resetting from no man's land

Intermediate Players (3.0+ - 3.5)

1. Understands the rules and can share same with Novice players as needed
2. Knows the proper grip and ready position but may not be consistent with executing
3. Can practice dinking drill 10-20+ hits without chasing the ball
4. Starting to move dink shots more effectively and strategically
5. Knows where to stand during serve and receive and executes properly 50-60% of the time
6. Can execute all 22 pickleball shots 40 to 60% of the time in a game scenario
7. Attempts and succeeds the third shot drop 40-50% of the time from forehand or backhand
8. Attempts a lob at strategic times and knows better on how to handle a lob
9. Successfully able to reset from no man's land 40-50% of the time
10. COmmunicates with his or her partner and works to move strategically with their partner more often than not

Advanced Players (3.5+ - 4.0)

1. Knows the rules and regulations of the game and is able to share with others
2. Knows the proper grip and ready position and may be starting to develop their own style
3. Can practice controlled dinking straight and crosscourt for 20 plus shots forehand and backhand fairly easily
4. Displays dinking accuracy that created chaos on the opponent's court
5. Instinctively knows where to be and court awareness with their partner
6. Attempts third shot or drive shots 60-80% of the time successfully in a game scenario
7. Rarely lobs but if so executes often and can defend a lob with a third shot drop or relob if appropriate
8. Comfortable resetting from mid court 68-80% of the time as needed
9. Communicates well and moves very well with their partner
10. Knows how to identify weaknesses in opponents and change game accordingly
11. Can execute all 22 pickleball shots with a 60-80% success rate in a game scenario

These guidelines are approximate but I find it fairly easy to recognize once we have people on the court. My job is to adjust the lesson or clinic based on what I see in terms of skill level within the first 15 minutes and modify the lesson as needed. To identify individual items and or issues and address them to individuals personally as I see them arise.

Outdoor Play Starts May 1st

Outdoor drop in play starts May 1st at Mt. Nelson from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Should the weather not cooperate on any given day, the host for the day will make the call to move play indoors to the curling club. Start time will get earlier as the mornings warm up.

*Note... For anyone still wanting to play indoors at the curling club you can for sure still do that. As long as one of you is trained as a host. Just use the SignUpGenius and make sure everyone signs in once they're there. Play indoors for non-members is $10 if you'd like to bring guests.

Spring Open Play Indoors

Lots of great play indoors at the Curling Club the past two weeks. We're going to continue have our open play there for the time being. Until it gets a bit warmer. The open session will run from 10 a.m. to noon Monday through Saturday. We are using Sign Up Genius to ensure at least four people will be attending AND that one person is willing to host (open up, etc.) If there are not enough signed up players or a host - the session will be canceled. It seems some folks are just dropping in, which is no problem, BUT you may find no one there if the sign up process isn't being used. 

2023 Season

Hello all members!
     Our new season is just around the corner.  Indoor play will start at the beginning of April. Weather permitting, we will start playing outdoors the week of April 19 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 1 till 3PM.
     We offer 4 courts and full facilities for indoor play. Our outdoor play is on the multi use court at Mt. Nelson park using our portable nets.  As you know, Mt Nelson offers us 4 courts, public washrooms, full fencing and a proper sport court surface.   
     Along with our scheduled play time, we are planning to have a few social events and tournaments.  All this requires volunteers.  Because we need open and close the indoor facility or put up portable nets to play outdoor, we will need hosts to unlock our equipment, set up, take down and lock up again for every session.  Being a host is easy.  To find out more about being a host, read this document, PB Host duties 2023.pdf. 
     Ultimately, how often we can play and what additional fun events and tournaments we can have ,will be determined by how many volunteers we can rely on.  We will also be trying out teams of host to make it easy to commit to helping out. 
   For all those who have not renewed your membership, please do so here.
   See everyone on the courts.

We Have Evening Play Indoors

     Four indoor courts on a really nice surface with great visibility, washrooms, spectator area with guest cooler and a nice lounge overlooking the playing surface. All conveniently located in downtown Invermere at the curling club, across from the liquor store.
     This facility will be dedicated to our club from April 1 to Sept 30 this 2023. 
     Please look at our Play Schedule tab above for the new programs we are offering for indoor evening play.
     We will also be using the facility as a bad weather backup to regular outdoor play (currently Mon to Sat, 10am to noon – host’s call, day by day).

$10 drop-in daily,  guests

   This is all included in your membership !

Curling Club Play Secured For 2023 Season

As we look forward to the 2023 season, we are thrilled to let everyone know ALL members are going to have access to the Curling Club from April 1st to September 30th next year. Six full months!! Play on the four indoor
courts turned out to be a hit with our members this year, particularly
on poor weather days, when we moved indoors as well as regular evening
play, lessons and club mixers. With the addition of Curling Club
access, we now have a place to hold meetings, parties, etc. Fees will
increase to approximately $100 for the season which includes the fees
for Pickleball Canada, Pickleball B.C. and the Invermere Pickleball
Club. It should be noted the price of $100 was suggested by members at
our recent AGM and was unanimously voted for.

Given the challenges with the District Of Invermere guaranteeing
access to outdoor courts at Mt. Nelson, having 24 hour, seven day a week
access to the four indoor courts, opens up so many possibilities.
Looking around the country at other pickleball clubs, it seems that we
are in a somewhat unique situation with the ability to have this indoor
play option available to us at such a great price - less than one round
of golf at many of the courses. We are looking forward to a super year
next year. We will be sending out a survey in February or March looking
for everyone's input on what they would like to see offered at the
indoor facility in terms of play and social events. Watch for that!

Volunteer Appreciation Night - Sept. 21st

The Volunteer Appreciation Event is set for Wednesday, September 21st from 5-9 p.m. We'll start with some pickleball play at 5:00 and then move to Lisa & Yarek's for refreshments and some fun. If you volunteered at all with the Club this year, YOU are invited. Please join us. You can RSVP to Lisa at glisamcintosh@yahoo.ca.

Volunteers Needed For Hosting Duties

Stay in the know and get to know some of the other members by joining our new Facebook group.  You can request to join at https://www.facebook.com/group.

Club Members win medals at the Nationals

In the Alberta Provincials Dean and his partner Bronze there in 3.0 17 and over age group. Sue medaled, with a Silver in Mixed Doubles 3.5 17-59 

Nationals  Sue Stevenson Brown Gold in ladies 4.0 age 50-59 Ladies partner Beth Tabor, Calgary Silver in mixed 4.0 age 60-69 Mixed partner Mel Louie, Calgary   Dean Kroetsch Bronze in the 3.0 age 17-59. Were given Silver for their age bracket 50-59 Men’s partner was Mike Dowse. More photos in our photo album See you on the courts.

To Quote Dean: We had an awesome time at the Canadian National Pickleball Championships the past week. There was some top notch Pickleball play to be seen with several high profile players attending. Cindy and I had good games
against some great people in our mixed play but came up short of the podium. Shoulda, coulda, woulda… we definitely came away with things to work on. Shout out to my men’s doubles partner Mike Dowse; we finishedbronze in the 3.0 combined play of the 17-59 age group but were given silver in our 50-59 age bracket. And yea, he’s a lot taller than I am

.

Club Members win medals at the Nationals

Two of our club members have won medals at the
Pickleball Canada National Championships held last week in Red Deer.
Congratulations to Sue Stevenson Brown and Dean Kroetsch. We are so
proud of your success.Photos and stories to follow.

Grand Opening Highlites - Mt Nelson Courts.

A very successful Grand opening-BBQ/Potluck was held on Aug 5th. Our sincere appreciation goes out to our Events coordinator Cathy Howard and the many volunteers that contributed time and food for the event.

Some highlights included, the cutting of the ribbon ceremony (Simon and Dan), John and Sharon's anniversary, and the awarding of the third annual Sportsmanship award to Bill Yaskiw by Randy Baker.

The Sportsmanship Award has been sponsored by Tom Wilkinson and Jan Guenigsman every year. More photos are in the Photo Gallery