Newsletter #85 - September 2024
Newsletter # 85
September 2024
Summer Outdoor Programming = Record Numbers
A huge thank you to the 490 members that signed up and showed up to play over the summer months. Programs have been full with members signing up quickly each week to ensure a space for the next week's play.
With the new Douglas Park courts ready for play, we will shift most programs over for September to try out the new facility. With twelve new courts, washrooms and parking nearby, shade for the summer heat, solar lighting, this is a real gem for pickleball in Regina. Special thanks to the City of Regina for investing in pickleball with this exciting new facility.
Fall Pickleball Schedules
Visit www.pickleballregina.ca homepage for links to the September Outdoor schedule at the new Douglas Park courts and Fall Indoor programming - check back often for ongoing program updates.
Regina Minor Pickleball League
With leadership from Les Covey and Don McLean, Pickleball Regina has introduced a new, longer term strategy to expand pickleball to youth in our community. PRI is making financial investments to launch this initiative to attract interested youth 10 years and older. The immediate goal is to attract younger participants to the sport. The longer term goal is to build pickleball into the school system and create youth leagues of teams to play each other across the province. The sessions will have on-court instruction, support and activities aimed at the youth market. The fall session starts on September 15th. Stay tuned for more announcements.
DUPR Launch
Pickleball is a sport that is enjoyable for players with a wide range of skills and abilities. To accommodate such diverse members, PRI offers programs intended for certain levels of play to narrow the skill range of the players on court. To help players find their rating we have offered various options including rating clinics, leagues and tournaments that calculate ratings on game results.
One limitation with these approaches is that the ratings are often only accurate for a small subset of our membership – specifically those that participate in either the ratings clinics or the competitive events. Outside of those groups the ratings are not always comparable, leading to confusion and disappointment that the ratings are inaccurate.
With the introduction of the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR) system across a series of tournaments, leagues, ladders, and recreational programs at Pickleball Regina, we are looking to address many of those concerns. A key benefit is for our members that choose to participate is they will be able to develop a rating that is transferrable and comparable across a rapidly growing population of pickleball players globally, not just within our local club.
PRI has often used the highest rating for a player from any source as the club rating for a member. Given that these sources (PBB, CTPR, GPN, Legacy) are not calibrated to each other this reduced the effectiveness of using this approach. As DUPR grows in popularity and is more widely adopted it’s expected to become a more accurate gauge of relative skill among members.
By introducing DUPR, we aim to elevate the competitive standards at PRI, ensuring every member can accurately track their progress, compete fairly, and enjoy the game. We look forward to your support in implementing these exciting new programs.
New this fall is the introduction of DUPR with our Team Ladder and MLP Programs. To get started with DUPR, please do the following:
- Create or claim your DUPR account online.
- Join the Pickleball Regina Club on DUPR.
- Log in to GPN, go to your profile settings and connect to DUPR.
Membership
Time to start the renewal process
PRI memberships all expire Dec 31 of each year. Why wait for the snow....As of Sept 1, 2024 you can renew your membership for the 2025 year.
Invite new members to join - Special offer as of Sept 1, 2024 - the expiry date will be extended to Dec 31 of 2025 (up to 4 months free) for new members.
Joining PRI provides members with organized programming both indoors (year-round) and outdoors (May-Sept) as well as a variety of benefits. Click PRI - PSI membership benefits for more information.
New to Pickleball - Learn to Play Continues
Pickleball Regina Inc. offers a one-time two-hour introductory Learn to Play Pickleball session for new members. Loaner paddles, balls, and protective eyewear (if needed) will be provided. The cost is $17.00 plus service fees to cover court rental at the Queen City Pickleball Hub. For more information, contact training@pickleballregina.ca.
New QCPH Skill Building Programs
The Queen City Pickleball Hub has introduced programming to accelerate skill building for any members interested in improvement. At these sessions, for All Levels Skills (Monday 3-5pm) and High Intermediate/Advanced (Friday 3-5pm) players are invited to participate in skill development in a peer based, fun environment. These are not lessons, instead, organized drilling sessions with frequent teachable moments with feedback by a team leader. To learn more see QCPH Facebook page.
Coaching Certification Courses
The National Coaches Certification Program returns to Saskatchewan in Saskatoon in September.
Click HERE to view the poster for NCCP course information and the registration link
or Click HERE to register now (select Saskatchewan in the province dropdown).
Adapted Sport Opportunity
In conjunction with the Saskatchewan Wheelchair Sports Association, Pickleball Regina and the Queen City Pickleball Hub supported a group of athletes in July so they could experience pickleball. Eleven eager participants were treated to an on-court opportunity to try out the sport. Feedback was very positive so we expect to see more interest to add these athletes to our pickleball community
Save the Date - 2024 Annual General Meeting
The Pickleball Regina Inc. 2024 Annual General Meeting will be held on Sunday October 20, 2024 at 2:00pm at the Regina Public Library, Sherwood Village Branch, 6121 Rochdale Blvd.
Official notice of the meeting, call for nominations, member motions and any bylaw changes will be sent to all current PRI members by September 6, 2024. Contact admin@pickleballregina.ca for more information.
Future Tournaments:
See a variety of tournaments on www.pickleballbrackets.com
Meet your 2023 – 2024 Board of Directors
President – Randy Dove
Vice-President – Sheldon Gray
Treasurer – Tony Coppola
Secretary – Wanda Saul
Directors – Steven Sagal, Colin McAllister, Ray Greenwood, Keith Kawecki, Les Covey, Stanley Head.
Questions or comments: Contact admin@pickleballregina.ca
“We gratefully acknowledge the support of our sponsors and funders!
We could not succeed without their continued investment and ongoing support.”
Keep Pickleball Fun!