Happy New Year! 2014 is in the books, and what a year it was! BPC experienced huge growth, adding about 275 new members. We played thousands of games at courts all over Central Oregon; hosted two very successful tournaments; provided clinics and mentoring opportunities; enhanced communications and added on-line membership services; and made many new friends. We have to thank all of our members and especially our volunteers who worked so hard to make the past year fun and successful for all of us!
2015 promises to be even busier and more exciting as we will have 8 new courts at Pine Nursery Park and will host our first USAPA Northwest Regional Tournament in August. We are expecting to double the size of both the Oregon Senior Games and Big Country RV tournaments this year!
Here is the latest club news:
New Stuff: There are a few important acquisitions to the club that every member should be aware of: First, we now have an Automated External Defibrilator (AED) which we will keep on hand at the Boys & Girls Club in the winter and at Pine Nursery Park in the summer. The AED is a proven life saving device in many cardiac events and while we hope we never have to use it, it is comforting to know we have quick access to it should the need arise.
At BGC, the unit is stored in a cabinet in the downstairs office. Session leads have information on how to access it, and there are instructions attached to the sign in clipboard as well. We encourage all members to familiarize themselves with the location of the AED and how to use it, and to learn basic CPR skills. There is a brief video and printable instructions HERE for anyone who wishes to familiarize themselves on basic use of the AED. We will be providing additional first aid and CPR training to key volunteers in the spring.
The second acquisition is a great training and practice tool. We recently took delivery of “Simon”, a very versatile pickleball throwing machine that will soon be available to our members for pickleball practice. If you haven’t seen Simon in action, go HERE and look at the videos of Simon in action. There are logistical issues that must be worked out in order to make Simon available to our members and we will keep you posted when procedures are in place. We hope to have those ready to go in early spring.
SignUp Genius: Please read through the SUG instructions page periodically. Information on SUG pages is frequently updated and you can usually find answers to questions just by reading the instructions page. This may save you some frustration when things aren’t going the way you expected them to go, such as when you are prompted to provide an “access code” to sign in. (Don’t feel like you’re the only person who sent an email when you couldn’t sign in. There were a bunch of them.)
BGC (Boys & Girls Club) Weather closures: If Bend-LaPine Schools are closed due to weather, the BGC is closed for pickleball. Check the morning news for school closures, especially if the roads are icy or there has been significant snowfall.
BGC No-shows: We are experiencing some “no-shows” at BGC. We realize that sometimes unforeseen situations arise and pickleball suddenly becomes low priority. Everyone should be aware that session availability is limited and most session fill quickly. Keeping a spot tied up and then cancelling at the last minute causes sessions to run short. This locks out players who would have been there had they been able to sign up, and places a strain on everyone who did show up because of the impact on the rotation. We ask all of our players to be courteous to others and cancel as soon as you know you can’t make it.
Winter Outdoor play: There have been some pretty nice days recently and groups have been playing at Ponderosa and Pine Nursery Parks! Brian has been keeping the PNP courts cleared and ready for play. Check or use the SignUp Genius winter play – click HERE – or post/check for posts in The Kitchen. You can subscribe to the Outdoor Play thread in The Kitchen and get immediate email notifications anytime someone adds a comment to the thread.
Tournaments: Registration is now open for the Oregon Senior Games Pickleball Tournament and The Big Country RV Bend Pickleball Tournament. The Big Country RV Bend Pickleball Tournament will be a USAPA Northwest Regional Tournament!! This is really BIG news and we are very excited to be hosting a USAPA Regional event.
Both of these events are expected to fill up early so If you’re thinking about playing, DON’T WAIT TO REGISTER! Click HERE for links to register.
Sunriver is hosting a tournament to be held on Sunday, January 25. For additional information, click HERE.
RSS Feed: We have added a RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Feed link to the web page, so if you’re using a feed reader to monitor other sites or news sources you can add the Bend Pickleball Club by clicking on the icon in the lower right corner of the page.
New Members: We have 8 new members since our last message. Please welcome Cindy Adkins, Andrew Clark, Ben Dolp, Kevin English, Linda English, Steve Mallatt, Terry Schwab and Robert Boller to the club! We’re glad you’re here!
That’s it for now! See you on the courts!!
