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from your Pickleball Board.......
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Sun City Festival Pickleball Club, Board of Directors Meeting Minutes.
February 5, 2025
The following were in attendance.
Chris Prellwitz, President. Tannie Chow, Vice President. Diane Vierkant, Treasurer (via Facetime). Darlene Douglas, Secretary. Rob Dryden, Director of Player Development. Scott Moyer, Director at Large, Court Utilization. Absent: Kirk Olesen, Director at Large, Events.
President Chris Prellwitz called the meeting to order at 10 am.
Minutes.
Chris Prellwitz noted that the previous meeting minutes had been approved via email.
Secretary's Report.
Darlene Douglas reported that the request for tables/chairs/sound has been sent for the Hen House, Highlander, and In House tournaments. Working to verify that sound system is confirmed and in contact with AAM on this. The new vendor for the nametags is working out great so far. Good job on the nametags with a quick turnaround. Also, he is a SCF resident, so local and part of our community.
Treasurer's Report.
Diane Vierkant provided the details of the January checks written.
DoGood Designs
$ 312.00
Name tags
Brock Taylor
$ 354.00
CourtReserve 1/9-2/9/2025
DoGood Designs
$ 183.62
Name tags
Leila Mirza
$ 236.09
Dropbox 1/5/2025-1/5/2026
Stephen Sirico
$ 286.30
Bench replacement boards-Wagner
Darlene made motion to approve, all unanimously approved. Cash flow for month was dues and nametags, $10,710, outflow total $1,491.04. Ending bank balance 1/31/25 $44,774.95, current bank account as of 2/5/25 $45,030.95.
Audit was performed by Steve Sirico. He requested some additional receipts as well as an inventory of items over $500 (lobsters, laptop). The inventory was created, and he has approved it. Diane still needs to get him the January statements.
There was a question that arose over the raffle tickets. The volunteer signed off on the amount given, tracking for the deposit in the future will be based on ticket sale number x cost for better tracking.
Court Utilization.
Scott Moyer was joined by Bill Fisher, member of the Court Utilization subcommittee. The subcommittee met two weeks ago. There were 10 people in attendance, many of whom are active rotation coordinators. Bill indicated that many of the subcommittee members have never experienced open play and they discussed that there is a good majority of the club members who don’t know what “paddle” up means or how open play is supposed to work. What is happening now is a rotation has 32 players but if there was a paddle up system it could be 64 with players rotating in and out which would lead to greater camaraderie and enhanced competition. It could also alleviate the wait list strain and frustration with not being able to get a reservation for a court or sign up for a rotation. It would not be about taking rotations away, because we know many people prefer that because it feels more inclusive and/or less intimidating than trying to paddle up. However, it would be about how to divvy up the courts for both Open Play (perhaps by skill level) and rotations so everyone who wants to play, has the opportunity to do so. Primetime would have more Open Play without as many reservations potentially, and education would need to be done to promote this method as many people aren’t familiar, nor do they realize that prior to Covid all play was Open at Wagner and rotations were developed for the Covid situation. Chris recommended an informational meeting with membership at the Ramada to discuss and educate all, after the recommendations by the sub-committee have been made to the board. The focus to be on how to utilize the courts for the majority of the membership. A big takeaway from the survey were to keep the 90-minute rotations vs. going to 2 hours. There was a small subset of players who indicated that if they didn’t get to play 3 hours it’s not worth it to them. We concluded the discussion on court utilization and Bill exited, however did pop back in to note that the lines that were re-done at Sage pass the finger test so far.
There was discussion about people taking lessons and/or using the lobster during Open Play and whether that should take advantage over Open Play. We all agreed that Play should take advantage over instruction and the lessons should be on reserved courts. We will review the Guidelines for an update and future vote to execute. Also, it’s a gray area as to if payment for lessons violates HOA rules as we have no designated pro.
Scott will roll out the Event Coordinator Expectations and Guidelines at the upcoming coordinator meeting.
Events.
Presented by Kirk Olesen. A question came up as to if there would be an apparel sale for the inhouse tournaments, we are awaiting a response from the vendor as to ordering online or having things onsite as they have a long lead time at this time.
We need coordinators to promote the Hen House, Highlander, and IHT coming up in March. The Highlander is currently lacking entries. The tournaments are $15 per sign up/session (morning-afternoon). Diane and Scott have both gotten training on the R2 Sports system for running the tournament. The information will be transferred from Court Reserve and R2 Sports will manage the tournament details. Rob asked about sponsorship for the tournaments. It was suggested that vendors wishing to participate have a minimal charge per day or donate a paddle/product for silent auction. If a paddle company/vendor, perhaps donate 4 paddles for demo/checkout at Sage.
VP Report.
Presented by Tannie Chow. The shed at Wagner has not been locked on a regular basis. Some items have been removed as well. Also, an email from a member came out that there were 3 unlocked cars that someone had gone through and reportedly stolen some personal items. An email will go out to membership.
She has called the Douglas Company who makes the windscreens. They have indicated it would not violate the warranty to put the court numbers in the upper corner of the windscreen and this will now be done soon, and court numbers will be back in place on the Wagner Court screens soon. The green toppers that were put on fencing at Wagner will be switched out to the more appropriate blue, so all is consistent there, with the green only being used at Sage moving forward.
President's Report.
Presented by Chris Prellwitz. The Capital Project Subcommittee met. The key items of discussion for projects were: Sound mitigation at Wagner, Pavers by Sage, a stripped-down version of the shade at Sage that the Club would pay for in full vs. supplementing the HOA. They are meeting with the Paver and they will be moving forward on information gathering. There is also a discussion on furnishing some sort of gate system at Sage that can be unlocked/locked for court hours by an SCF employee.
Regarding the open Admin position, we have had 4 inquiries on the position and will be moving forward as to interviewing and bringing someone on for the position.
Discussion about abusers of self-rating. The Club guidelines state that a member can change their rating once in a 3-month period. We have had several members bounce back and forth between ratings, some as many as 14 times in a month, with the reasoning that they want to try and get into rotations. This then compromises the play in the rotation as there are people playing, or playing with, incorrectly rated players. A letter is being sent to the members who have made the most rating changes in a month, Chris read the letter to the group. Darlene made a motion to approve it, Diane seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously. We will further discuss this in a future meeting and will determine repercussions for further violations, which could include suspension of membership.
There has been a request from several ladies for a full-length mirror and this will be put in the restroom at Wagner. The cost is $30 for the frame and mounting of the mirror and was unanimously approved to move forward.
Player Development Report.
Provided by Rob Dryden. The last skills and drills will be 2/18. 4.0 starts in 3 weeks. The 2.0-3.5 Skills and Drills were a 7-week clinic, 4.0 will be 3 weeks. There is still a problem with people signing up and not showing up, as well as people signing up for a level they are not correctly rated for. Moving forward, we may discuss charging for skill and drills to give a greater incentive for people showing up for their correct rating and allotted times.
Chris had talked with the President of The Grand and the VP of Pebble Creek to see about getting ideas for rating.
A question had been posed about having a representative from Ray’s come for a member forum about paddles. It was suggested to have people contact the in-community paddle reps instead, who are more familiar with paddles and can also provide demos. We will consider a paddle exchange Open Play event.
Darlene made a motion to conclude the meeting at 11:45am and all unanimously agreed.
February 5, 2025
The following were in attendance.
Chris Prellwitz, President. Tannie Chow, Vice President. Diane Vierkant, Treasurer (via Facetime). Darlene Douglas, Secretary. Rob Dryden, Director of Player Development. Scott Moyer, Director at Large, Court Utilization. Absent: Kirk Olesen, Director at Large, Events.
President Chris Prellwitz called the meeting to order at 10 am.
Minutes.
Chris Prellwitz noted that the previous meeting minutes had been approved via email.
Secretary's Report.
Darlene Douglas reported that the request for tables/chairs/sound has been sent for the Hen House, Highlander, and In House tournaments. Working to verify that sound system is confirmed and in contact with AAM on this. The new vendor for the nametags is working out great so far. Good job on the nametags with a quick turnaround. Also, he is a SCF resident, so local and part of our community.
Treasurer's Report.
Diane Vierkant provided the details of the January checks written.
DoGood Designs
$ 312.00
Name tags
Brock Taylor
$ 354.00
CourtReserve 1/9-2/9/2025
DoGood Designs
$ 183.62
Name tags
Leila Mirza
$ 236.09
Dropbox 1/5/2025-1/5/2026
Stephen Sirico
$ 286.30
Bench replacement boards-Wagner
Darlene made motion to approve, all unanimously approved. Cash flow for month was dues and nametags, $10,710, outflow total $1,491.04. Ending bank balance 1/31/25 $44,774.95, current bank account as of 2/5/25 $45,030.95.
Audit was performed by Steve Sirico. He requested some additional receipts as well as an inventory of items over $500 (lobsters, laptop). The inventory was created, and he has approved it. Diane still needs to get him the January statements.
There was a question that arose over the raffle tickets. The volunteer signed off on the amount given, tracking for the deposit in the future will be based on ticket sale number x cost for better tracking.
Court Utilization.
Scott Moyer was joined by Bill Fisher, member of the Court Utilization subcommittee. The subcommittee met two weeks ago. There were 10 people in attendance, many of whom are active rotation coordinators. Bill indicated that many of the subcommittee members have never experienced open play and they discussed that there is a good majority of the club members who don’t know what “paddle” up means or how open play is supposed to work. What is happening now is a rotation has 32 players but if there was a paddle up system it could be 64 with players rotating in and out which would lead to greater camaraderie and enhanced competition. It could also alleviate the wait list strain and frustration with not being able to get a reservation for a court or sign up for a rotation. It would not be about taking rotations away, because we know many people prefer that because it feels more inclusive and/or less intimidating than trying to paddle up. However, it would be about how to divvy up the courts for both Open Play (perhaps by skill level) and rotations so everyone who wants to play, has the opportunity to do so. Primetime would have more Open Play without as many reservations potentially, and education would need to be done to promote this method as many people aren’t familiar, nor do they realize that prior to Covid all play was Open at Wagner and rotations were developed for the Covid situation. Chris recommended an informational meeting with membership at the Ramada to discuss and educate all, after the recommendations by the sub-committee have been made to the board. The focus to be on how to utilize the courts for the majority of the membership. A big takeaway from the survey were to keep the 90-minute rotations vs. going to 2 hours. There was a small subset of players who indicated that if they didn’t get to play 3 hours it’s not worth it to them. We concluded the discussion on court utilization and Bill exited, however did pop back in to note that the lines that were re-done at Sage pass the finger test so far.
There was discussion about people taking lessons and/or using the lobster during Open Play and whether that should take advantage over Open Play. We all agreed that Play should take advantage over instruction and the lessons should be on reserved courts. We will review the Guidelines for an update and future vote to execute. Also, it’s a gray area as to if payment for lessons violates HOA rules as we have no designated pro.
Scott will roll out the Event Coordinator Expectations and Guidelines at the upcoming coordinator meeting.
Events.
Presented by Kirk Olesen. A question came up as to if there would be an apparel sale for the inhouse tournaments, we are awaiting a response from the vendor as to ordering online or having things onsite as they have a long lead time at this time.
We need coordinators to promote the Hen House, Highlander, and IHT coming up in March. The Highlander is currently lacking entries. The tournaments are $15 per sign up/session (morning-afternoon). Diane and Scott have both gotten training on the R2 Sports system for running the tournament. The information will be transferred from Court Reserve and R2 Sports will manage the tournament details. Rob asked about sponsorship for the tournaments. It was suggested that vendors wishing to participate have a minimal charge per day or donate a paddle/product for silent auction. If a paddle company/vendor, perhaps donate 4 paddles for demo/checkout at Sage.
VP Report.
Presented by Tannie Chow. The shed at Wagner has not been locked on a regular basis. Some items have been removed as well. Also, an email from a member came out that there were 3 unlocked cars that someone had gone through and reportedly stolen some personal items. An email will go out to membership.
She has called the Douglas Company who makes the windscreens. They have indicated it would not violate the warranty to put the court numbers in the upper corner of the windscreen and this will now be done soon, and court numbers will be back in place on the Wagner Court screens soon. The green toppers that were put on fencing at Wagner will be switched out to the more appropriate blue, so all is consistent there, with the green only being used at Sage moving forward.
President's Report.
Presented by Chris Prellwitz. The Capital Project Subcommittee met. The key items of discussion for projects were: Sound mitigation at Wagner, Pavers by Sage, a stripped-down version of the shade at Sage that the Club would pay for in full vs. supplementing the HOA. They are meeting with the Paver and they will be moving forward on information gathering. There is also a discussion on furnishing some sort of gate system at Sage that can be unlocked/locked for court hours by an SCF employee.
Regarding the open Admin position, we have had 4 inquiries on the position and will be moving forward as to interviewing and bringing someone on for the position.
Discussion about abusers of self-rating. The Club guidelines state that a member can change their rating once in a 3-month period. We have had several members bounce back and forth between ratings, some as many as 14 times in a month, with the reasoning that they want to try and get into rotations. This then compromises the play in the rotation as there are people playing, or playing with, incorrectly rated players. A letter is being sent to the members who have made the most rating changes in a month, Chris read the letter to the group. Darlene made a motion to approve it, Diane seconded the motion, and it was passed unanimously. We will further discuss this in a future meeting and will determine repercussions for further violations, which could include suspension of membership.
There has been a request from several ladies for a full-length mirror and this will be put in the restroom at Wagner. The cost is $30 for the frame and mounting of the mirror and was unanimously approved to move forward.
Player Development Report.
Provided by Rob Dryden. The last skills and drills will be 2/18. 4.0 starts in 3 weeks. The 2.0-3.5 Skills and Drills were a 7-week clinic, 4.0 will be 3 weeks. There is still a problem with people signing up and not showing up, as well as people signing up for a level they are not correctly rated for. Moving forward, we may discuss charging for skill and drills to give a greater incentive for people showing up for their correct rating and allotted times.
Chris had talked with the President of The Grand and the VP of Pebble Creek to see about getting ideas for rating.
A question had been posed about having a representative from Ray’s come for a member forum about paddles. It was suggested to have people contact the in-community paddle reps instead, who are more familiar with paddles and can also provide demos. We will consider a paddle exchange Open Play event.
Darlene made a motion to conclude the meeting at 11:45am and all unanimously agreed.
