Greetings from your 2023 Loveland Pickleball Club board!
We’ve had our first board meeting and want to begin by thanking all of you who responded to our survey. We also want you to know that WE HEAR YOU! Below are the results and our thoughts for each category. Please keep in mind we are in our beginning stages and may not have all the answers.
The goal of LPC Board is to spend all annual dues on Court Reservations from May through September, and we hope these events result in community building and friendship development. All other club activities rely on volunteer assistance and/or added fees. Please let us know if you can volunteer your time and talent to support skill development, tournaments, or other activities!
A majority (63%) of respondents enjoy playing during work hours and a fairly large number (37%) can only play outside of work hours. The LPC Board recognizes this. We currently reserve most court times from 8-10 AM. We also reserve court time on Monday evenings for our Ladder League and Thursday evenings for PickleSkills. For 2023, we have added court reservations on Sunday mornings at Osborn. We will continue to study this issue and add indoor play during off-work hours.
69% of respondents are seeking indoor options. Based on your response, the LPC Board has started working on indoor options and will announce some affordable indoor events soon! Because we spend all current funds on outdoor courts, indoor options can only be offered at an added cost to our members. We will start with Pay Per Session and we plan to offer upgraded membership once we gauge participation and identify adequate indoor courts.
More than half of respondents are of average skill, while smaller groups identified themselves as beginner, or advanced. Based on your feedback, the LPC Board will be working on ways to cater more specifically to these three groups. Lower skilled players are seeking mentorship and skill development. Players of all skills are seeking events matching their skill level. To help with this, please update your skill level in your profile on the LPC website.
Slightly more than half of our respondents are 65 or over, while the smaller half is under 65. We had numerous comments asking for tournament play to be separated by age. The LPC Board will be working toward this goal, creating a division for players 65 and over, and a different division for those 64 or less. Our ability to separate by age brackets depends heavily on the number of players in each age bracket registered for the event.
Approximately half of respondents offered additional comments which are summarized here:
- 22% of comments were seeking affordable indoor play. We hear you, and we are working on that.
- 16% of comments were complimentary toward LPC. It is our pleasure to volunteer for you!
- 14% of comments concerned accurate player ratings, and rated court reservations. We will be working on both. Please review “Skill Expectations” on the “Rules” page of our website as you update your skill rating. Also be sure to use PlayTime Scheduler to view skill levels of players you are joining. PlayTime Scheduler and the LPC Contact List are excellent tools to build groups of similar skill! The LPC Board will be focusing separately on groups 3.25 and under, vs. advanced groups 3.5 and over. It is our goal to provide focused court reservations and skill level development. We need volunteers!
- 11% of comments stated a desire for more training and/or PickleSkills. Remember, these activities require volunteer trainers, and/or additional fees. We will reserve these activities for players 3.0 or below. Advanced players, please let us know if you are interested in training others! We need you.
- 11% of comments requested age separation (65+ vs. under 65) in league competition. We hear you, and we will work on that.
- 5% of comments requested more court time or more court availability. Remember, the Club currently spends all dues on court reservations. You can arrange more court time through PlayTime Scheduler, and you can search for other members of similar rating on the LPC member contact list. Ask an LPC Board member for help to create your own email group.
- 3.5% of comments requested evening and weekend play. We currently reserve a small amount of evening and weekend hours, but we will be adding indoor weekend play. Please check PlayTime Scheduler for evening and weekend options that fit your schedule and skill level.
- 3.5% of comments stated the importance of PlayTime Scheduler. Yes, this is an excellent tool to create your own meet ups and find players of similar rating. Always be sure to add your name to scheduled sessions before showing up! This prevents over-crowding.
- 2.5% of comments concerned Parks & Rec court conditions or availability. The LPC Board has communicated these issues with Parks & Rec on numerous occasions. We are working for you!
- 1.2% requested t-shirts or other LPC logo merchandise. We will be announcing a plan this spring.
To accomplish these goals for all of you we are going to need help from volunteers. If you feel you have the time, please reach out to any of the board members. You can also enhance your experience with LPC by using our member list along with PlayTime Scheduler.
Thank you again for your participation!
Tracie, Tony, Patty, Mark, and Laurie – Your LPC Board
Along with Bob, Sandy, and Mark, our Board Advisors.
