November 2022

Happy Halloween and welcome to the perfect weather at the courts!
 
Lots to cover here, please read through the whole newsletter.
 
We are happy to report the East court construction is complete and players are loving court 2!  Thank you all for your patience as the work took longer than originally anticipated.  One important thing to note is that upon inspection of the completed job, the concrete repair looks spectacular, but the painted surface is streaky and uneven.  The contractor pointed out the paint issue and has agreed to repaint the whole court at no charge.  This will be done next summer.  We are also in process of getting quotes to resurface West courts 1 -4 also for next summer.  Although “real steps” were not put in, the hill at the entrance to the east courts was reduced by making several tiers to access the courts while they were closed for repairs.  Big thanks to Walt and Diane for all their work, oversight and time overseeing the project.
 
Saturday, November 12 is our Annual Food and Toy Drive.  This year we are also benefiting Bob’s Free Bikes.  Old or unused bikes and bike parts will be given to Bob’s Free Bikes who refurbishes them and provides them to children who would otherwise not be able to obtain one.  Read about them here:  www.bobsfreebikes.org.  Also, this year, we have provided information to make monetary donations to these 501(c)3 organizations.  See flyer with details at this link   2022 FHPC Food-Toy Drive

The FHPC is not just about playing pickleball.  It is about providing value and the best experience to members; we are always looking for ways to make that happen.   We have reached 600 members and that is starting to stress that experience.  The board has voted to cap/close membership at this time.  We already have a waitlist of 50+ people and have numerous requests daily.  We have also discontinued  FHPC orientations , as we can’t offer participants membership or courts on which to play.

When the club Guest policy was implemented, we committed to review it on an ongoing basis.  The two main points in the policy are that a member must be present when hosting a guest and that the guest form is completed each time a guest is hosted.  In the summer, there were fewer players and that wasn’t a significant impact during Scheduled Skill Level time.  But with more members returning for the season, the board has voted to limit guests to Member Open Play time slots ONLY.   Guest Policy

We received positive feedback on the change to weekday Intermediate distinctions.  Therefore, the November schedule is essentially the same as October with minor tweaks made to align times.   Once again, please note a member can only play in one skill level.  November 2022 Court Schedule

January will be busy with events.  Round Robins and Tournaments are on the agenda, with details being finalized.  We are also going to have a special event at the end of January, details and registration will be announced in December. 

The club hosted the Town’s Return to Recess last week.  The kids had a blast, the coaches were great (and exhausted).  Many thanks to Diane and her crew for volunteering their time. Picture of the whole gang here  Return to Recess

East court parking requires a parking pass.  These are available in both equipment boxes.  The school has increased its security, if you don’t have a pass, you will be cited. The FHPC WILL NOT pay any citations.

The Club is looking for members to volunteer to help beginners and anyone else that needs help with a trouble area, get input and some practice (skills and drills perhaps) so they don’t feel that they must move to the next level to “get better”. We are calling it a Step-Up Program. If you are interested, please Contact Us.
 
Jim Valleskey’s Clinics starting in January, will  first be offered to people on the wait list from this fall. He is already booked, so please Contact Us if you wish to be added to the waitlist.

All member-only related information requires a sign in on the website.  If you do not remember your password, there is a selection to request a password.  Once you receive the temporary password you can go to Manage Profile and change the password to one of your choosing.  

​We have heard from several members that they are not receiving our communications.  Please make both fhpickleball@gmail.com and admin@fountainhillspickleball@gmail.com trusted senders.   While this may be a drastic measure, consider creating an email @gmail.com as we don’t seem to have issues with that provider.  If you choose to do that, you can update your info on the website Member Manage Profile.

See you at the Courts!

The Executive Board