Holiday Schedule Change
Our Pickleball play times at the Community Center have been tweaked by the CC staff for the holiday season in an attempt to balance time between pickleball and youth open gym. Note: we now have one Saturday session on 12/31. Our CC holiday hours and dates are listed below.
Friday, December 23: Open play from 8:30am – 12:30pm
Sunday, December 25: Community Center is closed
Monday, December 26: Open play from 8:30am – 12:30pm
Wednesday, December 28: Open play from 8:30am – 12:30pm
Friday, December 30: Open play from 8:30am – 12:30pm
Saturday, December 31: Open play from 9:00am – 12:30pm
Sunday, January 1: Open play from 4:15am – 6:15pm
Monday, January 2: Open play from 8:30am – 12:30pm
Pickleball Parade Promotion
If you watched the Chapel Hill Christmas Parade last weekend, you may have noticed fellow players marching (and dinking) over a hand carried net in the parade. Kudos to BJ Attwood, our Promotions Director, for planning and executing this FUN demonstration of Pickleball to the thousands who attending the parade. BJ envisioned the promotion, created the banner, designed our promotional handouts and gave us our marching orders. Hard to tell who had the most fun: the crowd lining the street or our group with Vance Remick and Terry Cowhey setting the most enthusiastic tone. Some 300 promotional pieces were passed out to interested spectators and we have already had a bump in the number of visits to our website.
If this Christmas parade promotion proves successful, we’ll do it again next year on a grander scale and with more players involved. (BJ already has the parade permit for next year!) You’ll find a photo attached showing our banner and this year’s Pickleball parade participants. A big THANKS to all those who volunteered: BJ Attwood, Chris Hartstein, Terry Cowhey, Vance Remick, Jim Wilson, JB Marr, Chris Luedke, Janice Clayton, Janet Hoy, Maggie Shealy, Joanne Erntenman and Tim Bryden, our transportation coordinator. Thanks, especially, to Valerie Rhys for all her photos of our Pickleball Parade Promotions Team.
2016: A Retrospective
A year ago there were no outdoor Pickleball courts in Chapel Hill. We all played in the frequently crowded Community Center and in Hargraves with limited days and restricted hours. But one year ago this month the vision of what could be was sketched out on a napkin by Brad Hemminger, Jim and JB. From that humble beginning began a furious two weeks of preparing a plan and presentation — for six dedicated, outdoor courts at Ephesus Park — for the Director of Parks and Recreation, Jim Orr.
Brad, Jim and JB were very excited approaching that initial meeting despite the fact that Jim Orr was known not to be a strong advocate of the game. In fact, his first comments to us were of his negative Pickleball experiences in another community where he had served as Recreation Manager.
But just one hour later our enthusiasm, vision, and statistics had convinced Mr Orr that Pickleball was a real sport with tremendous growth potential. We left that meeting with Mr Orr’s solid support. And shared a gleeful “high five” in the parking lot.
Just two weeks later came a formal presentation before the Parks and Recreation Board which controls the funding for many different programs and activities. A group of our players were there in a show of solidarity. We again outlined our vision and Jim Orr himself stood up to articulate the merits of spending nearly $20,000 for an outdoor pickleball facility.
Debate and questions followed. A vote was taken. And it was unanimous: Chapel Hill would fund our vision and convert two underutilized tennis courts into what would become the Ephesus Park Pickleball Complex. On April 23rd that vision was realized with a formal ceremony and ribbon cutting attended by the Mayor, many dignitaries, our District Ambassador and about 130 enthusiastic pickleball players and friends. What a gift! Pickleball can now be played outdoors seven days a week for up to 18 hours a day.
Since that Grand Opening, we have introduced about 150 people to the game via our Beginner’s Orientation program. Brad’s two intermediate/advanced training programs were very well received. Mark Siewers and Brad introduced and administered a very popular 2 month long weekly ladder tournament. Many of our players competed in tournaments returning with multiple trophies. Some even qualified for the Nationals for their wins in the State Senior Games in Concord. NC. And the overall quality-of-play of our entire group has greatly increased.
Next year we plan an even stronger training initiative. There will be more ladder and possibly some league play, more socials, grander promotions and perhaps a local tournament or two. We are learning as we grow. And your suggestions form the bedrock in choosing our direction.
Perhaps our strongest, most ambitious undertaking will be a health industry sponsored study investigatng the positive health benefits of playing Pickleball. Right now only a vision, but with potentially tremendous implications for the growth of the game.
It has been an an honor and a profoundly humbling experience to be a part ot such a fast-growing and successful Pickleball group. We commend all of you who have contributed to the game and our group. A great thrill this year was hearing from dozens of players visiting from other areas who commented on how friendly and welcoming we are – more so than other venues they have visited.
Our hope is that Chapel Hill will become known as the “Most Welcoming Place in the Country to Play Pickleball”. And we encourage each of you to help our town earn this standing. Indeed, we can imagine no greater accolade for the game and our players. Our Vision Statement says it all: “How we treat each other is even more important than the game itself”.
We have even more ambitious, long term goals for the future growth of CH Pickleball. With the City’s purchase of the Legion Road property we have already articulated a vision for a stlll larger pickleball complex. It will take time. But the vision is stong and the energy and experience is there.
Thank you for your support, friendship and suggestions. For 2017 we wish you: challenges worthy of your abilities, life as bold as your dreams, friendship equal to your measure and love as warm as your heart.
Have a Great Holiday!
See you on the courts.
JB Marr
Jim Wilson
USAPA Ambassador
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