Club Rules and Civility on the Courts.
Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2018 10:34 am
This email was sent to all members on November 10, 2018. I have duplicated it here in the event members want to provide public comment.
This email is being sent to all members of the Huntsville Pickleball Club. This is a long email. It will be appreciated if you read the entire email, as I feel this is important information.
Huntsville Pickleball Club Rules
It has been brought to my attention that a few Huntsville Pickleball Club members are not aware of the rules for play, are ignoring the rules for play or are making up their own rules while playing at various locations. I have observed this myself and I have also had several members bring this to my attention. Some members have asked me to address this issue at the next Executive Committee meeting. An Executive Committee meeting was held on November 8, 2018. This issue was addressed at the meeting. Here are a few of the issues that are reported more often than others.
When using the Winners Stay (two-up/two-down) method of player rotation, the winners of the game will stay on the court (unless they have been on the court for 2 consecutive games) and must separate. There are no exceptions to this rule. If a pair are preparing for a tournament, they may bundle their paddles in the waiting to play line and play together when their turn comes up. If the pair wins their game, they must still separate. I personally have seen instances of winners refusing to separate. At times I believe that is because a less experienced player is coming onto the court and the previous winner did not want to play with a less experienced player. Click Here to view player rotation rules.
We do not have a special "Competition Night" at any of our locations. One evening I was playing and noticed that some players were staying up together for 4 or 5 matches without leaving the court. When I inquired about this, I was told that Friday nights were "Competition Night" and the regular rules did not apply. Not sure where this got started, but it is not true. It is certainly not fair to people waiting to play.
I have had many members state that some players refuse to play with them. The refusing player will move their paddle back one or two slots to avoid playing with a perceived weaker player. The rules state that a paddle should be moved to the back of the pile if a person decides not to play when their turn comes up. Hopefully we can all remember when we were beginning players and not quite as skilled as some of our more experienced players. When your turn comes up, just play with whomever is next in line or move your paddle to the back of the line. You may have to play what may be considered a less than exciting game, but the less experienced player will benefit from playing with a more experienced player.
None of the Executive Committee members enjoy being enforcement officers, but it is our duty to represent all members of the club, especially members who do not want to "rock the boat" or are not confident enough to speak up. When I need to get involved in these discussions on the court, the rest of my play that day is adversely affected because it is such an unpleasant task.
In summary - Without a formal meeting and approval, no person can modify our established rules of play. Site Representatives can't modify the rules, Executive Committee Members can't modify the rules and Recreation Center Employees can't modify the rules.
Click Here to view our Policies and Rules (PDF).
Click Here to view our By-Laws (PDF).
Site Representatives
I have been asked who makes decisions that a site representative would normally make when a site representative is not present at a location.
If a site representative is present, then the site representative will make decisions about type of play and other matters as defined in our Policies and Rules document. The only site representatives are those listed on our web page at https://www.pickleball-huntsville.com/m ... _Committee If not listed on that page, then they are not a site representative.
If a site representative is not present, then a member of the Executive Committee will be responsible.
If a member of the Executive Committee is not present, then individual members should follow procedures as best as they can. The Executive Committee is working on a plan to ensure a site representative is present at all locations.
Recreation Center Employees are not authorized to make decisions that would normally be made by a site representative. Recreation Center Employees are responsible for the facility, including security and safety.
Civility and showing respect for others on the court
I have received almost as many comments about civility on the court as I have about rules of play. As best as I can determine, more than 99 percent of our members are courteous and encouraging when playing with less experienced players. It's that one percent who are causing some of our newer players grief to the extend they avoid coming back to play. I'll give an example of what I have recently observed. A reasonably good player was partnered with a relatively weak player. The weaker player would sometimes miss an easy shot. Instead of encouraging the weaker player, the stronger player would comment, complain and demean the player about the missed shots. On occasion, the complaining player will be so upset that they will slam the ball after the play has ended. There is nothing we can do about this behavior other than encourage people to be civil and polite.
Thanks for your cooperation. I am proud to be a member of the Huntsville Pickleball Club. We want everyone to feel welcome at all of our facilities. I encourage your feedback on this subject. If you want to provide feedback just to me, reply to this email. If you want to provide feedback for all to see, this email has been duplicated on our discussion forum. Reply to this post to provide feedback for all to see. You may also contact any individual Executive Committee member via our website.
Steve Schuckman
Vice Chairperson
This email is being sent to all members of the Huntsville Pickleball Club. This is a long email. It will be appreciated if you read the entire email, as I feel this is important information.
Huntsville Pickleball Club Rules
It has been brought to my attention that a few Huntsville Pickleball Club members are not aware of the rules for play, are ignoring the rules for play or are making up their own rules while playing at various locations. I have observed this myself and I have also had several members bring this to my attention. Some members have asked me to address this issue at the next Executive Committee meeting. An Executive Committee meeting was held on November 8, 2018. This issue was addressed at the meeting. Here are a few of the issues that are reported more often than others.
When using the Winners Stay (two-up/two-down) method of player rotation, the winners of the game will stay on the court (unless they have been on the court for 2 consecutive games) and must separate. There are no exceptions to this rule. If a pair are preparing for a tournament, they may bundle their paddles in the waiting to play line and play together when their turn comes up. If the pair wins their game, they must still separate. I personally have seen instances of winners refusing to separate. At times I believe that is because a less experienced player is coming onto the court and the previous winner did not want to play with a less experienced player. Click Here to view player rotation rules.
We do not have a special "Competition Night" at any of our locations. One evening I was playing and noticed that some players were staying up together for 4 or 5 matches without leaving the court. When I inquired about this, I was told that Friday nights were "Competition Night" and the regular rules did not apply. Not sure where this got started, but it is not true. It is certainly not fair to people waiting to play.
I have had many members state that some players refuse to play with them. The refusing player will move their paddle back one or two slots to avoid playing with a perceived weaker player. The rules state that a paddle should be moved to the back of the pile if a person decides not to play when their turn comes up. Hopefully we can all remember when we were beginning players and not quite as skilled as some of our more experienced players. When your turn comes up, just play with whomever is next in line or move your paddle to the back of the line. You may have to play what may be considered a less than exciting game, but the less experienced player will benefit from playing with a more experienced player.
None of the Executive Committee members enjoy being enforcement officers, but it is our duty to represent all members of the club, especially members who do not want to "rock the boat" or are not confident enough to speak up. When I need to get involved in these discussions on the court, the rest of my play that day is adversely affected because it is such an unpleasant task.
In summary - Without a formal meeting and approval, no person can modify our established rules of play. Site Representatives can't modify the rules, Executive Committee Members can't modify the rules and Recreation Center Employees can't modify the rules.
Click Here to view our Policies and Rules (PDF).
Click Here to view our By-Laws (PDF).
Site Representatives
I have been asked who makes decisions that a site representative would normally make when a site representative is not present at a location.
If a site representative is present, then the site representative will make decisions about type of play and other matters as defined in our Policies and Rules document. The only site representatives are those listed on our web page at https://www.pickleball-huntsville.com/m ... _Committee If not listed on that page, then they are not a site representative.
If a site representative is not present, then a member of the Executive Committee will be responsible.
If a member of the Executive Committee is not present, then individual members should follow procedures as best as they can. The Executive Committee is working on a plan to ensure a site representative is present at all locations.
Recreation Center Employees are not authorized to make decisions that would normally be made by a site representative. Recreation Center Employees are responsible for the facility, including security and safety.
Civility and showing respect for others on the court
I have received almost as many comments about civility on the court as I have about rules of play. As best as I can determine, more than 99 percent of our members are courteous and encouraging when playing with less experienced players. It's that one percent who are causing some of our newer players grief to the extend they avoid coming back to play. I'll give an example of what I have recently observed. A reasonably good player was partnered with a relatively weak player. The weaker player would sometimes miss an easy shot. Instead of encouraging the weaker player, the stronger player would comment, complain and demean the player about the missed shots. On occasion, the complaining player will be so upset that they will slam the ball after the play has ended. There is nothing we can do about this behavior other than encourage people to be civil and polite.
Thanks for your cooperation. I am proud to be a member of the Huntsville Pickleball Club. We want everyone to feel welcome at all of our facilities. I encourage your feedback on this subject. If you want to provide feedback just to me, reply to this email. If you want to provide feedback for all to see, this email has been duplicated on our discussion forum. Reply to this post to provide feedback for all to see. You may also contact any individual Executive Committee member via our website.
Steve Schuckman
Vice Chairperson