MUCH HAS HAPPENED SINCE OUR LAST NEWSLETTER IN JANUARY. LET'S DIVE INTO THE DETAILS.

NETBALL CENTRE - OUR NEW HOME:

AFTER A LENGTHY ‘BATTLE’, AND WITH THE HELP FROM THE R.D.C, WE HAVE SUCEEDED IN GAINING THE USE OF THE NETBALL FACILITY. THIS IS REALLY GOOD NEWS FOR US AS A CLUB. 

DURING THE FIRST TWO DAYS OF MARCH, SEVEN PICKLEBALL COURTS WERE PERMANENTLY PAINTED ONTO THE BLACK ASPHALT AREA OF THE NETBALL FACILITY, AND WE PLAYED OUR FIRST SESSION THERE ON TUESDAY 3rd MARCH. 

WE HAVE CHECKED OUT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE EXISTING LIGHTING OVER THE COURTS AND FOUND IT TO BE BETTER THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT. THIS MEANS WE CAN PLAY ALL YEAR ROUND, WEATHER PERMITTING.

WE WILL STILL NEED TO PLAY IN THE ATHLETICS CENTRE DURING PERIODS OF WET WEATHER WHEN WE ARE NOT ABLE TO CHANGE OUR OUTDOOR PLAY TO A DIFFERENT DAY. THIS WILL HAVE TO BE A DAY-BY-DAY THING, WHERE WE WILL MAKE OUR BEST JUDGEMENT BASED ON THE WEATHER FORECAST.

IT IS GOING TO BE MESSY FROM TIME TO TIME. WE WILL OF COURSE KEEP YOU ALL ‘IN-THE-LOOP’ VIA EMAIL AND APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE AND COOPERATION AS WE WORK THROUGH THIS. 

WE ARE CERTAIN THAT PLAYING OUTDOORS WILL BENEFIT US AS A CLUB AND INDIVIDUALS SIGNIFICANTLY. OUTDOOR PLAY IS VERY DIFFERENT TO INDOOR PLAY ESPECIALLY IF THE WIND IS BLOWING! THIS ACTUALLY FORCES US TO MAKE BETTER JUDGEMENTS ON WHERE A BALL IS GOING TO LAND AND THEREFORE FORCES US TO MOVE TO THE BALL MORE EFFECTIVELY. IT ALSO FORCES US TO ADJUST PLAY DEPENDING ON WHETHER THE WIND IS BEHIND US OR IN FRONT OF US, AND ENCOURAGES MORE STRATEGY RATHER THAN JUST SMASH AND HOPE.

ALL IN ALL, OUTDOOR PLAY IS IN SOME WAYS HARDER THAN INDOOR PLAY WHICH CAUSES US TO ‘UP OUR GAME’ AND BECOME BETTER PLAYERS.

A.G.M:

OUR A.G.M WAS HELD ON TUESDAY THE 3rd OF MARCH AT 7.30pm IN THE NETBALL PAVILION. A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO ATTENDED. THANKS FOR MAKING THE QUORUM AND THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT IN THE DECISIONS WE NEEDED TO MAKE.

YOUR NEW COMMITTEE NOW CONSISTS OF:

  1. PRESIDENT - PETER COOK
  2. SECRETARY - TERRY COOK
  3. TREASURER - PETER COOK
  4. COMMITTEE MEMBERS - ANGELA TASMAN, CHARLOTTE MEYERS, MALCOLM WORBOYS, HARISH VENKATESAN AND DIONE COLEMAN

HERE IS A SUMMARY TO THE KEY DISCUSSION POINTS AND THE OUTCOMES:

  1. NETBALL FACILITY. AS MENTIONED ABOVE, THIS IS OUR NEW HOME. THE TAUMARUNUI NETBALL CLUB WILL STILL HAVE PRESIDENCE OVER PICKLEBALL, SO WE AS A CLUB WILL NEED TO FIT IN WITH THE NETBALL PROGRAMME
    1. NETBALL IS STILL TO PROVIDE US WITH A ‘CO-SHARE’ AGREEMENT WHICH WILL OUTLINE THE T & C's FOR US USING THE FACILITY
    2. NETBALL IS STILL TO PROVIDE US WITH THEIR PLAYING AND TRAINING SCHEDULE
    3. WE MAY NEED TO CHANGE OUR PLAYING DAYS AND TIMES FROM TIME TO TIME TO FIT IN WITH NETBALL ACTIVITY
    4. WE WILL NEED TO ARRANGE SUITABLE STORAGE WITHIN THE PAVILION FOR OUR NETS AND EQUIPMENT 
  2. COMPETITIONS WITH OTHER CLUBS: PETER EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN ORGANISING SEVERAL FRIENDLY COMPETITIONS WITH OTHER ‘LOCAL’ CLUBS THROUGHOUT THIS COMING YEAR, SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DID LAST NOVEMBER IN TAUPO. CHARLOTTE OFFERED TO BE THE ORGANISER FOR THESE COMPS.
  3. D.U.P.R RATINGS: PETER BRIEFLY EXPLAINED DUPR AS THE OFFICIAL UNIVERSAL PICKLEBALL RANKING SYSTEM, AND ENCOURAGED EVERYONE TO BECOME A PART OF THIS
    1. IT IS FREE TO JOIN. JUST NEED TO REGISTER ON THE DUPR APP (WHITE LETTERS DUPR IN A BLUE SQUARE), OR HERE: https://www.dupr.com/
    2. AFTER YOU REGISTER, YOU WILL GET A DUPR REGISTRATION NUMBER WHICH PETER CAN USE TO ADD YOU TO OUR CLUB
    3. IT WILL THEN BE A CASE OF PLAYING ROUND-ROBIN GAMES AGAINST OTHER DUPR RATED PEOPLE IN OUR CLUB AND RECORDING THE SCORES WHICH PETER WILL ADD INTO DUPR
    4. THOSE SCORES WILL, OVER TIME, PROVIDE YOU WITH A DUPR RATING
    5. THE PLAN IS TO MATCH SIMILARLY RANKED PLAYERS TOGETHER FOR EVENLY SKILLED GAMES DURING OUR SESSIONS
  4. PNZA AFFILIATION: PETER EXPLAINED THAT OUR APPLICATION FOR FUNDING WAS REJECTED DUE TO OUR CLUB NOT BEING AFFILIATED WITH PNZA (PICKLEBALL NZ ASSOCIATION). A VOTE WAS PLACED AND A MAJORITY ‘YES’ RECEIVED FOR US BECOMING AFFILIATED WITH PNZA.
    1. THIS REQUIRES EACH MEMBER OF OUR CLUB TO BE INDIVIDUALLY REGISTERED WITH PNZA AT A CURRENT COST OF $20.00/YEAR
    2. IT WAS AGREED THAT OUR CLUB WOULD PAY THE FEE AND THEN EACH CLUB MEMBER CAN REINBURSE THE CLUB IF OR WHEN THEY ARE ABLE TO
  5. PLAYING FEES: DUE TO THE MUCH LOWER COST TO THE CLUB FOR VENUE HIRE, PETER ASKED FOR A VOTE ON WHETHER THE $4.00 PLAYING FEE SHOULD BE REDUCED. A MAJORITY ‘NO’ WAS RECEIVED, SO THE PLAYING FEES WILL REMAIN THE SAME 
    1. EXCEPT PLAYERS UNDER 18 YEARS OLD WILL PAY A GOLD COIN DONATION
    2. THE SURPLUS FUNDS GOING INTO OUR ACCOUNT WILL BE USED TO COVER OTHER COSTS SUCH AS PNZA, EQUIPMENT, SHIRTS (SEE BELOW) ETC.
    3. A TEN SESSION CARD IS GOING TO BE MADE WHICH WILL ALLOW MEMBERS TO PAY FOR 10 SESSIONS UP FRONT. THIS WILL ELIMINATE THE NEED TO FIND CASH EACH SESSION
    4. THE TEN SESSION CARD WILL BE STAMPED EACH SESSION UNTIL FULL
  6. CLUB SHIRTS: ANOTHER VOTE WAS PRESENTED ASKING WHETHER WE SHOULD HAVE CLUB LOGOED SHIRTS. A MAJORITY ‘YES’ WAS RECEIVED.
    1. MOST PEOPLE AGREED TO COVER THE COST THEMSELVES
    2. THE CLUB WILL PAY FOR A FEW ‘LOAN’ SHIRTS WHICH CAN BE USED FOR COMPETITIONS OR OTHER EVENTS
    3. A REQUEST WAS MADE FOR A SUITABLE LOGO DESIGN
  7. LOAN PADDLES: PETER MENTIONED THAT THE MULTI-COLOURED LOAN PADDLES WE HAVE BEEN USING AT THE ATHLETICS CENTRE BELONG TO THE ATHLETICS CENTRE AND ARE TECHNICALLY NOT AVAILABLE FOR OUR USE OUTSIDE THE ATHLETICS CENTRE.
    1. THE OTHER LOAN PADDLES THAT HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE BELONG TO PETER AND TERRY, BUT THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH FOR OUR NEEDS
    2. PETER ASKED ALL MEMBERS TO SERIOUSLY CONSIDER GETTING THEIR OWN PADDLE SO THE LOAN PADDLES ARE JUST FOR NEW OR COME-AND-TRY PLAYERS
    3. IN ORDER TO ASSIST WITH THIS, PETER HAS OFFERED A DEAL THROUGH HIS GOLF SHOP FOR ANY OF THE WILSON BRANDED PADDLES. THIS WOULD INVLOVE:
      1. A 15% DISCOUNT FROM THE R.R.P AS SPECIFIED ON THE WILSON WEBSITE (https://nz.wilson.com/collections/pickleball). THE AMOUNT WOULD BE PAID INTO THE CLUBS ACCOUNT
      2. THE CLUB WOULD THEN PAY THE GOLF SHOP THE WHOLESALE  PRICE PLUS GST (THE AMOUNT IT COST THE SHOP)
      3. THE DIFFERENCE (THE PROFIT) WOULD BE FOR THE CLUB
      4. IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN THIS OFFER, CHECK OUT THE WILSON PADDLE RANGE AND SPEAK TO PETER
    4. PETER STRONGLY RECOMMENDS EVERYONE TO DO INDEPENDANT NON-BIASED REVIEWS ON EVERY PADDLE THEY ARE LOOKING AT BUYING, AND TO GET THE BEST PADDLE THEY CAN AFFORD. WITH PADDLES, YOU REALLY DO GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR AND CHEAP PADDLES DON'T PERFORM AS WELL OR LAST AS LONG AS HIGHER PRICED PADDLES
    5. THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENCES IN PADDLE DESIGN TOO. THE TYPE OF PADDLE YOU SHOULD GET SHOULD MATCH YOUR GAME STYLE. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU:
      1. ARE PRIMARILY A SMASHER, THEN YOU WOULD WANT A PADDLE DESIGNED FOR POWER. THIS WOULD TYPICALLY BE A THINNER PADDLE BUT DESIGNED TO WITHSTAND THE IMPACT FROM MULTIPLE POWERFUL HITS
      2. ARE PRIMARILY A STRATEGIST AND CONTROL PLAYER, THEN YOU WOULD WANT A CONTROL PADDLE. THIS WOULD TYPICALLY BE A THICKER PADDLE WITH A FACE DESIGNED FOR SPIN AND CONTROL
      3. ARE SOMEONE LIKE PETER WHO WANTS THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS, YOU WOULD WANT A ‘HYBRID’ TYPE PADDLE THAT IS MADE FROM QUALITY MATERIALS
    6. SPEAK TO PETER FOR FURTHER ADVICE

 

COACHING:

WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEOS ON OUR WEBSITE UNDER THE ‘PICKLEBALL - THE GAME’ BUTTON, IN PARTICULAR VIDEO 6 WHICH IS A COACHING VIDEO DISCUSSING SEVERAL VERY COMMON MISTAKES MANY PLAYERS MAKE. 

OUR PLAN IS TO OFFER REGULAR COACHING SESSIONS, IDEALLY ONCE A WEEK DURING A ‘SPECIAL’ SESSION. BUT THIS WILL BE DEPENDENT ON THE AVAILABLILITY OF THE COURTS DURING NETBALL SEASON. IF THERE IS SOMETHING YOU WANT US TO SPECIFICALLY DISCUSS, THEN LET US KNOW.

WEBSITE, FACEBOOK AND SPORTY:

WEBSITE. IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS AND WILL BE ADDED TO FREQUENTLY, SO PLEASE KEEP AN EYE ON IT TO SEE NEW CONTENT. 

IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ADDED TO THE WEBSITE SUCH AS A PHOTO, ARTICLE OR VIDEO YOU HAVE FOUND, PLEASE LET US KNOW.

THE LINK TO THIS WEBSITE IS BELOW.

 https://www.sporty.co.nz/taumarunuipickleballclubinc

FACEBOOK. OUR NEW FACEBOOK PAGE IS AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING ON THE HOME PAGE OF OUR WEBSITE OR VIA THE LINK BELOW. IT IS CALLED ‘TAUMARUNUI PICKLEBALL CLUB INC’, AND NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE ORIGINAL FACEBOOK PAGE CALLED ‘TAUMARUNUI PICKLEBALL’. WE HAVE KEPT THE FACEBOOK NAME THE SAME AS OUR WEBSITE NAME AND INCORPORATED SOCIETY NAME IN THE HOPE THAT IT WILL PREVENT OR REDUCE CONFUSION WITH THE OTHER TAUMARUNUI PICKLEBALL ‘STUFF’ THAT IS STILL ONLINE, BUT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH OUR CLUB.

IF FACEBOOK IS YOUR THING, WE INVITE YOU TO ‘LIKE’ OUR CLUB PAGE AND INVITE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584744930927

SPORTY NZ. THIS IS OUR PLATFORM FOR MANAGING ALL THINGS TO DO WITH OUR CLUB IN TERMS OF MEMBER MANAGEMENT, WEBSITE AND NEWSLETTERS ETC. OUR RECOMMENDATION IS FOR ALL MEMBERS OF OUR CLUB TO DOWNLOAD THE SPORTY NZ APP (IT LOOKS LIKE AN ARCHERY TARGET WITH A GREEN BULLSEYE) ON THEIR MOBILE DEVICE AS IT HAS SOME USEFUL FEATURES.

FOR NOW THE BEST WAY TO ‘BULK’ MESSAGE ALL CLUB MEMBERS, ESPECIALLY AT SHORT NOTICE, IS VIA EMAIL. PLEASE REGULARLY CHECK YOUR ‘SPAM’ OR ‘JUNK’ FOLDERS.

HAPPY PICKLE-ING

PETER AND TERRY