Resuming evening sessions - As we draw closer to the end of winter folks are wondering when we will be offering evening sessions again. That depends on three factors: 1) The return of daylight savings and more light in the evening, 2) the weather and 3) when the session coordinators are ready to resume their sessions. It's likely to be either later March or early April. Stay tuned, the sessions will be posted to both the mobile app's schedule and the website's organized play page.
Marc Austin's Winter Clinics - A fellow member, Marc Austin, is working with Howard County Recreation & Parks to offer some clinics for the winter session. Please see the announcement located under the website menu item Assoc. News if interested.
Preparing to play pickleball - A local chiropractor who is working with pickleball players has submitted two articles to assist pickleball players preparing for play: Pickleball Power Up and a Warm Up graphic. Both can be found listed under Assoc. News.
From Andy Dalal
HCPA Round Robin and MLP Events
As you may have read previously, the sign up for these events are now open. We have had some
questions about these events.
Each round robin event is scheduled for two hours on a Saturday in March at the PutAway from 3-5pm.
We will need 16 players to register to play on the four courts to run the events. We are hoping to
attract different players for each round robin – men or women and different skill levels. The DUPR
rating for the round robins is a recommendation. For round robins, you should be playing with a
different partner each round of play.
The Minor League Pickleball (MLP) event is also a one-day event, also held at the PutAway from 3-5pm
on the last Saturday of March. We will need 16 players to run this event – eight women and eight men.
In this event, there will be teams of four players – two women and two men. The four players on a team
will be competing against other four player teams in women’s doubles, men’s doubles, and mixed
doubles. We will form teams that have approximate equal DUPR Ratings. Therefore, the average DUPR
score per team should be about 14 (3.5 x 4). Ideally, players will already have a DUPR rating. If not, we
will try to use our best judgment.
The sign up is now live on TeamApp for events beginning on March 2, 2024.
Go to the HCPA TeamApp page now and then click on "Events".
If the events do not fill up on or before February 20, 2024 (less than two weeks), HCPA will have to
cancel ALL of the Events planned for March due to a lack of interest and due to our contractual
obligations to the PutAway. The PutAway is a very nice indoor facility and easy drive from Howard
County.
At this time, we only have a very few participants in each event, including our first event scheduled for
March 2 for 3.5 men.
If the Round Robins and MLP are canceled by HCPA due to weather or a lack of interest, players will be
notified on TeamApp and will receive a refund.
Events will not be rescheduled.
Thank you.
HCPA
HCPA Events Sign Up Now Open!
HCPA Round Robin (RR) and Minor League Pickleball (MLP) events are now available for sign-up via the Stack Team App for events beginning on March 2, 2024.
Please only sign up if you are in the correct age group and level, thank you!
Please arrive for round robins 15 minutes prior to the posted start time. See full rules for round robins below in this email.
Scheduled Events:
*Men’s *Dubs RR
Level 3.5
*All Ages *
Saturday, 3/2
3-5 pm
Level 3.5
*All Ages *
Saturday, 3/2
3-5 pm
*Women’s *Dubs RR
Level 3.5
All Ages
Saturday, 3/9
3-5 pm
*Women’s *Dubs RR
Level 3.0
*All Ages *
Saturday, 3/16
3-5 pm
*Men’s *Dubs RR
Level 3.0
All Ages
Saturday, 3/23
3-5 pm
*MLP – *Men’s Women’s and Mixed *Dubs RR -
Level 3.5
Must have a 3.5+ DUPR rating or you won’t be permitted to participate
Men’s and Women’s registration are two different events on TeamApp. Please pick the right one.
All Ages
Saturday, 3/30
3-5 pm
All events are held at the PutAway in Millersville. 254 Najoles Rd Suite A-K, Millersville, MD 21108
All Events will be recorded in the DUPR HCPA Club
Please only sign up if you are in the correct level, thank you!
Please sign up as an individual, including minor league pickleball. For round robins, you will be playing with a different partner each round of play.
Go to the HCPA TeamApp page now and then click on “Events”.
Better hurry, they fill up quickly!****
ROUND ROBIN and MINOR LEAGUE PICKLEBALL CANCELLATION/ARRIVAL POLICY***
All cancellation emails must be sent to:
HCPA Round Robins and MLP are non-transferable and non-refundable.
Cancellations
• The cancellation cutoff is 24 hours prior to the event start.
• Any player who cancels after that time will forfeit the right to signup for or play in a HCPA Round Robin or MLP the next two times they are offered.
No Show or Late Arrivals
• All players must sign in 15 minutes prior to the posted start time.
• Any player who arrives after the posted start time is considered a no show.
• Any late arrival or no show player will forfeit the right to sign up for or play in a HCPA Round Robin or MLP the next two times they are offered.
Leaving Early
• Any player who leaves a HCPA Round Robin or Minor League Pickleball prior to the posted end time, will forfeit the right to sign up for or play in a HCPA Round Robin for two months.
• This does not apply to any player who is forced to leave early due to an injury sustained during the HCPA Round Robin or MLP.
Please remember, Round Robins and MLP necessitate an exact number of players. Players who cancel late, or worse, don’t show up or leave early, potentially ruin the event for the other 15 players. Games can’t be played without the required number of players. Please respect your fellow players.
The later the cancellation, the harder the slot is to fill. Additionally, late cancellations are unfair to waitlisted players who would love to play, but due to late notice of slots are often no longer available or unable to get to the courts on time or don’t have their equipment with them. Please cancel as soon as you realize you have a conflict, aren’t feeling well, or are injured; waitlisted players and our volunteers depend on your timeliness.
Please leave enough time to park and still get to the courts 15 minutes early to check in. And, we all know that traffic can be unpredictable; please plan accordingly.
If a Round Robin or MLP is canceled by HCPA due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances, players will be notified by email and will receive a refund.
If an event is full, please send an email to
to be added to the waitlist.
Events will not be rescheduled.
IF EVENTS DO NOT FILL UP****
If all of the events do not fill up on or before February 20, 2024, HCPA may have to cancel ALL of the Events planned for March due to a lack of interest.
HCPA Competitions Committee
DUPR receives $8M investment - for more details on this development use the following link:
We recently lost a member – HCPA is sorry to share this sad news about the passing of Dave LeDane last week, on Tuesday, January 16th while clearing snow from his cars. It appears to have been a heart attack. Our deepest sympathies go out to Maria LeDane for the loss of her husband. Dave was a great guy and a very competitive pickleball player and tennis player. He always had something encouraging to say while playing with him. He will be missed. A celebration of life is being planned for late spring. If you would like to share your condolences, please mail them to Maria LeDane, 11263 Aslalom Lane, Columbia MD 21044.
DATE CORRECTION
Change to Indoor Session at Gary Arthur Community Center - Skills and Drills for Tuesday January 23rd – Changed to Open Play
Gary Arthur Community Center – 2400 Route 97, Cooksville MD, 21723
Tuesday February 23rd, 5:00 – 6:45
Open Play $10
3 courts – 16 Players
Please purchase tickets via Stack Team App
Come in from the cold!!
Change to Indoor Session at Gary Arthur Community Center - Skills and Drills for Tuesday February 23rd – Changed to Open Play
Gary Arthur Community Center – 2400 Route 97, Cooksville MD, 21723
Tuesday February 23rd, 5:00 – 6:45
Open Play $10
3 courts – 16 Players
Come in from the cold!!
Looking for places to play while traveling?
Check out these free apps for finding pickleball courts. Each app uses an entered location to list pickleball courts in that area.
For local places to play, check out the updated list on the HCPA website: Local Places to Play
Pickleball Tournament in March - Check out the Bert & Erne Pickleball tournament in Hanover, PA from March 15-17th. (It's about a 45 minute drive)
HCPA is a sponsor of this tournament. As such, HCPA members will get $5 of their registration if they use the code: howardcounty!
If you register in January, the registration fee is $40 plus event fees. In February the fee goes to $50, and in March it goes to $55. If you register in January you get a free shirt.
Please click on the link below to register and get more information:
(https://pickleballbrackets.com...)
Player Development Update - Here is a link to an interesting article regarding the legality of “sidearm” serves in pickleball: https://
These articles and videos can be found on the HCPA website under INSTRUCTION and Player Development for Members. Here are links to access these resources directly:
- Articles
- Video Tutorials – tiny.cc/6etwvz
Posted by Jay McTighe – HCPA Player Development and Communications Committees