1. Why should I join the association?
One of the primary reasons people join is the multitude of open play sessions we offer. Our association has a members only section of our website that provides access to our Organized Play section. The association hosts 15 to 20 2-hour outdoor sessions weekly (weather permitting) where members can play doubles. The Organized Play page lists all of these sessions along with the date, time and location. We furnish the nets, balls and a first aid kit. A volunteer session coordinator works to set up, manage and take down the equipment with the assistance of the attending members. We communicate when the sessions have to be cancelled or postponed due to weather or other circumstances. We also offer specific communications via our website and a mobile application on what our activities are and news about Pickleball in our community. We also offer separate events on occasion, such as tournaments, pickleball socials and clinics. For now, we leave the leagues to Howard Co. Recreation and Parks, Columbia Association and other organizations but we try to publish them as we hear about them. We offer free instruction to the beginners who want to learn about the sport as well as some clinics and drill sessions to improve players abilities. We also have a PB Tutor (ball gun) that can be rented for $20 a day for practice. Periodically we obtain special discounts for pickleball products and we have a "Member Deals" page that provides access to these discounts. In addition to this, we advocate for additional pickleball facilities both with government organizations as well as other private organizations. Our association has a lot of fun loving people who welcome newcomers. All that for the nominal fee of $30 per person, $45 per couple or $60 per family. Overall, we think it's a good deal.
2. Can non-members play during your open play sessions?
As an association we like to be hospitable to people who are not members in hopes that if they live in the area, they would like to join. We also get some folks from out of town who are looking for games and we extend the courtesy of letting them play just like if we were traveling and wanted to join in other groups at our destination. There are also times that people want to bring friends or family members from out of town or in the area and want them to see what the game is all about. There are some sessions that have a posted limit on the number of people playing as well as some that use a pre-signup application. It is up to the volunteer session coordinators to determine how the limit and non-registered people are handled. Overall, we try to be welcoming to non-members as best we can. One of the traits that we appreciate about our association is the hospitality that we extend to people and hope we can continue to do so.