MAGAZINE ARTICLE ADDRESSING THE GROWTH OF PICKLEBALL

The magazine, The CS Monitor, posted an interesting article called "Noisy, silly, friendly pickleball – America’s fastest growing sport". You can read the article HERE.

  POST PPPA ELECTION - THE WAY AHEAD

The Board of Directors wants to keep our Membership informed on their progress in filling vacant Board positions resulting from the last election cycle.  Please see the attached discussion.

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  Please Click on Balloon

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  COLEMAN PARK PLANNING "NEW PICKLEBALL COURTS OPPORTUNITY"

Great news to report!  Today, the City of Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services Department published its Coleman Community Park - June 2022 enewsletter (constantcontact.com).  A couple items worth highlighting:

1) They acknowledged the request for pickleball courts as one of the inputs they received at the June 16th event. Pickleball courts are listed first in the order of inputs they received, along with security and safety, habitat/open space protection, integrated water/nature play, accessible play spaces, connectivity with the creek, concern for parking near existing homes, flexible lawn and programmable plaza spaces.  Don't want to read too much into the order, but we clearly have our foot in the door, and I trust that Jeff and my in-depth conversation with the City Program Manager last week was beneficial.  Most encouraging is that "Pickleball" is now included as a "Sports Hub" option in the current online survey, and it is no longer considered a "community recreation activity." 

2)  VERY IMPORTANT!  The Parks, Rec and Cultural Services team is seeking input from anyone in the community who was NOT able to attend the June 16 event but would like to be a part of the process.  All Colorado Springs residents are invited to visit the Coleman Park Master Plan website and take the survey. It takes 5 minutes to complete, and it closes on July 16. We Strongly recommend all PPPA members to take five minutes to complete the survey and help influence the initial design of the park.   There is no requirement to identify yourself, so we also recommend that those individuals who attended the event also complete the survey.  The more East Colorado Springs residents and/or younger residents we can get to participate, the better.  One of the last questions is your general residential location and age range.

3) Another public meeting will be scheduled in Fall 2022 for community feedback on park alternatives.

View display boards from the June 16 event can be found under Public Involvement tab.

1) Active Sports Board Pickleball was not initially included in their plan, which is one of the reasons for the meeting with the City PM.

2) Community Park Play Spaces (which include ping pong, bocce, horseshoes, climbing, etc.,).  As you will see, NO pickleball photo in the initial display, which is one of the reasons we reached out to Connie, the City Program Manager, for this park.

Onward and upward - 

Mick Tingstrom

PPPA Coleman Park Committee Lead

  SINGLES LADDER PLAY

Can you cover the whole court?  Try Singles Ladder Play!!!!

PPPA has a new education and training program called Singles Ladder Play.  

It is a ladder play coordinated by Tom Ferguson @ tc_ferguson@outlook.com.

Providing you are in good enough shape to play 3-4 games with only one player on each side of the court, then this new program might be for you.  

Another great shout-out to our great volunteers.

Regards and Good pickling,

Dan Lovelace

T&E Director

 THE PPPA ONLINE STORE IS OPEN 

 
Looking for gifts for yourself or pickleball loving family members or friends? Look no further! We have restocked our shelves and PPPA logo merchandise is now on sale with most sizes and colors of tee shirts, pullovers, hats and visors currently available in limited supplies online at the PPPA Store (pikespeakpickleball.com). Simply go to the website, click on the “Store” link, and follow the prompts to search for available colors, sizes, and styles.

Payment can be made through PayPal or with your own credit card. Your purchase will be mailed to you for an additional charge, or you may choose to pick up your item(s). Pick up instructions will appear on your confirmation if you choose this option. Supplies are limited so log on and shop today!

Erica Roberts, Merchandise Manager

 PICKLEBALL CENTRAL'S REWARDS PROGRAM

Save 5% and 5% comes back to PPPA in an annual Pickleball Central gift card!

Interested in saving 5% on pickleball gear, clothing and training aids?  PPPA is now enrolled in Pickleball Central’s Club Rewards program.  Here are the details for you and PPPA to benefit from:

When purchasing any items from www.PickleballCentral.com, enter CRPikes and you will receive an automatic 5% DISCOUNT and PPPA will earn 5% of every purchase that uses the code in an end-of-the-year gift card to purchase anything that PPPA needs – balls, extra paddles, nets, whatever we need!    (The code is not case sensitive.)

Here's more about the ClubRewards program.