Author: Chris

• Join us on Friday, September 5th for Pickleball and Dinner!  This is a social, open-play event open to all SJPA members. 
• Come Play Pickleball in a fun atmosphere with music and food. Hot Diggity Dog and 2Bros will be on-site offering food for purchase. Please bring money for dinner.
• Two sessions are available: 3:00 – 5:30 and 5:30 – 7:00.
• We will be playing ten-minute games on all eight courts.
• Both sessions are for all levels and will be in a Round-Robin format.

Requirements:

• Must be a Sport or Golf member
• Must be an SJPA member

Session 1: 4:00 – 5:30

Session 2: 5:30 – 7:00

Come and hang out with the Pickleball community and have a bite to eat, something to drink, and watch some Major League pickleball at Aces.

Thursday, July 10th and Friday, July 11th.
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM both days

Troon is asking for an estimated number of guests, so please let us know if you plan to attend. This does not commit you in any way; we are just trying to get an estimate.
 
Click here if you plan to attend.

Join us on Saturday, July 12th for a social, open-play event open to all SJPA members.  This is our first-ever under-the-lights pickleball event.  We will have ice cream provided by Sweet Treats.

• Two sessions are available: 5:30 – 7:00 and 7:00 – 8:30.
• We will be playing nine-minute games on all eight courts.
• Both sessions are for all levels and will be in a Round-Robin format.
• Free ice cream for all players!
• No fee. Please bring a non-perishable item for the Southport Oak Island Interchurch Fellowship Food Pantry (SOIICF)

Register for Session 1: 5:30-700

Register for Session 2: 7:00-8:30

The Cape Fear Intercommunity League will begin play around the 1st week of September 2025 and will end around the 2^nd week of November 2025.

The Cape Fear Inter-Community League Rep is now soliciting interest for this friendly, social, and competitive pickleball league that provides opportunities to play other communities including Winding River, Brunswick Forest, Waterford, Compass Point, Porter’s Neck, Landfall, and Del Webb. Players must turn 55 in the calendar year 2025. Please send a message to crollins@comtex.com by July 15^th if you wish to play.  Any inquiries after this date, will be considered only if space is available.

This is NOT an SJPA sponsored event or league. 

DIVISIONS

SOCIAL/NOVICE – Social division for beginner/novice players that will play in a social environment.  No DUPR rating required, but if DUPR rated, suggested rating should be under 2.99 DUPR.  Team formats will vary depending on community participation.  Play will be scheduled every other Monday.

INTERMEDIATE – Competitive division for players with a minimum of 50 DUPR games and a rating between 3.00 – 3.49.  The game format is one men’s double, one women’s double, and two mixed doubles: playing 7 rounds totaling 28 games weekly for a team of 10 to 12 players.  Play will be held on Wednesdays from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM for away matches and Tuesdays from 4:00 PM to – 7:00 PM when ST James host at home.

UPPER INTERMEDIATE – Competitive division for players with a minimum of 50 DUPR games and a rating between 3.50 – 3.99. The game format is one men’s double, one women’s double, and two mixed doubles: playing 7 rounds totaling 28 games weekly for a team of 10 to 12 players.  Play will be held on Thursdays from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM.

ADVANCED 4.0+ – Competitive division for players with a minimum of 50 DUPR games and a rating over 4.0. The game format is two men’s doubles, one women’s double, and one mixed double: 5 rounds of competitive play and 2 rounds of social play, totaling 28 games weekly for a team of 10 to 12 players. Recording some DUPR scores will be required for these matches.   Play will be scheduled every Monday.

League Registration – STEP ONE

Contact Cathy Rollins at 703-901-3217 or via email @ crollins@comtex.com to register.

DUPR Registration for this event – STEP TWO

Players are required to register on DUPR: https://mydupr.com. When you register you will be asked to provide your community. Enter: Cape Fear Intercommunity League.  If you do not have a DUPR rating, you have until August 20, 2025, to complete 50 DUPR matches. DUPR will begin recording your scores as soon as you register, and you will get a rating which will change as you enter your games.  The more games you play, the more accurate your rating becomes.  It is strongly suggested that you begin to use DUPR and as soon as possible if you wish to participate.  It is also strongly recommended to schedule and play DUPR matches with players of like ability.  Both the House of Pickleball and Pickle and Taps run weekly DUPR games.

Age – STEP THREE

Players must be 55 or older to play in the league.  If you turn 55 in the calendar year 2025, you are eligible to play.

Team Formation – STEP FOUR

Coaches will have the right to form their own teams.  Formation of teams at the Intermediate, Upper Intermediate and Advanced level will be based on skill, DUPR, player availability and commitment to the team’s practice and game schedule. 

Event Organizer

Cathy Rollins

703-901-3217

crollins@comtex.com

The STJFD EMS is offering instruction on Hands-Only CPR and how to use an AED.

Learn what you can do during an emergency that can gain precious time and help deliver life-saving care to a person experiencing a cardiac event. EMS personnel will explain the steps to take when an emergency occurs and demonstrate how to do CPR and how to use an AED.

Then you will have the opportunity to practice Hands-Only CPR on mannequins.

The training doesn’t take long, and could help you save a life!  Register for the event here.

Our second annual Spring Teams Pickleball Tournament and Social will be held this year on May 2nd & 3rd. This is a 2-part event with a Social meet and greet dinner at Waterway Park on Friday evening, May 2nd, and a tournament at Rymer on Saturday, May 3rd.  This is a great way to meet new pickleballers and to compete in some friendly matches. This is for all levels of play. For details and to register for the event, click here.

The Greg Rymer Memorial Pickleball Tournament was a huge success.  The event kicked off with a fantastic shrimp boil at the Woodland’s pavilion on Wednesday, March 26th.  The Stifel chefs, led by Albert Elrod,  created an amazing spread for all!!  The next day, March 27th, was all of the women’s events, and Friday held the men’s divisions and mixed doubles.  The results are as follows:

Women’s 3.0 Division Winners:

Gold:  Sue Pash & Cindy Phillips
Silver:  Janice Ammann & Marcia Crampton
Bronze:  Tarri Grover & Kathleen Melnyk

Women’s 3.5 Division Winners:

Gold:  Kay Currey-Kolb & Alicia Mastropietro
Silver:  Nicole Celeste & Nancy Miller
Bronze:  Cathy Rollins & Kathy McArthur

Women’s Open Division Winners:

Gold:  Kim Mihan & Leslie Gourley
Silver:  Christine Cournoyer & Louise Hemmerle
Bronze:  Kay Currey-Kolb & Peggy O’Connell

Men’s 3.5 Division Winners:

Gold:  Hogan Disbrow & Charlie Morris
Silver:  Mike McLinko & Dan Malinowski
Bronze:  David Biederman & Mike Hoffman

Men’s Open Division Winners:

Gold: Norbert & Nathan Hobrath
Silver:  Rick Sanders & Dan Needham
Bronze:  Eric Hoffman & Chase Owen

Mixed Doubles Division Winners:

Gold:  Kim Mihan & Joe Giese
Silver:  Teri and Ross Romano
Bronze:  Kay Currey-Kolb & Norbert Hobrath

We’d like to thank all of the participants, sponsors, donors, helpers, and the Rymers for making this such an amazing event.  We had a few days of beautiful weather (finally) and amazing competition.  Hope you will all join us again next year!!  This event raises a lot of money that goes to help the underserved children in Southport. 

To learn more click here

Beginners Social with Drills and Play

This event is for Beginners and players at the 3.0 level and below. We will drill for 45 minutes and play for 45 minutes. Drills will include serving, return of serves, dinking, and third shot drops as well as others. 

Come out for a great time and practice and play against others at your level. 

Join us on Sunday, February 23rd. There will be two sessions.
Be sure to sign up as space is limited. Registration is open.

This is a FREE event and is open to non-SJPA members as well.

For more details and sign up, visit the following links:
Session 1: 1:00 – 2:30

Session 2: 2:30 – 4:00

The SJPA Board recently decided that effective March 1, 2025, all payments for membership and events will be made through Zeffy; checks will no longer be accepted.

What is Zeffy?
Zeffy is a free, and secure automated service that enables members to make payments for membership and events. It allows members to make secure payments by credit or debit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, or by direct transfer from a bank account. It was introduced last March and has been a great tool for the association. Over 95% of payments have been made through Zeffy this year.

Why have we made this decision?
Zeffy has several advantages over paying by check:

1. Cost: Zeffy is free for the organization and free for you! Zeffy covers any transaction fees charged
2. Security: All data in the system is encrypted.  Using checks and the check dropbox opens up the possibility of exposure of your personal information.
3. Ease of processing and reduction in manual errors: The process to enter manual checks is very time consuming and introduces the risk of manual error.

As previously announced, the new 2025 USA Pickleball rules have been announced. Here is a great YouTube Video that describes the changes that may actually affect your game.  See more details on the SJPA Website.  

The first SJPA Pickleball social for 2025 took place this past Sunday. Sixty-Eight players challenged each other on the pickleball courts. Players of all levels had a great time playing, drinking hot chocolate and enjoying the many snacks. A big thank you goes out to these players for supporting SJPA and to Andrea Velez and Lynn Albrecht for running the event. Our next event, a Valentines Mixed Social is scheduled for February 9th. Please be on the lookout for more information about this event in the coming days. If anyone is interested in getting on the email list to play with others please contact Scott Nasiff at snasiff@gmail.com. Happy New Year and see you on the courts. 

Join us on Sunday, February 9th for this social, open-play round-robin event open to all SJPA members.  There will be two sessions. Be sure to sign up as space is limited.

Registration opens January 20.

USA Pickleball has released the Official Rulebook for 2025.  

Below is a summary of a couple of key changes. You can find a document of all of the changes on the USA Pickleball site as well.

• Redefining the Volley: The act of volleying begins when the ball is struck out of the air before bouncing (volleyed) and ends when the player’s movement from the follow-through action (momentum) stops.
  • The primary impact of this change for 2025 is that the volley starts when making contact with the ball and it will no longer be a fault if a player touches the non-volley-zone (NVZ) before hitting the volley.
• Adding to the Not Ready Signals definition
  • Verbal indicators to stop play such as “stop” and “wait” will be recognized.
• Change to the Serve rules to add that the paddle may be used to release the ball.
  • The serve shall be made with only one hand or the paddle releasing the ball.
    While some natural rotation of the ball is expected during any release of the ball , the
    server shall not impart manipulation or spin on the ball with any part of the body or the
    paddle as a result of the release. Exception: The server may allow the ball to roll off the
    face of the paddle by gravity.
• Calling faults on your partner
  • The rule adds that players are expected to call faults on their partners as well as themselves.
• Calling faults on opponents
  • Added the rule that any disagreement between the partners on an opponent fault call will be decided to the benefit of their opponents. The general principle is that when partners disagree, they express doubt, and the benefit of that doubt should go to their opponents.

Join us on Sunday, January 12th for this social, open-play round-robin event open to all SJPA members.  There will be two sessions. Be sure to sign up as space is limited. Registration opens January 1.

For more details and sign up, visit the following links:

Session 1: 1:00 – 2:30 

Session 2: 2:30 – 4:00

The SJPA Tournament and Events Committee has been working hard over the holiday season to plan the 2025 SJPA events. The events are for all levels and we encourage everyone to participate. Our goal is to be an inclusive pickleball community where members make new friends and have fun playing pickleball. Some of the events planned in 2025 are:

Monthly Social Play – This is an event where all levels of players meet and play with each other. Find out more

Team Spring Tournament – April 26  This is a one-day event where teams battle it out on the courts.

Battle For the Paddle – September 27-28

SJPA Womens, Mens and Mixed Championship Weekend – October 24-26

Play with the Pro Events 

Beginner Social Play with Instruction 

Under the Lights Social Play 

Details on these and other events will be sent in the Weekly Pickle email and on the website.

More information will be posted shortly for our first Social Play Event, which will be held on Sunday, January 12th, from 1-4. Registration will open soon.  If you have any questions, please email Scott Nasiff at snasiff@gmail.com