The third pickleball play event of the year, St. Patrick’s Social, hosted over 50 players during two sessions. Kindness, respect, and fun was obvious on all the courts during this social event.
As with past events there were both new and familiar faces. It was great to see people talking and introducing themselves to one another.
As a bonus we had Kim Mihan, Troon’s Pickleball Pro, join in the fun as she played and offered pickleball tips, to the delight of our players. The round robin format ensured that many players had an opportunity to play with Kim as well as with other players.
Many thanks go to the event coordinators, Andrea Velez, Lynn Albrecht, and Robyn Smith, for the food, decorations, photos, and for joining in to play where needed. Their work and dedication to St. James Pickleball makes these events possible.
We also thank the players who joined in the FUN, and special thanks to those who donated food.
The SJPA Progressive Dinner was held Friday, March 15. Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to move around the room and meet fellow pickleball players. The evening started with a social hour and was followed by salad, dinner, and dessert, each at a different table with different people. So many individuals have had fun excursions and led exciting careers before coming to St. James. The Progressive Dinner provided the perfect opportunity for enjoyable conversations, hearing what brought all of us together to St. James, and how we got involved in pickleball.
Thanks to Middle of the Island caterers for a delicious meal, to all who attended and especially to the SJPA Social Committee for their time and expertise putting together this event.
We look forward to seeing everyone at future Social Events. Please check the Event Calendar for details.
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE SJPA VALENTINE SOCIAL EVENT AND WHO TOOK THE TIME TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY.
The SJPA Board and the Events Committee believe that a survey without any reply or action is a waste of our members time. Here are the results and action items.
First a few numbers. Twenty-nine of approximately 65 players completed the survey (44%).
There were 6 questions with answers ranging from Excellent (in some form) to Poor (in some form). The feedback was:
Excellent – 62%
Very Good – 30%
Good – 6%
Fair and Poor – 2% (1% each)
All in all, some very positive feedback by the numbers, but the best information for us comes out of the comments.
All of the comments were viewed by the SJPA Board and the Events Committee as constructive, positive, and greatly appreciated, as we strive to offer events that are fun for the vast majority of SJPA members.
Here are the major improvement recommendations along with the Event Committee’s reply to those comments.
1) The cold weather (8 of 29) – It was cold and dreary
The committee is working hard with the powers that be to control the weather. Guess we will all have to wait and see how that turns out
2) Skill Level (4 of 29 responses) – People wanted to play with people at their level
The majority of people understand that the social events are intended for people of all levels to play with one another, have fun, gain experience, and meet new people. Going forward, we will continue to reiterate this message as we announce events on the web page and during event kick-off.
Based on the comments, the Events Committee is also in the process of trying to figure out how to best set up events for the more competitive players. Stay tuned.
3) How it was run (6 of 29 responses) – People wanted more mingle time. The rules were a bit confusing. Offer 2 sessions right up front.
As a pickleball social, people want to get as many games in as possible while being able to meet new players during play. More time in between games to socialize will reduce play time which doesn’t seem to fit with what people really want.
We are always looking for new formats for mixed play, and the rules sometimes are even confusing to us, so we do appreciate your patience as we navigate through these events. One of the determining factors for how we manage play is the number of people that actually show up for the event. This tends to fluctuate right up the start of the event.
For future events, based on the type of event, we will try to offer two time slots, back-to-back, when the event is announced.
4) Overly aggressive play with less skilled players (1 of 29 responses) – “Some of the women slammed the ball to kill”
ALL players should have fun on the court. While we realize that there are times that the ball will be slammed, we will continue to remind all players at the beginning of each social session that KINDNESS, TOLERANCE, HELPFULNESS, and FUN should be the cornerstones of these events.
The positive comments were overwhelming and a testament to the team that put this event together.
Most of the comments were positive and were related to organization, camaraderie, emphasis on fun, socializing, playing with different levels of players, and meeting new people. The Event coordinators, Robyn Smith and Becky Jennings, along with their support team, Bernadette Clinton, Cherie Nichols, and Dick Cournoyer, greatly appreciated the kind words from the players.
Going forward, our plan is to not overwhelm you with surveys. We plan to do only a couple more this year to gather some more valuable feedback on different types of events.
Thanks again to all of you who took the time to answer the survey. Your feedback does matter and we need it to continue to make the events even better for all.
You may have seen Kent Silhanek’s recent message that Troon has accepted a recommendation that the SJPA Board forwarded to them regarding the open sessions, based on Whiteboard court usage and on SJPA member feedback. Our main goal in formulating this proposal was to maximize the opportunities for as many members as possible to play pickleball. Up to now, the open sessions provided times when anyone could play, and times when those at a specifically defined playing level could play.
Members of the SJPA board monitored court usage for the past two months and it remained clear that many courts were being left open – not available for reservation, but not used during the opens because there were too few players to fill all of the courts. This was especially true during the sessions that were assigned to the advanced beginner and intermediate levels. Based on this data and member feedback, we recommended all courts be used during the times scheduled for whiteboard play and that courts be segregated by level of play.
There is one aspect of the SJPA recommendation that Kent’s message did not mention relating to flexibility in which of the four levels (beginner, novice, intermediate, and advanced) players choose to play. The vast majority of players who have been rated by Troon, either by Greg Rymer or Kim Mihan, currently have ratings of 3.0 (47%) and 3.5 (40%). However, there are many more players who have not been rated or whose ratings are years old and may not accurately reflect their level of play. We believe that these players have a sense of where they would be rated based on who they play with. To encourage all players to join the open play where they feel that they belong, we recommended that the boundaries for levels should be somewhat “fuzzy”. The following graphic is meant to convey this.
Our desire with this approach is to allow more players to feel that there is a place for them to play comfortably in the new open schedule. We hope that players will welcome the broader definitions of levels and find the play enjoyable.
Additionally, it seems likely that the individual court designations will also need some flexibility depending upon who shows up to play on any given day. For example, if there aren’t enough advanced players to use both courts 7 & 8, players from another level should be able to use the one(s) that are not being filled by the advanced group. If more advanced-level players show up later, then those courts would revert back to the designated level. We expect that players will be able to work this out cooperatively as conditions necessitate.
Finally, we would like to thank our membership for all of the open feedback. We hear you and appreciate your input! Your frankness helps us to put together recommendations like this that are intended to support our membership in working with Troon management to make pickleball enjoyable for all. We will continue to monitor, listen, and make recommendations for additional modifications as appropriate.
On Thursday, January 18, SJPA held its Winter Party. This year’s event included a Trivia Contest and music provided by the Back Porch Rockers that included opportunities to “sing along” with the band. A fun time was had by all! SJPA is proud to support Matthews Ministry on Oak Island and all proceeds from the registration fee and 50/50 drawing, in the amount of $2,225, were donated to this great cause. Thank you to all who participated.
A cold and dreary day did not deter SJPA members from coming out and playing some heartfelt Pickleball at Valentine’s Day Social.
This was the second event of the year and, again, the event filled quickly, with a waitlist of over 25 people on the first day of registration. As a result, the event was split into two sessions in order to accommodate more players. And accommodate we did! Both sessions filled completely, allowing nearly 70 SJPA members to enjoy the event.
There were many familiar and new faces on the courts, making this a great afternoon of pickleball and meeting new people.
The “King of the Court” format was used to mix up the play and it did a great job of getting everyone where they needed to be quickly and smoothly.
The event coordinators, Robyn Smith and Becky Jennings, along with their support team of Bernadette Clinton, Cherie Nichols, and Dick Cournoyer, really did an amazing job making sure there was plenty of love in the air and refreshments on the tables.
Thank you to the members who came to enjoy some fun pickleball, and a special thanks to those who donated food.
We look forward to our next event in March, “Come Play with a Pro” where we will have Kim Mihan, our pickleball pro, playing with us as well.
Jeff Franken, SJPA Event Chair
In addition to a great day of Pickleball, the participants donation over 100 non-perishable items for Southport-Oak Island Interchurch Fellowship (SOIIF) Food Pantry.
Step one towards a shade structure at Seaside courts is done.
The SJPA works very closely with Troon management, on behalf of our membership, to ensure that Troon is aware of the desires of SJPA members and the overall conditions at the Rymer and Seaside courts.
As a result, the Troon 2024 budget includes the installation of a new shade structure at the Seaside courts.
The SJPA board continues to work hand-in-hand with Troon management to continually improve the pickleball experience for all.
We appreciate that Troon management listens to us.
It was a cold, blustery Winter Classic day, but the sun and the smiles were bright!
The SJPA hosted the first pickleball play event of the year on Sunday, January 21st. The weather cooperated for this event and gave us a bright sunny, albeit chilly, afternoon.
Due to the initial sign up being filled along with a waitlist of over 25 people, the event was split in to two sessions to be able to accommodate more players…… and accommodate we did! Both sessions were full allowing close to 70 members to enjoy the event.
Thanks go to Dick Cournoyer and his team of Leo Pacyna, Lynn Albrecht and Mike Renzaglia for volunteering their time to make this a great start to the 2024 event year, assuring that everybody had a FUN time playing pickleball. It is also appreciated that Christine Cournoyer and Peter Albrecht jumped in to help the team on the day of the event. They did a great job of organizing the event and getting the courts “winterized” with all sorts of “Northern Memorabilia” being pulled out of people’s personal storage including skis, sleds, winter garb, hockey sticks, etc..
The “King of the Court” format was used to mix up the play and did a great job of getting everyone where they needed to be quickly and smoothly.
It was a great afternoon to play pickleball and meet new people.
We thank all who came out to play and have some FUN with us. A special thanks to those who donated ball caps for the Oak Island Angels.
SJPA rolled out another fun filled social event to kick off 2024 into a fantastic season. Yes, we are talking about the SJPA WINTER PARTY!!! The Social Committee, headed up by Liz Wilson and her team, put together an entertaining night: jamming with the Back Porch Rockers, opportunities to sing with the band, trivia contest, and raffles. WOW!
An early count estimates that we collected $2045 to benefit Matthews Ministry.
I am incredibly honored and excited to step into the role of President of the St. James Pickleball Association (SJPA). As I look at our vibrant community, I am reminded that what we have here is special—not just because of the game we love, but because of the people who play it.
As we move forward together, my focus for this term is deeply rooted in the three core components of our Association’s mission. These pillars will guide our decisions and shape our year ahead:
Fostering Friendly Competition and Sportsmanship Pickleball is passionate and competitive, but our true strength lies in how we treat one another. I want to encourage an atmosphere where we strive for excellence on the court, and where good sportsmanship and respect are always the final score. Whether it is a casual drop-in game or a tournament final, let’s ensure kindness and fair play remain our standard.
Motivating Social Interaction We are a community first and players second. My goal is to motivate social interaction both on and off the courts. We will be focusing on organizing activities and events that bring us together, creating opportunities for laughter and connections. I want the friendships forged at the net to extend well beyond the final point of the match. Keep an eye out for upcoming events, such as our January winter dance, bonfires, pool party, member appreciation day at the HOP and more.
Improving Our Facilities To enjoy the game to its fullest, we need an environment that supports it. I am fully committed to working collaboratively with Troon management to advocate for the maintenance and improvement of the quality of the pickleball facilities at St. James. By building a strong partnership with management, we can ensure our courts remain a premier place to play.
I look forward to seeing all of you on the courts, hearing your ideas, and working together to make this a fantastic year for the SJPA.
See you at the kitchen line!
Sincerely,
Don Ammann
President St. James Pickleball Association 2026 SJPA President
You may have seen Kent Silhanek’s recent message regarding changes to the whiteboard schedule starting in January and we thought that you might be interested in this brief summary of the survey results.
Survey Overview:
Thanks to just over 200 people that took the time to take the survey.
The survey covered demographics, Whiteboard experience, opinion on Whiteboard continuation, and preferences for court segregation.
Key Findings:
Whiteboard continuation: Overall support for keeping Whiteboard sessions with a slight gender difference (men slightly more positive).
Court under-utilization: Many concerns about unused courts during current Whiteboard sessions.
Playing level segregation: Strong interest in segregation by level with 28% specifically requesting it.
Mixed experience with current Whiteboard: A third of respondents found the mixed-level play unfair (weaker players feeling overwhelmed and stronger players not feeling sufficiently challenged).
Recommendations:
Reduce Whiteboard time slots: Decrease total court hours allocated to Whiteboard sessions.
Level-based allocation: Dedicate specific time blocks or courts to different playing levels.
Maintain key aspects: Keep Whiteboard sessions on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays but adjust details.
Additional Suggestions:
Consider dividing open sessions on each day with a reservation block for all levels.
This would prevent players from the earlier open session monopolizing the level-specific session.
Overall: The survey indicates general support for Whiteboard sessions but suggests changes to address court under-utilization and cater to different playing levels.
This is what TROON is implementing for Open Whiteboard Sessions: Tuesdays: –10:00-11:30 Open White Board (open to all) on 4 courts –1:00-2:30 Advanced Beginner White Board (2.5-3.0 level) on 4 courts
Thursdays: –10:00-11:30 Open White Board (open to all) on 4 courts –1:00-2:30- Intermediate White Board (3.5-4.0 level) on 4 courts
Saturdays: –10:00-11:30 Open White Board (open to all) on 4 courts –1:00-2:30 Advanced White Board (4.0 and up level) on 4 courts
