TPC Survey Results (September 2023)
4f) Please add any comments and suggestions you may have.
(37 responses)
Re: 4b) not qualified to volunteer to assist in the assessment but agree with program
Continue with 3 2hr sessions. Should have 2 or 3 intermediate + sessions each week. Criteria to attend should be sent out for those wishing to join that group. Maybe call all sessions open play but 1 is easy play aka recreational , 1 is intermediate, 1 is competitive although that might not be the right term. Maybe not much different than trial period.
You will never be able to please everyone.
RE: 4B - I did not think it was an issue with players attending the Intermediate plus sessions not being able to play at that higher level. I thought the level was good. I think moving forward, offering two sessions per week at this level and emphasizing to membership that players will not play down to a lower level is all that is needed. So, if you choose to attend this session, do not get upset/frustrated/angry if the ball is coming at you hard/short/spinny etc. I think the vast majority could figure this out and selected the appropriate sessions.
Directors are doing a wonderful job managing the club, thank you for your continued dedication to ensuring members get the most from TPC....
Even though l am new to the game l have found l have improved greatly by being up against different levels.
I think all players should be able to move with some mobility and flexability in order to play and be safe
Perhaps write in the rules that if anyone is a “no show” after three times this person will not be allowed to play for four weeks
I think our executive does a wonderful job trying and implementing new ideas and really listening to the membership. Thank you. Good job guys!!!
As the intermediate sessions usually have a wait list, please change the early rec time to be a 2nd intermediate and keep the advanced to the last time period offered. Please do away with recreational. (personally, I favour the earliest playing time, so I would be most pleased to be offered the first sessions of the day, hoping that it is not changed to advanced)
Very much enjoy being a member of this club.
Unable to select item 4b about willing to help select intermediate+ players. The survey just wouldn't let me select that choice. Would like at least 3 or more sessions available for intermediate+ one or two is not enough
I think the no shows should be fined after 1 or 2 bys. This will solve that problem. The recreation play time s/b reduced to 1.5 hrs due to low attendance and move the other 2 time slots up 1/2 hr. Then your not cutting into the dinner hour for all the non pb folks!
Any thought on mixing the timing of the session e.g. intermediate then recreational one day and visa versa the next scheduled day. 16 rather than 18? Because of timing, wound up in recreational a lot. Was quite often at an intermediate level.
Have a sign in binder at front for members to sign in
Growing pains can be painful - but worth it - especially if all are included in the decision making process. So thank you for taking the time to develop the survey. I answered a few only because I 'had' to - ie I did not play outdoors with TPC at all this summer because I played with outside groups outdoors (and quite frankly, I didn't even know it was being held - I was misinformed, obviously). Make sense? Also love the idea of women only etc - what fun! I really like a women's group that I play with - we focus on strategy etc and LEARN that much more. As for judging each other for intermed+...that is a can of worms that I would prefer not to be involved with. Why not try a 'ladder' sometime. It quickly 'slots' players without judging - which in itself can become a nightmare. OR bring in outside "judges" who are qualified if you must judge. Just my two cents worth. Thanks for listening!
Skills assessments should be done by a qualified person outside of club
Although we only have two courts to play on, I believe the players who do show up get a fair amount of playing time in the two hour time slots. The switching of the paddle to determine players can sometimes be controversial. I’ve been trying to come up with a different system but keeping it as simple is challenging.
I fully support intermediate play if a player is at that level. I strongly disagree that the club do a competitive league. There are outside competitive leagues those members can join. Too many people just want to play the game, and there are members who want to play with their spouse or partner but can't because they're not at the competitive level.
A dance might be a fun activity for our club. Thanks to the volunteer exec for all they do. Much appreciated!👏
Very happy with the PB group!!
I could see two open sessions and one advanced only (self defined) session. If you sign in for the advanced, expect to play at a higher level of play. Maybe explain the game style ( in ezin) as capable of dinking and hard slam winners.
Directors- You do a great job. Thank you.
Regarding question 4b) I think people’s self assessment works for the time being. If you find you are not keeping up to the group, I think you’d be more inclined to sign up for recreational. Perhaps recreational was not well attended during the summer but may pick up in the winter and should be monitored for another season.
I am not sure that the recreational time slot is a good use of club resources because it does not seem to be well attended and crowds the intermediate time slots. If the slots were open, players would eventually find the others they like to play with and sign up for those times. Perhaps there could be 1 or 2 slots a week for advanced, and the same for recreational, if it seemed that these two types of play required some specified time. I did not want to answer the no-shows question because I am not sure how our current system works when someone cancels, for example first thing in the morning. How quickly does the system update from the waiting lists or is that manual? I really like the availability of the clinics - very helpful. Kudos to everyone on the Board for their time, expertise and interest in making the club run well.
New member and enjoying outdoor and indoor times and people. Want to play in the afternoons
Thanks for doing this!
As in any sport I have participated in, the draw has alway been to continue to challenge myself to become better in order to advance to the next level while while enjoying the sport.
Thanks to the Board for all their efforts in running our club. Soliciting feedback from the membership is a vital component, so thank you for this survey.
I played both intermediate and intermediate plus and didn't see huge differences in the game. There does seem to be members who want a consistently higher level of play so perhaps the club initiates a program for those who wish to achieve/play 4+ status, institute an assessment process for this group only, and allocate a few time slots per week for it. Other than that, I suggest all sessions be either recreational for those who want a casual fun game and intermediate for those who want a faster more competitive game. Providing definitions of what is recreational and what is intermediate will help people self-assess and sign in to the sessions they are most comfortable with. I don't envy the Board as there is such a diverse group of players and so it is hard to please everyone. Pickleball continues to grow in popularity for a wide range of ages and this means more levels of ability/talent to accommodate - not an easy task. Thanks for your time and efforts.
Possibly using volunteer attendance monitors, those who sign in to Ezee using their cellphone and willing to check attendance randomly at their assigned play, then email the club any no shows. It would then be the responsibility of the club to contact the no show by email to reinforce or enforce the rules of attendance.
Sign in for no shows should only be monitored for a short time to see if no shows can be identified and steps taken to modify behaviour. I wouldn't think this should be done for too long as it will take a lot of time to cross check and people are somewhat likely to forget to sign in at all. Will it serve any purpose????
Tues outdoor well-attended, Sun was not. Adv/int+ played during intermediate times, & I am fine with that, as long as they don’t expect their level of game from the rest of us. That is why I think you should keep some Adv/I+ times. What if we make Recreational times All Players times, if there aren’t enough players? Then it would be like Thursdays where players always expect all levels.
Thanks executive for all your hard work!
As for the Inter+/adv group, the players that chose that group were all the right players for that group. I'm not sure how the intermediate group worked out.
In terms of play at Tomahawk I did not sign up as I have facilities at my home during the summer months. I believe play at Tomahawk should continue as long as the court fees are paid by participants and no out of pocket by the club.
Excellent club ! Hard to be all things to all people and it is very well run and organized!