Club Spotlight

Early Days

Northern Beaches Pickleball Association (NBPA) was formed in late 2019 by a group of interested players who were soon playing at PCYC in Dee Why and at the outdoor courts at Avalon.

Like all organisations, COVID stopped play as venues were closed. Some members played outdoors and at times chalked up courts in their local area. By the end of 2022, the worst was over and we were able to start playing regularly again and membership had reached about 200.

At our first committee meeting in January 2023, those committee members who lived in the Avalon area decided to form a new Avalon Beach Pickleball Association and set forward plans to separate from NBPA by 1 July 2023.

New Committee & New Ideas

A new NBPA committee was formed in March 2023 with about 150 members. At our first meeting we set about organising email addresses, bank accounts and websites etc.

One important role in the new committee was establish a Training Officer to improve the skills and level of play at games. There was no program in place to introduce new members to NBPA. New players would sign up on Meetup or just roll up to PCYC and want to play. This of course created a lot of problems.

Our solution was to establish regular sessions where new players were introduced to the club and pickleball. NBPA began to look beyond the PCYC & booked 3 badminton courts at Curl Curl, 9-11am, Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays. This was to be our new training venue and the development of our Building Pickleball Skills program.

Building Pickleball Skills

The program sets out to provide each new member with the basic skills and understanding of the rules. Each player must be able to serve and return the ball, understand and follow the basic rules (eg 2 bounce rule & kitchen etc) as well as being able to score. Once new players have achieved these skills and joined NBPA, they are given the grade STANDARD (2.0 – 2.49) and allowed to then join in appropriate games.

The fee is $10 per session, the same as all other sessions. Originally, we allowed new players to attend 3 sessions, but this proved very difficult to monitor. NBPA reduced this so that each new player was advised after their first session, if they wish to continue playing, they must join NBPA.

There were several unexpected consequences of the BP Skills program. There was a more structured process for new players. Many new players had issues with ‘Meet Up’ so a few sessions at BP Skills and this was sorted. We no longer had to chase players to NBPA. Another consequence was that it ensured almost all new players who were turning up to sessions always had a set of basic skills.

The last unexpected consequence was the members who attended PCYC sessions greatly improved. To put it bluntly the level of play went through the roof.

More Training

Demand for BP Skills continues to grow. Currently we have up to 60 new players attending 5 sessions per week and they are all full. ‘Drills & Skills for Standard’ is well attended at 3 sessions per week as our new members seek to improve their game. Other sessions include ‘Training for Standard’ and ‘Training for Intermediate’.

NBPA does not rely on highly skilled coaches but have developed a ‘Train the Trainer Program’ to provide guidance and skills to those members who are keen to pass on their knowledge and skills to other members. Usually, we have 12 players at each session and try to have 2 trainers.

Migration from Meet Up to Open Sports

Our members mostly pay for their session online at the same time as they book (not PCYC). Meetup as many of you know, came with its challenges; but it was what everyone was using. In 2023 their fees for collecting payments went through the roof so it was time to say goodbye.

Our Media Officer recommended Open Sports which is used by some big clubs interstate. Despite the platform being developed in Canada, the Open Sports team communicate with our Media Officer by email and phone and are keen to modify the software to suit our needs.

Yes, Open Sports does have a fee (cheaper than Meetup) but it works well. In January this year over $24,000 in fees were collected. The progression for our members from one to the other platform was quite seamless.

Communication

Informing NBPA members of developments in NBPA has been a high priority, through:

NBPA website & Facebook group

Monthly Newsletter

Weekly ‘Pickle Press’ (a brief updates email)

Numerous WhatsApp groups

Specific emails

Verbal updates by committee members at Pickleball sessions.

Venue Shortage

Nothing new you say, agreed! As NBPA continued to grow, we faced the same problems as many other clubs, not enough venues or we had to compete with other sports such as basketball. However, NBPA booked everything we could at Beacon Hill and Curl Curl.

Despite Northern Beaches Council knowing 6 years previous that pickleball was coming and it was going to be big, they had made little preparation. We faced challenges in receiving assistance from council staff to help our club grow through furter utlisation of venues; so after a number of months we requested a meeting with the Mayor to discuss our concerns and needs as a club. From there, things became a little easier.

At present we run almost 50 sessions per week:

PCYC Dee Why - up to 6 pickleball courts, 6 days per week.

Beacon Hill Memorial Hall - 3 pickleball courts, 6 days & 4 nights per week

Curl Curl Youth & Community Centre - 3 badminton courts, 5 days per week

Sydney Sokol Club – 3 badminton courts, 4 days & 4 nights per week

Oxford Falls Grammar School – 6 covered outdoor courts, 2 days & 1 night per week.

Further outdoor courts are becoming available soon.

Joining Pickleball Australia and Pickleball NSW

Prior to the July 2023, NBPA was not affiliated to any other organisation. The new NBPA committee took time to explain to members the advantages of being part of a bigger community. It would make administration of NBPA easier. NBPA members could play at other venues eg on holidays etc.

Despite the increase in cost of membership, there was little resistance to the proposal, and we affiliated on 1^st July 2023. A decision that has proven to be really worthwhile.

Competitions

NBPA had trialled a couple of round robins with varying success. The Australian Pickleball Championships (APC) at Blacktown were fast approaching, our Competitions Officer went into top gear and decided to give it a shot.

NBPA had an overwhelming response with some 83 members competing at the APC. This was a defining moment as we said to other clubs, NBPA has arrived. We look forward to more opportunities to compete and visit other clubs.

Where to in 2024

It has been a busy time already this year, so we need to not only continue to do the things that work but to also look at ways to do things smarter as our membership will soon reach 700. No doubt we will continue to do the training and hosting of as many sessions as possible so that everyone who wants to can play and improve. We do not want to have waiting lists.

One priority that has been identified is to reach new, younger members by starting a session appropriately named ‘Young Bloods’.

Another priority is to have more weeknight sessions for our members who work.

The NBPA committee is committed to developing a strategic plan for the long term with realistic and achievable goals. One of these will be to establish a ‘Home’ for the club, a venue which we can have more control, where we do not have to compete with other sports and where we can develop the social side of the Club.

Chris Taylor

President, NBPA