The following updates were shared with everyone who attended the Chili Cook-Off on Monday:

• We now own a “ball picker upper” for using with the ball machine. It is basically a big scoop. It is housed in the same shed as the ball machine. We also ask that you DO NOT pick up pickleballs by “squishing” them through the bars of the ball hoppers. Only tennis balls which are more flexible should be picked up that way.
• There is a group that is working to design a Bob Reitman Memorial Event. It will most likely be held the first weekend in June. It will be geared towards those players who have never participated in a tournament before. More info and registration will be available in the spring.
• Deb Richter is working to secure Scott Tingley, local pickleball pro, for skills based bootcamps around Memorial Day. More info will be coming soon.
• Lights have been installed on the poolside poles. They provide lighting mostly for court 3. THIS LIGHTING IS NOT MEANT TO EXTEND OUR PLAYING HOURS, BUT TO ALLOW PLAY DURING THE SHORTER DAYS OF WINTER. Our courts are available for play between the hours of 8:00am – 8:00pm year-round.
• Greenville County in SC is holding its Spring Slam on April 20-23. Go to www.greenvillerec.com for more info and registration paperwork.
• There will be an Inaugural Pickleball Slam on ESPN at 12:00 on April 2nd. It will feature Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick and Michael Change competing for a $1 million prize playing pickleball in both singles and doubles formats.
• There was a suggestion to investigate the possibility of purchasing a Vaptr Rollr to be used for drying the courts. Folks had seen it used in Florida and were impressed with the results. This piece of equipment costs $3,000, well over our annual budget. The Board will investigate this idea
• We also discussed items that have already been put forth to the POA – a request for an additional court, a request for some type of court cover over courts 1 & 2 and a request for a commercial washer/dryer to be included as part of the pool house renovation. These are all capital improvement projects for the community to consider. None are a guarantee.
• And lastly, I announced that come the end of June, my term as Pickleball Chairperson will end. I have volunteered for 4 years and will be stepping down. Please consider nominating yourself or someone else when the time arrives. I would be happy to talk to anyone about what the position entails.