Our Club has experienced amazing growth since we began June 1, 2022. As a club, we strive to focus on what we can do to innovate and provide our members an incredible experience. The August SPC Member Survey provided us with excellent feedback and now we’re ready to deliver 15 new club upgrades we think you’re going to like!  Effective September 1st, all upgrades will go into effect. In the future these upgrades will be renamed “Club Rules and Guidelines”.  Let’s take a look;

Is Playing Too Much Pickleball Bad For Your Health?

It probably depends on who you ask, we say no! So with that in mind, We went ahead and expanded our club’s playing schedule by 77% to accommodate the massive growth of our club. We’ve gone from 26 playing events per week to 46 in just 1 month. This includes 15 different playing formats and 386 available playing slots for our members every week!  - Click HERE for the SPC Playing Schedule and see how our schedule has expanded to 46 playing events per week. We strongly recommend you print this schedule and refer to it prior to going to SignUp Genius. It will make things far less complicated.

Mind the Gap

Many members are falling into the "gap" between intermediate and advanced. So, we felt it was time to add 1 level of challenge play and change the name of the levels all together. The new playing levels are Gold, Silver and Bronze. We’ve included simple assessment criteria for our members to use, which will help determine the correct level of challenge play. Please click HERE for the SPC Challenge Levels to learn about our new levels. We ask that all members read this thoroughly prior to reserving playing slots in September.

Bucking For a Promotion?

An existing member who is wanting to play up one level from their current level of challenge play should use the established guidelines in the SPC Challenge Levels section of this website to determine if they should move up. Both criteria should be treated equal when making this decision.

For new members or members who have never played in a SPC Challenge match, we ask that you first compete at the level that best aligns with your skill set on the USA Pickleball Skill Rating. If you feel your appropriate skill level is Gold, we ask that you first compete at the Silver level, assess your level of play, then make your decision for future challenge play events. They only exception to this rule where a new member could skip Silver and go directly to Gold would be if they were approved by a SPC Committee member based on a level of play that was witnessed in a tournament or an SPC event.

Noise Reduction

We have created new GroupMe guidelines to greatly reduce the number of messages being sent out to the club. If you ever have or plan on sending a message to the group, please review these simple rules of consideration prior to hitting the send button. Please click HERE for the “GroupMe Guidelines” link at the top of this page to learn how the pings on your phone will greatly diminish.

Behave Yourself Out There!

We have created a simple Southlake Paddle Club Conduct and Court Etiquette Expectations document to ensure sportsmanship will always be one of the guiding principles within the club - Click HERE to read our SPC Code of Conduct. As Joe Coniglio once said, “life is full of drama, why add more to the courts”.

All Mixed Up

Mixed doubles challenge play will move to “actual” mixed doubles (5 men/5 women or 3 men/3 women). The sign ups for this format will require an even number of men and women players. During challenge play, if the teams are unbalanced (2 men vs 1 man & 1 woman or 2 women vs. 1 man & 1 woman) the games should be played as an open game and not count as a win or a loss. When signing up for mixed play please pay close attention to what number sign up you are (SignUp Genius posts names in order based on when someone signs up). For example, if there are 5 men and 4 women currently signed up, the mens sign up is closed because they have reached their max of 5.

There Must Be Limitations

We have limited the number of names a member can add under his/her name. Effective immediately, a member can only sign up 1 other person on the SignUp Genius app. This provides a more level playing field for other members attempting to reserve slots.

We have also limited the number of Skills and Drills a member can attend per month allowing more members to benefit from these weekly sessions. Starting in September, the maximum number of sign ups per person, per month will be 2. We encourage all members who attend the Skills and Drills to take the lessons learned and work independently on their game. Our goal is to have 4 courts for Skills and Drills in the near future allowing us to work with 16 members at a time verses the 8.  

Are You Single and Ready to Mingle?

No, not that type of single!  Actually playing 1 on 1 with another Pickler - what a concept! For those members who enjoy playing singles, we’ve added Sunday’s Singles to the playing schedule. There will only be 8 slots available each week due to court availability so sign up quick. This is open to men and women.

Give Me 1 Good Reason You’d Cancel Your Pickleball Plans?

Let’s be honest, there isn’t one! But, let’s pretend you won the lottery and had to drive to Austin to pick up your check - you may need to cancel your pickleball plans. Please make a mental note we have just implemented a 24-hour SignUp Genius cancelation policy. 24 hours prior to an event, all a member is required to do is delete their name from Sign UpGenius, drive south and grab your check. Now, within 24-hours of play, a member is required to find a replacement for their empty slot. A member can use GroupMe to announce an opening. This rule does not apply if an emergency has occurred. The committee will address members who are struggling to adhere to this rule. Bottomline, don’t win the lottery and you’ll never miss pickleball!

Because 14 Formats Of Play Just Isn’t Enough

That’s right, we need a 15th!  In September, we will test pilot a Mens Cross-Over Challenge format where Gold and Silver challenge levels play together. Each doubles team in the blind draw will be required to have a Gold and Silver player. This format is designed to help lift up players as we tend to play better with and against better competition. If this format is a success we will consider rolling this out at a future date with the womens challenge play. This will depend on overall interest and court availability. When signing up for this format, enter your level of play (Gold or Silver) in the notes so we can ensure there is an equal number of Gold and Silver players registering to play.

Please Don’t Crash The Party

We have implemented a “Don’t Crash the Party Rule”. This means that if you have not signed up to play in an event, we ask that you respect the members who have and not crash the party. Bottomline, we want all members to sign up before they show up.

Friday Night Just Got A Whole Lot Better

Our 4:30 Friday Open Play will now be designated as our Weekly Club Social event. There will be no cap to the number of players who can sign up, but we still ask that everyone signs up so members can see how many are attending. This event has become a club favorite and we want more members to experience it. This relaxing and casual format is open to all levels of play, we just ask that only members attend.

There’s An App For That

The “PB Play” app will now be the official app for our club’s blind draw events. Anytime there is more than 1 court involved in a format (including Open Play, but not including our Friday Club Social) the PB Play app should be used.  The app cannot distinguish between genders so during Mixed Play events, the organizer may need to manually change the teams to account for this. Using this app ensures doubles play is randomly selected and no two players will play together again until everyone has played together first. This app cost $3.99 on the app store and is very easy to learn and use. It is not required, but suggested for all members of the club who may be designated the organizer of an event.

Did You Say You Wanted To Play In a Tournament?

Based on the survey you just took, 91% of you said yes! Be on the look out in mid September when we’ll be announcing the details of our very first Southlake Paddle Club tournament. This tournament will be like nothing you’ve ever experienced! Only open to SPC members and it will be played in October over multiple weeks. Due to the test pilot format we’ll be using, we will limit this tournament to 48 players and 12 reserves. In a couple of weeks, we’ll be asking our membership who is interested in playing in this exciting format, so be on the lookout.