kingston · well, rick bigelow, ryan hanes, deanna hanes, terry halton, ilana mcgrath, oriana oszip...

KINGSTONPICKLEBALL CLUB2019 JUNE NEWSLETTER

The Nationals are Coming!KPC President’s Report

With less than a week to go before the Canadian Nation-als hits the Invista Centre, things are taking shape and we are anticipating this being the greatest pickleball tourna-ment ever held in Canada. At over 510 participants (and counting) we know it will be the largest.

Boys and Girls Club New Venue

U.S. Open

Belle Park Negotiations Continue

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Top Stories

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KPC Makes $500 Donation to Harrowsmith for DefibrillatorOn June 7th, 30 players from Kingston Pickleball Club and Frontenac Pickleball Club attended a cheque presentation ceremony at Centennial Park in Harrowsmith. The two clubs donated $1000.00 towards the purchase of two new defibrillators for Centennial Park and Gerald Ball Park. The Mayor, Mr. Ron Vandewal, received the cheque on behalf of the Township of South Frontenac.

Boys and Girls Club New Venue

KPC will have its own key to the facility, which has CCTV for security. “We will be providing a more central and better pickleball venue for players now travelling to Harrowsmith, Amherst-view and Bath for weekday evening and Saturday play,” said Ryan. The one-year contract is renew-able annually for two years. KPC has also made a capital contribution to help offset the cost of improvements to the courts.The Kingston Boys and Girls Club is making

improvements to its Frontenac Mall facilities to provide four professional-quality pickleball courts – three new ones created from the ex-isting, sub-standard two courts, and relocation and improvements to the current one located in the gymnasium. KPC has signed an agreement with the Boys and Girls Club to secure exclusive playing space in the refurbished facility for three evenings a week and Saturday mornings, start-ing this fall.

“This provides KPC members with an outstanding new dedicated pickleball venue for indoor fall, winter and spring play,” said KPC President Ryan Hanes.

To accommodate the different schedules of working and retired players, three separate sessions of 12 to 14 weeks each will be offered from 6:30 – 8:30 pm, and from 8:30 – 10:30 pm Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings; and from 8 – 11 am on Saturdays (including one hour for skills & drills and practice).

The fees for KPC members for the above ses-sions will be $60 for a weekday session and $80 for the Saturday session for up to 20 play-ers each session. Drop-ins – one-time guests and local non-members who could be mem-bers – will be charged $6 for a weekday evening session and $8 for a Saturday morning session. Local non-members will be required to join KPC after two drop-in sessions.

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- Peter Overton

The Kingston Boys and Girls club to provide four professional quality pickleball courts

Strong KPC Contingent in Naples this May for U.S. Open Pickleball Championship

Marketed by organizers as the premier pickle-ball tournament in the world the Minto US OPEN Pickleball Championships lived up to its billing this past April, attracting 2,000 players from 47 states and 20 countries. Over 10,000 specta-tors came to watch contestants battle it out for seven days on 50 courts.

Ryan Hanes and Ian Lepine on their way to Silver in Florida.

KPC was well represented, with Andrea Black-well, Rick Bigelow, Ryan Hanes, Deanna Hanes, Terry Halton, Ilana McGrath, Oriana Oszip and Saima Paidra in attendance. Ryan Hanes and Ian Lepine would medal (silver in Men’s Doubles Age/Skills 4.5 19-49), Andrea Blackwell and Ilana McGrath received a silver in Women’s Doubles 3.5 50+ and Saima Paidra and Oriana Oszip made it to the bronze medal round.

Belle Park Negotiations Continue

As most Kingstonians – and all KPC picklebal-lers – know, Belle Park has gone from landfill site to municipal golf course to naturalized site for hiking, cycling and canoeing/kayaking, to subject of the current Master Plan.

Belle Park poster board illustrating placement of 12 courts.

Belle Park aerial view.

To recap, in 2016, surveys were conducted to understand how the park space was being used, particularly with respect to golf. Based on public feedback, the Belle Park Working group recommended the City consult the public and explore options to reduce, modify or eliminate golf and increase other recreational or naturalization opportunities.

In the summer of 2017, City staff hosted a series of public engagement sessions, including work-shops, focus groups, park tours, and surveys, to seek ideas on future opportunities for Belle Park. As a result of the public feedback in September 2017, Council directed staff to eliminate the oper-ations and maintenance of the 9-hole golf course and, among other initiatives, initiate discussions with the Kingston Pickleball Association on pro-viding permanent pickleball courts. Staff were also directed to begin a master planning exercise, which would include outdoor recreation as well as increase the amount of naturalized areas within the park.

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From May to July 2018, the City and its consul-tants developed two draft master plan concepts for Belle Park based on public feedback from 2017 and consultation with stakeholders, the Belle Park Working Group and members of the Indigenous community. Two draft concepts and a proposed naturalization area were presented at an open house on May 22, a pop-up event on June 6, and through an online survey from May 24 to June 8.

The concepts differed primarily in the propor-tions allocated to natural areas vs recreational spaces. Neither concept received a lot of sup-port, with people complaining that the concepts did not provide enough variation or represent the values of the general public.

In the winter and spring of 2019 it was back to the drawing board with a sense that those favouring the complete naturalization of Belle Park (the Belle Island Caretakers Group) were facing off against those, like the pickleballers and Kingston’s rugby club, who thought a bal-anced master plan should include the permanent sports facilities discussed and all but promised by the City from the outset.

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Belle Park

President’s Report

With 28 courts of non-stop action it will surely be great entertainment and we hope all of our members will participate or at least take in some of the matches.

This tournament will feature some of the top players in the world, including Riley Newman, and Canada’s own Steve Deakin and Catherine Parentau. There will also be several vendors on site including Racquet Science, Manta, Gearbox, Selkirk, Pickleball Guys, Dinkers and Bangers, Tyrol, TMPR, PB Sport and Head. The event runs from June 27 through June 30 with the 27th being a practice and clinic day. There are still a few spots left in Catherine Parentau’s advanced clinic! Our greatest need will be for referees as we will be officiating every match.

Hopefully you have already filled out the most recent (of many) surveys being conducted by the city for Belle Park. This has been an exhausting process and the amount of tax dollars wasted as the city drags out this process is disheartening.

Kingston’s Invista Centre, where Nationals will be held, June 27-30.

Ilana McGrath shows her medal-winning form.

KPC is currently drafting a letter to the mayor and city council sharing our concerns with how this process has proliferated over the past two years. We will make the letter public upon its delivery and would love to see our membership share it again with their councillors.

It is the position of KPC that we have done an excellent job in growing the sport locally and boosting the local economy by bringing large tournaments and even the 2019 & 2020 Cana-dian Nationals to the city. We do not feel we have been shown the support by our city rec depart-ment that other municipalities with far less active and effective clubs enjoy. We will continue to fight the good fight to bring a world-class facil-ity to our world-class membership!

I had a chance to meet with city staff along with KPC vice president Bob Hurtubise. At this meet-ing we were shown a draft plan for designated courts at Belle Park. Unfortunately the courts were presented without lights and in insufficient numbers for us to hold future major events. There will be another public session at Belle Park on June 3rd where you will be able to see some of the proposals.

The 2019 ladder has commenced at the Royal Kingston Curling Club and we are happy to say we have a completely full session! Ladder play offers a more competitive setting for those looking to measure and improve their games. Each week you are placed on a court based on your ladder posi-tion; you play one game with every other player on that court for the evening and based on your results you will either move up, stay on the same court or slide down. This format ensures that you will face mainly players of the same skill set with the ultimate goal being to make it to the top court! Look for our Session 2 registration announcement in the coming weeks.

Camp Maple Leaf is my favourite place on this earth. It is located on an island in Pigeon Lake north of Peterborough. This camp was estab-lished in 1955 by the War Veterans of Canada as a free camp for children who would otherwise not be able to attend. I had the great privilege of working there for four summers while in high school and it has occupied a large part of my heart ever since. I am beyond grateful to be able to announce that KPC has made a donation of $4500 from our 2018 & 2019 Limestone Classic tournaments. Thank you so much to all of those who participated and volunteered to make this possible. To learn more about the camp please visit www.campmapleleaf.net.

Ladder

Camp Maple Leaf

Kurt Hall and Andrea Blackwell won Gold medal in Coburg.

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- Ryan Hanes

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News From Pickleball Ontario

Please see news below from Pamela Joslin of Pickleball Ontario, covering affiliate club membership, promotion and support, ratings (important!), clinics, insurance and more. The links provided will give you easier access to more detailed information.

Membership in Pickleball Canada’s “Affiliated Clubs” (New)Clubs will no longer affiliate directly with PCO. Club affiliation will be managed by the provincial and territorial organizations. KPC will affiliate with Pickleball Ontario. Pickleball Ontario is affiliated with PCO. All paid-up KPC members will automatically have valid memberships in Pick-leball Ontario and will consequently have PCO membership and be eligible for the following benefits.

Promotion and SupportThe POA will assist KPC with event promotion on their web site, help with constitution questions, and support other club goals. https://pickleballontario.org

Clinic, Tournament and Ratings Support. (New)The Pickleball Canada ratings page states “.... a club affiliated with PCO through their provin-cial association is eligible …”. Players wanting to use the rating system would need to be a PAO member. Clubs would have to be affiliated; this would require that 100% of its members be PAO members and thereby they would also be PCO members. Article - Pickleball Canada/IFP Ratings. https://pickleballcanada.org/pickleball_canada_ifp_ratings.php

ClinicsDiscounted or free admission to PAO members for Pickleball Ontario sponsored clinics.

InsurancePickleball Ontario and Pickleball Canada insurance offers economical insurance to the individual player, their Club, their facility, their Provincial organization and Pickleball Canada. Their claims policy is very straightforward (some private insurance companies may not provide as extensive coverage and their claims process may not be as easy).https://pickleballcanada_canada_insurance_pr.php

Partner PerksAllows KPC members access to pickleball merchandise discounts through the Pickle-ball Ontario website. https://pickleballontario.org Article - link on “Partner Perks”

Advocacy, Lobbying and VoiceAffiliation with the Provincial and National pick-leball sport bodies gives KPC and its members greater leverage to lobby and advocate for specific and general pickleball causes. A stron-ger voice provides strength when dealing with elected officials and government bodies. Locally this may come into play when trying to lobby local councillors to advocate for more places to play in your area (e.g. Belle Park).

FundingAffiliation with your provincial and national body is the vehicle through which you can col-laborate to have PCO be registered as the the National Sport Organization (NSO) governing the sport. As a registered PAO and PCO mem-ber you are counted and your voice heard in the quest toward having pickleball become a more “recognized as a sport.” Once this occurs many avenues of funding open to further develop the sport for the enjoyment of members.

A Pickleball Ontario (PAO) membership cur-rently costs $15 for the year (part of your KPC membership) fee) and includes membership in Pickleball Canada (PCO). For more information you can read: “Why Pick-leball Ontario became an affiliate of Pickleball Canada” https://pickleballontario.org

Where to Play Pickleball This Summer

Now that the weather is nicer, many facilities have opened their outdoor courts. There are many locations available to play, especially if you have a portable net and three friends ready to go.Some new outdoor locations include:

LaSalle High SchoolHwy # 15, Kingston

Gerald Ball ParkSouth Frontenac, Sunbury

Jim Beattie Park, 930 Henderson Drive, Kingston

Indoor play continues at various locations. Fol-low the link below or log on to the KPC website for more details.https://kingstonpickleball.com/where-to-play/

Kelli McRobert won Gold in London with Jacqueline Collins.

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Editor: Peter Overton Graphic Designer: Jonathan ElliotContact: kingstonpickleball.com

Newsletter Published By

Belle Park Negotiations ContinuedContinued From Page 4

At a February 27 Open House at the Rideau Centre, KPC members again made the case for permanent pickleball facilities, including light-ing, fencing and windscreens. Permanent courts would provide free recreational activities for local youth and require no larger a footprint than presently exists. At a subsequent meeting with the City, Ryan Hanes and Bob Hurtubise made the case for 16 courts, including four that would share line markings with tennis but be available for tournaments.

On May 1st and 2nd, the City hosted drop-in ses-sions at Belle Park to present some draft designs and allow the public to meet with staff and con-sultants to discuss the process so far. Included among the new presentation boards was one showing 12 permanent pickleball courts located on the current site of the temporary ones. Pro-vision was also made for two multi-use courts to support two tennis courts or eight additional pickleball courts for tournament play. A new parking lot was also illustrated next to these sport courts.

The City is now working to finalize the Belle Park Master Plan, which should be presented to City Council later this year. We are all hoping that within the next few years, the City of Kingston will have some brand new courts at Belle Park, for what is being called the fastest growing sport in North America.

(See President’s Report for more information on this)

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- Peter Overton

Saima and Oriana proudly sport their Kingston Eastern Championship Ts at US open in Naples.

Oriana Oszip and Naz Assy won Gold in Trois Rivieres.

KPC at U.S. Open!Over 10,000 pickleball players and their fans descended on Naples, Florida for the Minto U.S. Open and KPC members were prominent among them.

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Name Tournament Medal

Bidinost, Pam

Limestone Classic02/16/19 - 02/17/19Kingston Military Com-munity Sports Centre,Kingston, ON K7K 7B4

Silver (with Hong Liu) Women’s Doubles 3.0Silver (with Marc Ro-chon) Mixed Doubles 3.5

Tournoi PbSport Open03/09/19 - 03/10/19Centre sportif La Ruche, Magog, QC J1X 3Y6

Gold (with Jacqueline Collins) Women’s Dou-bles 3.0

Toronto Cup04/12/19 - 04/14/19Hotel X, Toronto, ON M6K 3C3

Bronze (with Rebecca Rozario) Women’s Dou-bles 3.0

Plattsburgh Pickleball Tournament, Beekmantown Central School, Plattsburgh, NY 04/10/19-04/07/19

Bronze (with Vitali Osta-pets) Mixed 3.0

London Pickleball Tournament, Fanshawe College, London, ON 05/24/19-05/26/19

Silver (with Vitali Osta-pets) Mixed 3.0

Bigelow, Rick

Limestone Classic02/16/19 - 02/17/19Kingston Military Com-munity Sports Centre, Kingston, ON K7K 7B4

Gold (with Andrea Black-well) Mixed Doubles 3.5

MBPC Cabin Fever Round Robin03/11/19 - 03/12/19Myrtle Beach Sports Center, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

Gold (with Andrea Black-well) Mixed Doubles 3.5Silver (with Andrea Blackwell) Mixed Dou-bles 3.5


Bronze (with David Harris)Men’s Doubles 3.5

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KPC Members Medal Haul to end of MaySanctioned Tournaments


Blackwell, Andrea


Gold (with Rick Bigelow) Mixed Doubles 3.5

MBPC Cabin Fever Round Robin03/11/19 - 03/12/19Myrtle Beach Sports Center, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

Gold (with Rick Bigelow) Mixed Doubles 3.5Silver (with Rick Bige-low) Mixed Doubles 3.5


Bronze (with Katharine Du Quesnay) Women’s 4.0


Silver (with Ilana Mc-Grath) Women’s 4.0

Collins, Jacqueline London Pickleball Tournament, Fanshawe College, London, ON 05/24/19-05/26/19

Gold (with Kelli McRob-ert) Women’s 3.5

Hanes, Ryan Minto U.S. Open Pickle-ball Championships, Na-ples FL April 04/27/19 – 05/04/19

Silver (with Ian Lepine) Men’s Skills/Age Dou-bles 4.5 19-49


Silver (with Sean Allen) Men’s 4.5Silver (with Nancy Wig-nall) Mixed Doubles 4.5


Bronze (with Mark Clem-enson)

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KPC Members 2019 MedallistsSanctioned Tournaments, cont’d.


Kim, Andy


Bronze (with Ilana McGrath) Mixed Doubles 4.0

Lowe, Brad

Limestone Classic02/16/19 - 02/17/19Kingston Military Community Sports Cen-tre, Kingston, ON K7K 7B4

Bronze (with Leonard Ogaki) Men’s Doubles 3.5


Gold (with David Harris) Men’s Doubles 3.5Silver (with Saima Paidra) Mixed Doubles 3.5

McGrath, Ilana


Silver (with Annette McGlynn) Women’s Doubles 4.0Bronze (with Bob Light) Mixed Doubles 4.0


Bronze (with Andy Kim) Mixed Doubles 4.0


Silver (with Andrea Blackwell) Women’s 4.0

McRobert, Kelli

Limestone Classic02/16/19 - 02/17/19Kingston Military Community Sports Cen-tre, Kingston, ON K7K 7B4

Gold (with Alison Dow) Women’s Doubles 3.0


Gold (with Jacqueline Collins) Women’s 3.5

Ostapets, Vitali London Pickleball Tournament, Fanshawe College, London, ON 05/24/19-05/26/19

Silver (with Pam Bidinost) Mixed 3.0

Paidra, Saima Limestone Classic02/16/19 - 02/17/19Kingston Military Community Sports Cen-tre, Kingston, ON K7K 7B4

Silver (with Jane Ward) Women’s 3.5


Silver (with Brad Lowe)Mixed Doubles 3.5

Plattsburgh Pickleball Tournament, Beek-mantown Central School, Plattsburgh, NY 04/06/19-04/07/19

Gold (with Brad Lowe) Mixed 3.5Silver (with Nancy Gregory) Women’s 3.5

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KPC Members 2019 MedallistsSanctioned Tournaments, cont’d.


Bally, Dennis

Collingwood, March 22-24, Blue Mountain Bronze (with Kathy Bally)Mixed C Flight

Bally, Kathy

Collingwood, March 22-24, Blue Mountain Bronze (with Dennis Bally)Mixed C Flight

Collingwood, March 22-24, Blue Mountain Bronze (with Pam Bidinost) Women’s 3.0

Bidinost, Pam

Collingwood March 22-24, Blue Mountain Silver (with Daryl Aspin)Mixed C Flight

Collingwood March 22-24, Blue Mountain Bronze (with Kathy Bally) Women’s 3.0

Blackwell, Andrea

Collingwood March 22-24, Blue Mountain Bronze (with Kelli McRobert)Doubles A Flight

Boyes, Gisela

Heartland Senior Games, February 16, Florida Gold, Mixed

Kim, Andy

Cornwall Open, Feb. 22, Cornwall Collegiate VS Gold (with Kelly McRobert) Open 3.5 and under

Lowe, Brad

Collingwood March 22-24, Blue Mountain Silver (with Saima Paidra) Mixed, B flight

McRobert, Kelli

Collingwood March 22-24, Blue Mountain Gold (with Roy Wilson)Mixed C Flight

Collingwood March 22-24, Blue Mountain Bronze, (with Andrea Blackwell) Doubles A Flight

Cornwall Open, Feb. 22, Cornwall Collegiate VS Gold (with Andy Kim) Open 3.5 and under

Oszip, Oriana

Trois Rivieres, May 18-19, Trois Rivieres, QC Gold, (with Naz Assy) Mixed Doubles 4.0

Paidra, Saima

Collingwood March 22-24, Blue Mountain Silver (with Brad Lowe) Mixed, B flight

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Unsanctioned Tournaments

kingston · well, rick bigelow, ryan hanes, deanna hanes, terry halton, ilana mcgrath, oriana oszip...

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