Please click below to read Donna’s obituary
https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/obituaries/donna-marileen-cunliffe/

I hope everyone has been enjoying the summer so far! With the lifting of the COVID restrictions and the warm July weather, our outdoor court facilities here in the Comox Valley have seen a lot of use.
The resurfacing of court 6 at the Rotary Highland Courts will begin Thursday July 22 at 10AM. It will take three days to complete the work, and two additional days for the repairs to settle. Play can resume on Tuesday July 27. Please cooperate with the Playco repair personnel and abide by the Town of Comox signage.
The 2020 and 2021 Annual General Meeting will be held on October 4 at the Comox Community Centre. If you wish to have your name stand for a position on the CVPA Board of Directors, please contact our Elections Officer, Elizabeth Folk at elizfolk20@gmail.com. We are always in need of volunteers and there are several committees set up that you can contribute to and you do not have to be a Board member. Please contact me for further information.
CVPA Webmaster: After many of years of dedicated service to our Assoc. as both a Board and Communications Committee member and the webmaster, Jaye will be stepping down from her multiple CVPA official roles. We are extremely grateful to Jaye for her commitment to our cause in contributing her time and energy and in designing and creating our website so important club information could be circulated. While we recognize this is a big role to fill, we are hoping a qualified member with a professional background will step forward to assume this position or a portion of it. Further information is listed below.
We will be holding a Fun Mixer Day for CVPA members on September 11. More details listed below.
For members that wish to purchase CVPA member badges, please see the information below.
As I mentioned earlier, our courts have been very busy. There have been a few instances where conflicts have taken place at the Rotary Highland pickleball courts. Please follow the court guidelines as set out by the Town of Comox and the CVPA. When the courts are full and four players are waiting, complete your game to 11 points, win by one point, then vacate the court and wait for the next available court. If everyone follows these guidelines, everything should run smoothly, and players would have to wait no longer than 5 or 10 minutes to start their next game. The Suggested Play Times are implemented so that all of our members do not show up at the same time. They are not “reserved” courts or strictly for the use of a particular group. If four people show up to play and are waiting by the paddle queue, follow the guidelines above for play when courts are fully subscribed. When interacting with other players, please show cooperation, kindness, and respect. We are all there to enjoy our great sport at some of the finest pickleball courts in our country.
Enjoy, Have Fun….

Rick Folk
President, CVPA

Phil of Racketeer Sports is a sponsor of CVPA and he is moving to Gabriola Island.
From now until Monday 31st May Phil is offering discounts ranging from 15% to 25% off of the regular retail price.
Here are some examples:

RS yellow outdoor pickleballs. Normally $3.60. Now $3.00.
Franklin X Lime Green $4.20 Now $3.50.
Onix Fuse Outdoor Reg $3.80 Now $3.20.
Manta Portable new system Reg $265 Now $212.

All Selkirk paddles in stock. 25% discount. E.g. Amped series. Normally $195. Now $146.
All TPMR paddles in stock. 25 % discount.
All ProLite paddles in stock. 25% discount.
All Manta paddles in stock. 20% discount.
Racketeersports paddles 25% discount.
Backpacks and sling bags 20% discount.
Paddle covers 25% discount.
Grips and overwraps 20% discount.
Sundry items including two lightly used paddles $30 and $50.

The sale is for any pickleball items that he has in stock.
Prices do not include taxes (12%) which will be added at time of sale.

All items can be seen at Phil’s home (Outside in the car port due to Covid) between 10am and 5pm each day until Monday 31st May. Payment can be made by cash, cheque, etransfer and if you wish to pay using a credit card, because of the deep discounts, please add the service charge of 2.45%. The address is: 1533 Dogwood Ave. Comox.

I hope all of our members are in good health and enjoying the change of seasons.

I understand that there has been some confusion on the pickleball courts about what type of play is permitted. There have been no recent changes to the playing protocol for pickleball during the COVID-19 Pandemic. If there are any changes, we will notify our members immediately. So, it is still status quo. Please do not try to misinterpret the regulations that are in place for our safety.

Indoor play is singles only and outdoor play is also singles only unless you partner with a member from the same household and your opponents are from the same household.

So, playing doubles is out for others that are not in the same household. Some players are claiming that they can play doubles because of the 10 foot distance requirement while playing. Not so. ViaSport (the governing body that oversees all sport regulations on behalf of the BC Health Authority), Pickleball BC, and the Comox Valley Pickleball Association all agree that doubles play is not allowed because players cannot maintain the 3 meter separation at all times. Karen Watson (VP for Pickleball BC) states “Many have asked about exceptions-there are no exceptions. Vaccines don’t make a difference as there is a possibility that even vaccinated people can transmit the virus. It doesn’t matter if they wear a mask either. It does not matter if a player has had COVID either.”

Please do not listen to players that are trying to circumvent the safety protocols that have been instituted for the well-being of pickleball players in the Comox Valley. Maintain social distancing and follow all guidelines on the courts at all times We all look forward to the time when the restrictions are softened, and eventually dropped.

I would like to remind our CVPA members about the playing protocol that has been in place at the Rotary Highland Courts since May of 2020. Maintain physical distancing on the courts at all times on the courts. Play is for one hour as per the top of the hour ….ie 10AM, 11AM, 12PM, 1PM, etc. At the top of the hour, players should stop play and check to see if there are any players waiting for a court. Players that have not played yet have priority to claim a court. If there are enough new players for all 6 courts, all the players that had been playing should vacate the courts. If there are only enough new players for 1 to 5 courts, the previous players that had been playing for the shortest period of time will have priority for the open court(s). Please be considerate and fair when deciding who plays at the top of the hour. A court cannot be “held” until a player arrives when there are players waiting for a court. Players playing singles have equal playing status for the courts as those playing doubles (partner is member of same household).

Suggested Play Times at Rotary Highland Courts

The CVPA Board of Directors has approved changes to the “Suggested Play Times” (SPT) for this season at Rotary Highland Courts for when any playing restrictions are lifted. They are currently not in effect as there are strict pandemic playing protocols in place. You will be advised if any of the provincial guidelines are reduced.

Novice: Tuesday Thursday Saturday:11AM to 1PM, Sunday 9AM to 11AM
Intermediate: Tuesday Thursday Saturday 8AM to 11AM
Advanced: Monday Wednesday Friday 9AM to noon.
(These times are subject to change).

The Suggested Play Times are not exclusive bookings or reservations for a particular group. Rather they are a means to prevent all of our CVPA members from showing up at the Rotary Highland courts at the same time. The Town of Comox wants all times to be “open”, therefore players that show up to play are entitled to do so, as long as they follow any playing protocols that are in effect.

We encourage all players to be members of Comox Valley Pickleball Association and players that show up to play in the Rotary Highland SPTs are also urged to be members. Benefits of being a CVPA member include membership in Pickleball Canada, Pickleball BC, CVPA newsletters, complimentary pickleball lessons, Pickleball Canada insurance, member social events, member tournaments, referee training, and support for pickleball in the Comox Valley. (see further information below).

Club Membership Update
185 members

Thank you to all our members that have been adhering to the COVID guidelines for safe play. Please let’s all cooperate so that courts will remain open. Enjoy playing pickleball and stay healthy!

Rick Folk
President, CVPA