Please wear a mask when you are waiting at a pickleball court and when a doubles partner requests it. Everyone is expected to wear masks when not maintaining 6 feet distance.
NOTE:
Most courts have special requirements that must be followed. Please be supportive by adhering to these modified protocols during this time period. Thank you.
NOTE: If you’d like to join a list of players sharing contact information to make pickleball connections, visit https://
LOCAL COURT OPTIONS AND GUIDELINES
INDOOR VENUES AS OF MID-FEBRUARY:
Please check specific venue details, mask requirements, and updates!
Birch Bay Activity Center; Court reservations available by phone for up to 6 players per court; There are two courts. 360-656-6416. $3 pp. Players from mixed households are OK, but play within a pickleball bubble is encouraged. (Three outdoor courts also available by reservation.)
Bellingham Athletic Club; Members can reserve a spot in the gym for pickleball. (360) 676-1800 memberservices@bellinghamathleticclub.com
Bellingham YMCA; One court available by a 60-minute reservation for up to 4 people, Mon-Sat. No charge for Y members, and non-members can purchase a day pass. https://www.whatcomymca.org/pickleball-basketball-reservations ; 360-733-8630
You can use this form if you want to be matched with a pickleball partner for play at the YMCA.
Semiahmoo Resort; Spa club members and hotel guests can reserve an indoor court up to two weeks in advance. Each spa member can reserve one court for up to 6 players for a two-hour period. There are four indoor courts.
BELLINGHAM PARK COURT GUIDELINES
All guidelines were set in collaboration between BPC & Bellingham Parks and Rec Dep’t.
*NOTE ALL:
- Plan to meet up to gather and play in a small group of 2-5 people.
- There is no large drop-in, congregating, or group play allowed at courts.
- Maintain a 6-foot distance with non-household members and/or wear a mask.
Mask wearing is encouraged. - Once others are waiting for a court, play is limited to 1-hour max.
Please be considerate.
When waiting for a Cornwall dedicated court, use the “Next-Up Paddle Queue”. - Minimize passage through occupied courts.
Check that it is ok to pass AND keep distance from others. - Singles (including “skinny singles”) and doubles have equal court priority.
Skinny Singles: https://youtu.be/NFMLlzQt2TY
Regular Singles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1ZL9tdP87k - Players may bring a net to set up on “multi-use” courts.
- Stagger sessions from dawn to dusk to minimize wait times & congestion.
- Please assess your own health, safety, & risk factors, and take care of yourself.
- All relevant local and state guidelines apply.
BELLINGHAM PARK COURTS
Fairhaven Park has lines for use with tennis nets, and/or for two portable nets.
Padden & Elizabeth Parks have tennis courts with painted lines to use tennis nets.
Birchwood Park on Cedarwood has a basketball court with lines for two portable nets.
Cornwall Park Tennis/ Pickleball “Multi-use” Courts::
There are two tennis courts which are striped for 4 pickleball courts with portable nets, or 2 courts using the tennis nets.
Open for play with above guidelines.
NOTE: A limited number of nets are available for borrowing by BPC members for several weeks at a time.
CORNWALL DEDICATED PICKLEBALL COURTS: 6 dedicated pball courts are open for play, with above guidelines.
COVERED PLAYSHEDS
A number of outdoor covered school “playsheds” are available for use during after-school hours.
These Playsheds have been measured and marked by BPC volunteers for one or more courts.
You will need a portable net, and sometimes chalk is helpful as well.
PARKS OUTSIDE OF BELLINGHAM
LYNDEN CITY PARK has a pickleball court with permanent net and has remained open.
BENDER FIELD in Lynden now has 4 dedicated pickleball courts.
HILLCREST PARK in Mt Vernon has three dedicated courts open (of six total). Players must come in groups of 2-5 and play with that group. There is no group or drop-in play. If players are waiting, play 2 games and rotate off courts. Use safe distancing with other groups.
Note: If you make the personal choice to play pickleball during this time, we highly recommend that you use excellent hygiene measures & physical distancing to minimize the potential spread from person to person. And of course, cover sneezes & coughs with your arm, avoid physical contact, and don’t come if you feel sick at all, have recently tested positive, or have been around people who have been sick or tested positive. During this time it is safer to play in small closed groups with agreed upon hygiene practices than in an open group. If you are in a high-risk health category, we recommend that you not play in open groups.
Mission Statement
BPC promotes the development of pickleball skills, facilities and community in the greater Bellingham area.
BPC Membership Supports:
- Expansion and improvement of local pickleball facilities.
- Welcoming environment for players of all levels.
- Vibrant pickleball community.
- Opportunities to connect with players of your level.
- Enhanced communication, including BPC website.
- Links to places to play, local classes and clinics, rules and organizations, and discounts.
- And much, much more…
Contact Us
Questions about the club, or anything else?
Visit “Bellingham WA Pickleball”, a local group of pickleball players on facebook. Provides general information but not specifically BPC.
News and Updates
We need your input!
Tuesday April 13, 6:30 – 8:30pm
ZOOM Link: swsd.zoom.us/j/84982471414
Members should have received a detailed message about the agenda with links to important documents. If you DID NOT receive the email, please write us at: bellinghampickle@gmail.com
AGENDA SUMMARY
Introductions
Volunteer recognition
Updates and reminders
Membership
Treasurer’s Report
NEW COURT POTENTIAL:
Review the New Courts summary, as there are positive developments. We have been busy networking behind the scenes to add additional courts.
RENEW OR JOIN BPC:
Membership period will be good through June 2022 and you can opt-in or out to the shared Member Directory. Your membership email has more details.
TREASURER’S REPORT
BPC PORTABLE NETS are available for members to check-out for use at Fairhaven Park, Birchwood Park, and Cornwall multi-use, or elsewhere,
DISCUSSION: We need your Input!
1. BELLINGHAM PUBLIC PARKS – COVID-19 protocols are changing rapidly. What plan do we ask the Parks Department to approve?
A. Keep. the current plan?
B. Allow pre-arranged groups of 10 to rotate on two adjacent dedicated courts, or on two multi-purpose courts? Waiting policy as it is now. What do you think of this idea?
C. Are there ways to resume some form of “Drop-in Play” and stay within required guidelines?
Current guidelines for Bellingham include mask wearing when within 6 feet and a limit on capacity. This is most relevant while not playing since that is when people tend to be close for extended times. Official scheduled court sessions will likely not be allowed until the beginning of June at the earliest, which is when the Park Dept is resuming outdoor facility scheduling.
Are we ready soon for any type of drop-in that can stay within those guidelines? If so, what might that look like? If there aren’t hosts, how would it work? If we arrange something that is dependent on a having a volunteer “Court Host” present, when and how could we recruit enough?
The Mt.Vernon Pickleball Club has arranged with their Park Department for scheduled drop-in on Monday and Thursday morning 9 – noon. Discuss how we may or may not be able to implement a similar strategy.
2. There is now a BPC Skill-Development 1-3 Year Planning Charter.
Discuss the plan, what the skills sessions hope to achieve and how they will be implemented.
3. A Flex-Ladder is being planned. Learn about it and discuss how it will be implemented.
#bellinghampickleball
www.bellinghampickleball.org
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(These updates plus local indoor venue info in recent email.)
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BELLINGHAM PARK DEPT and CORNWALL PARK
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1) GOOD NEWS. A productive meeting with the Bellingham Parks Department last week resulted in the middle courts at Cornwall now being open. Thank you to David May and crew for quick court cleaning so they are playable and safer. And thanks to the Parks department for granting this request, and so quickly collaborating on new signs and procedures, plus re-installing the permanent nets.
We are generally keeping the same COVID protocols.
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2) EXPRESSING THANKS AND APPRECIATION to the Park Department would be helpful. You can email them at parks@cob.org or call at 360-778-7000. They are very overworked and understaffed due to more people using parks and greatly increased cleaning demands. Knowing that their efforts are recognized by the pickleball community will help build positive momentum for the future.
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3) WAITING PROCEDURES FOR CORNWALL DEDICATED COURT needed to change with the opening of the middle courts, to make it easier to keep track of the order of groups waiting.
Other existing protocols are still in place, but we have added a “NEXT-UP Queue” for the dedicated courts. To minimize gathering due to COVID issues, only ONE paddle gets placed in the queue for each waiting group. Mask wearing is especially encouraged while waiting.
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*NEW*: “NEXT-UP PADDLE QUEUE” FOR DEDICATED COURTS (with COVID guidelines)
Keep 6-foot distance. Minimize gathering. Mask wearing encouraged.
- The multi-purpose courts don’t participate in this queue, so waiting for those courts is done separately.
- First waiting group places ONE paddle on the left side of the fence by the new paddle queue sign.
- Subsequent waiting groups add ONE paddle, in order from left to right.
-When a court becomes available, the “Next-Up” group proceeds to the court.
-That group plays on their court as we have done during COVID (rather than rotating on and off).
- Once players are waiting, play is limited to one-hour max. Please be considerate.
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We will likely need to revise these procedures as the weather improves and snowbirds return. We plan to use this system for at least March and adjust as relevant. If you want to help us brainstorm court management and waiting protocols, let us know. Your feedback, questions, & support are welcome.
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REMINDERS OF EXISTING PROTOCOLS ARE BELOW, (adopted in collaboration with the Bellingham Parks & Rec Department).
- Plan to gather and play in a group of 2-5 people.
- No large drop-in, congregating, or group play allowed at courts.
- Maintain a 6-foot distance with non-household members and/or wear a mask.
- Mask wearing is encouraged, especially while on the sidelines or waiting.
- Minimize passage through occupied courts.
- Check that it is okay to pass AND keep distance from others.
- Once others are waiting for a court, play is limited to 1-hour max.
See Cornwall “Next-Up Queue” description
- Players may bring a net to set up on “multi-use” courts. and is not related to the dedicated court Wait-Queue.
- Stagger sessions from dawn to dusk to minimize wait times; congestion.
- Singles (including “skinny singles”) and doubles have equal court priority.
- Please assess your own health, safety, & risk factors, and take care of yourself.
- All relevant local and state guidelines apply.
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CLUB NEWS
Since Mark Livingston has stepped down from the BPC board to focus on his Coach Mark LLC business, we are seeking a new board member to fill out the term.
Please send us your nominations to fill this board at-large position (yourself or other).
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We welcome your interest if you’d like to help us plan for upcoming BPC skill-development resources and sessions. We will need to work within the constraints of limited courts and COVID issues, but let’s make the best of what we have.
Volunteer efforts are what make everything happen.
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Thank you for your support!
Please let us know if you have questions or input.
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Thank you.
Bellingham Pickleball Club Board
bellinghampickle@gmail.com
www.bellinghampickleball.org
#bellinghampickleball
Local Venues • Bellingham Pickleball Club
bellinghampickleball.org
COVID Court Options and Guidelines Calendar of BPC Hosted Events Info About BPC Hosted Events NEW BPC-Hosted Sessions: February 29th – April 3rd @ School Gyms For liability reasons, you must be or become a BPC member to participate at school gyms. (bellinghampickleball.org/membership/) Sat...