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.
We are temporarily having some difficulties with our Facebook feed on the website and are just showing the most recent post.
Please visit our Facebook page for ALL the latest news.
KEY INFO
- Registration deadline is Monday April 19th at 9:30am.
First player match-ups will be posted online by 8pm that same evening.
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- Six weeks of league play for BPC members "self-rated” at level 2.5 and above.
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- Flexible schedule formatting;
Weekly match-up players decide when and where they will play three games to 15 points.
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- Scores are submitted weekly online by Mondays @ 4pm.
New standings and new match-ups are updated weekly online on Mondays by 8pm.
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- You are responsible for finding a substitute if you aren’t available, or giving advance notice so that the ladder manager can arrange for you to skip that week with a “bye”.
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- Check the flyer for more important details and sign-up link @ bellinghampickleball.org/flyers-documents/ .
Flyers/Documents • Bellingham Pickleball Club
bellinghampickleball.org
Flyers/Documents BPC Ladder League Flyer and FAQ 4.13.21 (58 downloads) BPC Skill-level Rating Scale (1-page with glossary; Beginner to 4.0) (593 downloads) BPC Skill-level Rating Scale (2-page; Beginner to 5.0) (747 downloads) Cornwall Park FAQ (59 downloads) BPC Financial Info: July 2018 - June 20...
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.
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Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting
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If you hear that they get reopened, please post.
This just came from the Parks Department. Parking will be restricted with entrances on Meridian and Cornwall closed from Thursday evening THROUGH Friday, March 18-19. Players are encouraged to park at the Spray Park and walk across bridge to the courts.
See email from Parks Department below:
"We are planning to restrict vehicle access to Cornwall Park
starting this evening and continuing on Friday (tomorrow) due to an unanticipated event. The north & south park entrances off Meridian St and Cornwall Ave will be temporarily closed off to vehicles.
We are directing all park users with vehicles to use the east entrance parking lot located near the spray park.
Players can park there and walk across the footbridge to access the courts. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.
I will keep you posted when those entrances are back open."
We, the Bellingham Pickleball Club, will let you know as soon as we get an update from the Parks Department. Thanks!