BOISE AREA PICKLEBALL ASSOCIATION

Dedicated pickleball courts will be built in the northwest corner of Julius M. Kleiner Park. Construction to begin June 2022. To learn more about the plans click the link below.

Pickleball courts in Julius M. Kleiner Park - Meridian

More exciting news... Meridian's next big park expansion is underway with phase two of Discovery Park in south Meridian. This park is located along Lake Hazel Road between Eagle and Locust Grove Roads. Discovery Park’s phase two will include pickleball courts and other amenities. Construction will last a couple of years and will break ground Spring 2022. Perhaps you can call Meridian Parks & Recreation and help us lobby to add even more courts than are planned.

America’s fastest growing sport celebrates an annual national promotion to bring people of all ages into the game.

To help promote the fastest growing sport in America, USA Pickleball Association along with sports industry companies and organizations have named April “National Pickleball Month.”

Pickleball is a fun, active paddle sport created for all ages and skill levels that combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. It’s played both indoors and outdoors on a badminton-sized court with a slightly modified tennis net. Pickleball uses a paddle and a plastic ball with holes and is played as both singles and doubles.

“Pickleball is just exploding with players and interest,” says USA Pickleball Chief Operating Officer Justin Maloof. “Creating National Pickleball Month for the month of April will help us to promote the sport nationwide to people of all ages, and help to get Americans moving, active and enjoying this fun sport.”

National Pickleball Month is designed to boost all areas of the sport, from bringing more people into the game, to helping pickleball “providers” promote programs and leagues, to making public parks and sports facilities aware of the interest in pickleball in their communities.

“We see this as a ‘rallying point’ to promote the sport throughout the U.S. on the local level,” Maloof says.

Organize a group of your friends and introduce them to pickleball.  Help spread the joy and further get the word out about all the great benefits pickleball can provide not just to individuals of all ages, but also to communities.

Larry Fitzgerald! ... as seen on the cover of Pickleball Magazine. He's a star in the NFL, as wide receiver.

The 2nd Annual Team Pickleball challenge & Mental Health Awareness Fundraiser will be held Saturday, May 21 at Settlers Park.

Find 3 other players and form a team! 

This is a fun event, and proceeds go to National Alliance for Mental Illness, Treasure Valley.  Lots of skill divisions and some sub-divided by age.  Mixed & Men's (and women can play in the Men's too).  Don't forgot to bring some cheerleaders!

To learn more, read the flyer.

To register, go to darkhorsepickleball.com/team

Boise Parks & Rec is offering weekly Ladder Leagues, in 4-week sessions, starting in April.  The Leagues will be held at a variety of locations outdoors and at a variety of skill levels, from 2.5 to 4.0.

To register, go to City of Boise's Activities Page

To learn more about how Ladder Leagues work and where and when they will be held... read the flyer.

FEES: Boise Resident: $21/session, Non-resident: $32/session

The Boise City Council is holding a hearing March 1 about speeding up the long-delayed Alta Harris Park. The original plans for the park included 12 dedicated pickleball courts which would be great for our entire community. They are considering building the park, but without the courts to save money. But the City Council is allowing public comment, so this is your chance to have your voice heard and get the pickleball courts we all need.

Below is an email that you can send to make sure we get those courts built. By sending this email today, you will be helping yourself and pickleball in the Treasure Valley. The email must be sent by Tuesday, February 22, so send it now. And if you know other people who will help, please have them send it too.

Just copy and paste what is written below into an email (you will have to type the email addresses in yourself). Add your name and address at the bottom. Then hit send on your computer and send it in today!

Please do it today! Thanks.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

TO: Mayor McLean and City Council, via,
Delanie Garlick   dgarlick@cityofboise.org
Travis Black   tblack@cityofboise.org

CC: Doug Holloway   dholloway@cityofboise.org
Kevin Holmes   kholmes@cityofboise.org

SUBJECT: Comp Plan Text Amendment / Alta Harris Park Funding CPA21-00006

Mayor McLean and Council Members,

I am writing to you about the long-promised Alta Harris Park. Please do not delay this park any further. Included in the plans for the park are twelve dedicated pickleball courts which are very greatly needed. On February 19 NPR called pickleball “America’s fastest growing sport.” 4.8 million people now play this sport and the numbers are increasing rapidly. The New York Times recognized this in an article of February 18 titled “Pickleball is Ready for Prime Time,” and the same is true in Boise.

There are well over 1,000 pickleball players in the eastern part of Boise alone and that number is growing dramatically month after month. Pickleball is well-known as a friendly, welcoming game that is easily learned, and enjoyed by players from eight to ninety-five. The twelve courts at Alta Harris will serve not only Barber Valley, but in fact the entire central, east and southeast sections of Boise, since at this point there are literally no pickleball courts located anywhere east of Broadway.

Barber Valley is filled with people who have moved to this neighborhood specifically for the healthy outdoor lifestyle it offers and promotes. These people are the prime demographic for pickleball players. By building Alta Harris Park and its pickleball courts you will be enhancing the health, happiness and wellbeing of the taxpayers not just in Barber Valley, but in all surrounding neighborhoods throughout this entire part of the City.

Barber Valley and all of eastern Boise greatly need this park. Alta Harris will offer a playground for young children, soccer fields for youth, but please do not forget to include the promised pickleball courts which will provide healthy, inclusive recreation for many people of all ages.

Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Sincerely,

Name:

Address:

Several local facilities are offering ladder leagues, and thus the BAPA board recently decided to change to a monthly round robin series of competitions rather than offering ladder league play. 

These round robin events will be held at Meridian Homecourt and are open to all - ON-SITE REGISTRATION ONLY... and Homecourt entrance fees still apply. 

Each month will be themed and December's starts with a Winter Wonderland Round Robin and Toys for Tots Drive. 

Come join in a Winter Wonderland Round Robin and Toys for Tots Drive at Meridian Homecourt on December 14 and 16. 

The round robin event is free and put on by BAPA. You must pay normal entrance fees to get into Homecourt.

Participants are encouraged to bring a toy or cash donation for the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. Checks can be made out to Boise ID Toys for Tots. Event organizers will deliver donations to the local base.

Players will compete in a random round robin. Scores will be tallied and small prizes will be given to the six highest points earners in each bracket.

ON-SITE REGISTRATION ONLY... Check in begins 45 minutes before the event starts. Participation is limited by the number of courts available during each bracket.

• December 14 -- 11:30 - 1:00 Skill Levels 2.0 to 3.0 -- 48 players
• December 16 -- 11:30 to 1:00 3.5 Skill Level 3.5 -- 48 players
• December 16 1:00 to 2:30 Skill Levels 4.0+ -- 24 players

NOTE: Participants are required to sign up for a DUPR account prior to playing in the event.

The account is FREE. Sign up at DUPR.gg

BAPA will be using players’ DUPR ratings for future events.

Please bring your cell phone to the event so you can get your account and then enter your results into DUPR. We will have tech helpers. :-)

Until recently there were only two types of ratings that players relied on to track their skill level: 

*Self-Rating -- players look at a list of criteria and determines where they fit in.

*UTPR  (USA Pickleball Tournament Player Rating) -- players compete in sanctioned tournaments and their ratings are determined by a mathematical formula. 

Now there is a new rating system that players can freely access to determine their rating without the subjectivity of a self-rating or having to attend sanctioned tournaments. 

Dreamland Universal Pickleball Rating

Known as a DUPR (DUPE-er), this rating system is easy to use with recreational play and also for club or league play. 

To get a DUPR, you need to sign up for a free account, determine your skill level, and find a few players to join you.

To determine your skill level, it's best to average your mixed and doubles UTPR if you have them, ask others you are playing with what they think your skill level is, or use USA Pickleball's self assessment. 

Once you have an account and are playing with others,  enter your game scores into the app which you download on to your phone. After you enter in the scores, another player needs to verify them before they are considered complete and your rating computations are completed for that day's play.  

There are a couple of advantages to a DUPR as compared to self-rating or  UTPR: 

*You don't need to go to a tournament.

*It uses scores instead of just win/loss as the UTPR does. That makes you play every point as if it counts--because it does. 

*It does not differentiate between doubles and mixed. You only have one DUPR rating for all doubles play.  

With each game/match entered and verified, your DUPR will change dynamically. The more you  win by, the higher the rise in your rating will be, and visa versa. 

Learn more about DUPR by reading their FAQs pdf. 

Give it a try and then you can ask others, "What's your DUPR?"