New Members Introductions & Procedures

Helpful Information

Court Reserve: This is our scheduling software. You must understand how to operate this software to schedule events.   We have a video to watch plus we can meet you on a Sunday at the courts to give you one on one training.    Contact Valarie Diamond  grandmaonthego2013@gmail.com   for questions or to schedule a meeting on Sunday.

Establishing a Club rating:    All new members will come in with a 2.0  club rating.  All new members must appear at a Early Player Development to assure that we align you with other players of similar skills.   If it is determined that you are able to play at a higher level you will be elevated to a 2.5 level. If you feel you are higher than this you will need to take an evaluation to obtain a 3.0 rating and higher.   Please go to "Member's Section" and to Club rating for additional information.   

CTPA Weekend Update:    Every Saturday morning you will get an email from us with what is happening for the next weeks.   Please open it up and at least look to the "30 Seconds Update" which gives you a quick update in 30 seconds or less of what is happening.    Please NEVER "Unsubscribe"  from this or any other Court Reserve email or you will never receive anything further from us.

Starting Out:   We find for many NEW Members they do not know where to begin.  The answer is to come to a Sunday Early Player Development  class or contact Bill Billeter,   wwbill4@yahoo.com      .      Bill can connnect you with a certain event that meets to your schedule or connect you with another member who will meet you at the courts tohelp you get started.

Checking in at the Courts:    On you phone Court Reserve app, on the home dashboard, you will find a small bar code above your name.   Tap on that and your membership card will come up.    If the check-in window is open, you must check-in with your membership card.

Cancellation and Weather:   If you cannot attend an event that you signed up for, you can "withdraw" from that event up to 24 hours in advance.   This will allow another member to then take that spot.   If you need to cancel within 24 hours, then contact the coordinator directly.  We will penaize members who sign up for an event and does not show up, especially if there is a waitlist of other members wanting to play.     In case of rain, we have a camera on the courts so you can see the conditions, especially those who have to travel a distance.   For weather we are much more flexible and understanding.    In short we ask that you be considerate not to sign up if you cannot show up.


Improving Your Game: The CTPA Pickleball Academy is a series of 20+ courses designed to help develop your game. Private and semi-private lessons are available with qualified instructors at a low members fee.

Academy, Ladder League, Shootout, tournaments:  These are all fee-based events where we organize, dedicate court time and provide balls. These events can be paid for in most cases directly on Court Reserve but there may be times we will be using the Cranberry Township Registration system. In all cases, we will notify all members of upcoming events like these.    

Refund Policy: Most Court Reserve events can be canceled and refunded for full credit at various times. Credit is applied to your account and not back to your credit card. This includes events that are cancelled due to weather, if there are not enough people signed up to hold the event, if an instructor becomes ill, or any other items not listed. Club credit will be able to be used for any Court Reserve fee event, lessons, clinic, and memberships. If you decide not to renew your membership and you still have club credit, the Township will issue a check at that time.  

Types of Play: We offer many types of play (See tab on left for more details). They include:

  • Level Play
  • Multi-level Play
  • Up/Down Split
  • Challenge Courts
  • Ladder Leagues


Club Ratings:

  • Ratings: The default Club Rating for all new members is 2.5. So, you can schedule any event geared for 2.5 level or multiple level events. 

 

  • Evaluations: If you are an experienced player and would like to be evaluated for a higher Club Rating, you may request an evaluation within 30 days, at a charge. Please read about ratings and our evaluation process on our website under “Member Section.” About halfway down that page you can get more details. We highly suggest that if you feel you are in-between two ratings that you test at the lower rating first.

 

  •  Clinics/Drill and Plays: If you are interested in improving your game by learning the proper techniques and strategies.  These are taught by our higher-rated members.  They are offered at various days and times throughout the year designed for different levels that will be promoted through the weekly Saturday email updates.

 

Keeping informed and getting involved in our Association:

  • History: CTPA was founded in cooperation with Cranberry Twp. to promote and expand pickleball. Our organization and courts were built and run with 100% of the financial and volunteer support coming from past and current members.  2017 was our first year of operation with 225 members.  Because CTPA members pay 100% of the court costs, operation, and maintenance, we have a unique organization in which we get to run our club through members’ input and support, rather than depending on the township for programming. This relationship has helped us grow to our current size.

 

  • Volunteer:   We have more than 200 people who volunteer from a few hours to hundreds of hours per year. We are a volunteer organization with no paid staff.  As you become familiar with our association, please consider getting further involved as a volunteer to help make our club better.  Truly, it is fun to be part of one of the largest pickleball clubs in the nation. Volunteer opportunities are offered through our Saturday weekly updates. 

 

  • Keeping Informed: Saturday weekly Updates: Our weekly updates will give you everything you need to know in 30 seconds.   This is your link to what is happening at CTPA in the days and weeks ahead. We know you get a lot of emails and are busy.      That is why we start the update with our “30 Second Summary” of headlines that you can scan in under a minute.  If there is something that you want to learn more about in the update, it is expanded further in the information below.  Please plan to spend 30 seconds each Saturday morning by opening the CTPA email update. 

 

  • Automatic External Defibrillator (AED): We have installed an AED near the courts by the water bottle-filling machine. We ask that every member take 3 minutes to review the video on How to use the AED. Go to member’s section—at the top of the page is the video link to operate the AED. Please take a moment to review because you could save a life. Always have someone else call 911 if you need to use the AED.

 

  • Events with fees that are canceled will appear as club credit in your account that can be used for any Court Reserve events, lessons, clinics, ladder, and memberships. They will not be reverted to your credit card even if we cancel an event for weather or any other reason.

 

  • Just have general questions:  Almost all your questions can be answered on the website.    But if you do have one the bottom of this document.

 

We hope to see you on the courts.

 

Bruce Mazzoni brucemazzoni@zoominternet.net for questions on memberships, membership cards, ratings, web site, lessons and PB Academy.

 

Bill Billeter wwbill4@yahoo.com for questions on Early Program Development, getting a mentor, getting out to play and meeting others.

 

Val Diamond grandmaonthego2013@gmail.com for questions on Court Reserve and scheduling for events both on your computer and phone.