NEWS ARTICLES

KBPA HISTORY

Summer, 2015: Gordon and Sandy Hall started teaching Running Y homeowners and guests how to play pickleball. 

Winter, 2015: Barbara Martin began offering lessons on one indoor court at the Klamath County Senior Center.  That space was quickly outgrown, and agreements were made with the YMCA and Fairview School to use their gymnasiums.  Group members painted lines and purchased equipment, and pickleball continued to grow.

Spring/Summer 2016: Play resumed with warmer weather at Running Y, and that group grew larger.  The town group needed more courts and arrangements were made with the City to use the tennis court at Stukel Park for pickleball.  Lines were taped by members for two courts, and nets and balls were purchased and shared. The City provided a portable toilet, and soon there were players there every day.  Kristi Redd started an email list of players to keep everyone in the loop about where and when the group would be playing.  

Fall, 2016: The town group needed a place to play during the winter.  Sacred Heart offered to rent their gym to the group and the majority agreed they were willing to pay to play.  Three courts were taped and were soon filled with eager pickleball players. Some local round-robin tournaments were added, as were free monthly beginner lessons, and the group continued to grow.  By this time the Klamath Basin was home to several different groups/venues playing pickleball.

May, 2017: Under Kristi Redd’s informal leadership, the Klamath Basin Pickleball Association (KBPA) was formalized by developing a set of Bylaws and becoming a member of USA Pickleball Association (USAPA).  KBPA embraced all of the different groups in the Basin, with representation from Running Y Resort, Harbor Isles Fitness Center, Klamath Senior Center, Bonanza Pickleball, Chiloquin Pickleball, and the group playing at Stukel and Sacred Heart.  Kristi was elected to the office of President and began leading the group to bigger and better things! Members of the group are welcome to play at any of the venues and often come together for social gatherings and special projects. We started a Facebook page called “Klamath Basin Pickleball Fun” to help keep players informed and up-to-date on club projects and activities.  We also began to make our presence known in the community by participating at events such as Third Thursday and the Bonanza Days Carnival & Car Show.  

June, 2017: A project to resurface the courts at Stukel was completed by KBPA members with financial assistance from the City.  Now we had four lovely outdoor pickleball courts. 

August, 2017:  Due to the need for more outdoor courts, KBPA was allowed to paint lines for two pickleball courts on the brand new basketball court at recently renovated Crest Park.  

2017: A year of fun and social activities brought the group closer together.

January, 2018: this website was launched. 

2020: The previous KBPA By-laws were updated by the existing Board during winter and spring meetings; two additional vice-presidents were added to help lighten the president’s overwhelming workload. In April, the membership elected their 2020-2021 Officers, who are: Kristi Redd, President; Rick Zwartverwer, VP of Education and Tournaments; Patti Hopkins, VP of Strategic Planning; Glenn Vest, VP of Growth and Development; Nancy Pratt, Secretary; Jean Gleason, Treasurer; and Rose Starnes, Member-at-Large. The Board appointed the following Committee Leaders who report to their respective VPs: Judy Brimmer, Membership; Bonnie Smith & Patrick McClary, Website; Greg Cunningham, PFCC President; Cheryl Pocock & Nancy Pratt, Paddle Battle; Cheryl Pocock, Fundraising; Rose Starnes, Social Committee Chair and Liaison to the Steen Sports Park beautification project. Venue Reps (appointed by Board to serve as liaisons between venue management and KBPA Board, assist members as needed, and ensure compliance with Covid-19 restrictions) are: Kate Southwell, Harbor Isles; Diana Samuels, Running Y; Carol McGregor & Rose Starnes, Sacred Heart; Joan Palmer, Senior Center; Judy Brimmer, Steen Sports Park; Patti Hopkins, Mike’s Fieldhouse @ SSP, Vikki O’Brien, Stukel Park; Joycelyn Michel, Bonanza Big Springs Park.

Covid-19 caused many cancellations of events and closures of indoor venues during 2020:

• All indoor venues for pickleball were closed in March.

• Our Spring Paddle Battle was set for April 3-5 but was cancelled during its final planning stages.

• Our Running Y Tournament in June was cancelled.

• Our major annual fundraiser (selling coffee, donuts, burger & hotdogs) was cancelled due to cancellation of the Annual Show & Shine Car Show.

• The KBPA Board stopped meeting in person and began learning to deal with Zoom meetings in March.

• Indoor venues were allowed to reopen briefly in the fall under strict rules about masks and social-distancing.

• Mike’s Fieldhouse (at Steen’s) opened for two glorious days in November with an open house to show off their three beautiful new indoor courts.  

• Indoor pickleball was completely banned due to the Covid Freeze that started November 18 and lasted the rest of 2020.

KBPA members then turned to the outdoor courts and were able to pull off some fun events despite Covid:

• June - Ice Cream Social at Steen’s, organized by Rose Starnes.

• July - Luck of the Draw Round Robin (replaced the Paddle Battle.)

• August - Crazy Fun Round Robin (organized by the Baldwin family) was the highlight of our annual Summer Picnic.  Entry fees for this event were donated to the PFCC Tournament.

• September - Paddling for Childhood Cancer Tournament, organized by Greg and Carlie Cunningham and team, was a huge success, drawing much larger-than-expected numbers of players and generating $47,000 to help support three local families affected by childhood cancer.  See their website for more details: https://www.paddlingforchildhoodcancer.com.

• Pickleball 101, 102, & 103 - free training for beginner and intermediate players continued in most months from May to November, sometimes cancelled due to smoke from wildfires.  Organized by Rick Zwartverwer and his team of instructors, including Dave Potter, Bill Kuerz, Rose Starnes, and Jimbo.

President Kristi wishes to extend her gratitude to the following:

• Bonnie Smith & Patrick McClary for undertaking reconstruction, updating, and maintenance of the club’s website.

• Judy Brimmer for doing a great job keeping the club’s Facebook page updated and interesting.

• Vikki O’Brien for creating a beautiful new KBPA brochure which will be published and distributed soon.

• Dave Haag and helpers who regularly blew the leaves and dust off of the Steen’s courts all summer.

• Cleo Burgett & Vikki O’Brien who painted green court surfacing material around the fence posts at Steen’s before winter hit.

• Bonnie Smith who is assisting Patti Hopkins with new Policy and Procedures documentation.

• Glen Vest, Judy Brimmer, and the Venue Reps who created a very nice welcoming process for new members, a new brochure, and a new Annual Membership Card ID.

• Scott Watters, Hal Sturgeon, Jeff Baldwin, Tom Hopkins, Bonnie Smith, and Judy Brimmer for serving as her advisors for project development needs, COVID response, postings to our Facebook page and the website, learning to do Zoom meetings, teaching members how to use Playtime Scheduler, and more.

• Greg Cunningham for donating a blower that will be kept in the Steen’s locker.

• Rose Starnes for organizing an excellent crew to trim all the trees in the parking area.  What an improvement!

• Yolanda Buchanan for volunteering to be our official Club Photographer.