Not that anyone cares, but way up thread I was trying to say our indoor option was NOT terribly priced, but that’s not what showed up.
Still in Grand Cayman, and haven’t played even once. Winds have been up to over 25 MPH some days. Yesterday it would have actually been painful to walk on the beach. I think winds were 28MPH at some point.
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Wow - that is windy! Yea, that would make it tough to play pickleball.
Our local town club had a Christmas party at the private place. Oh… such lovely counts. Had a great time! It was only $15, and I was able to play almost all of the 2 hours with a variety of beginners and advanced beginners, many of them new faces. There were also a few intermediate players thrown into the rotation to even out the numbers. As often happens at these big events, I have contact info for another low-key beginner who is interested in learning about game opportunities.
The common denominator with the ladies I play with is that we are more interested in exercising and laughing than in who actually wins. (But we do joke that we feel some relief to be “on the board”, not lose in a shut-out.) Winning feels good, but just having great volleys is satisfying.
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I’ve been curious what membership fees are at pickleball clubs. This article is the first one I’ve read that reported fees. This club has a few membership levels. The highest tier is a $1,200 annual membership, followed by monthly memberships of $75 and $50. Non-members pay $15 per open session and $30 per hour for court reservations.
Pickleball facility opens in Everett — with Seattle complex in the works | The Seattle Times
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That sounds about like what it is where I live. If I recall correctly, you can get memberships for about $99/month (That may be considered a “special”), and then it costs $6.75/hr for members to play (4 person minimum per court). Members get half price for “open play” sessions, and they can register before non-members.
Since my group and I prefer to play outside, none of us has really considered joining.
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Our indoor private PB center membership fee is $68/month (or $60 if you are a member of the local nonprofit club). But that only gets you priority booking and discounted fees….
- court for $24/hr (vs $40 nonmember)
- open play for 2hrs $10 (vs $15 for nonmember)
- 1 hr drill class $12 (vs $18 for nonmember)
- league play discounts
Most of the beginner / advanced begnner players I know opt to play as much as possible for free outdoors (I am tentatively scheduled to do so 3x this week) or for $3 at with the local nonprofit club (just a donation to the church with the combo basketball/PB gym).
One advanced player who analyzed closer says that you have to play 3+ times per week to break even on membership fee.
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PS - Last week I discovered the December Early Bird special - 7am court for $10 total for 4 players. Since I was already scheduled for 8am drills class, I paid the fee myself and invited 2 friends who were also attending plus another PB pal who interested in seeing the place. As a retiree, I don’t usually get up early… but this was a fun reason.
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I played inside/7am yesterday. Was glad the fierce winds settled down. Had glorious outdoor play today in high 50s with bright sunshine. But the outdoor play can be very weather dependent in the winter. On Tuesday the wind caused cancellation… no biggie, two of us turned it into an excuse to meet for lunch instead. Half the fun of PB is making new friends, so it was all good.
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I played in my first “tournament” ever today. In Grand Cayman, with a person I’d never played with before. It was 2 “old ladies” against a college kid and an “old man.” We only lost by 2 points (10-12, because you have to win by 2). I didn’t embarrass myself, so all was good. There were only 4 of us to play, so it wasn’t much of a tournament.
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That is always good. I hope you are able to get back into the normal groove once back at home.
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I played in low 40s temps today. When we arrived at noon, several other courts had players. After a while the sun went away and the Broncos game was coming on…. we were the only players left. Luckily I’m pretty good at planning to dress in layers. Many layers
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Well, I bought some court shoes. Thats a start!! Hoping DH and I can maybe take lessons this coming year.
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That’s great. I started out with rec center classes in June (outdoors, 4 weekly session with equipment provided). I’ve since noticed that our indoor PB place runs free “PB 101” sessions weekly, equipment provided. A couple I know plans to give that a try this winter.
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Played for the very first time yesterday against my dd, her friend, and her dad who used to coach softball with me. We had a great time and picked it up pretty quickly. I played tennis in HS and will still play during the warmer months with DH. The game moved quickly and there were things I had to adjust to such as the ball not bouncing as high as it does in tennis and having to adjust the face of the racket to just get the ball over the net. I’m hooked though!
Got to say my low back is not happy with me today but that’s because I’ve been pretty lazy this winter. I’m hoping to play again next weekend.
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That’s great! Now having tennis experience can be good and sometimes bad (different scoring, and YES the ball bounces differently - even having been a very casual player 40 years ago it was an adjustment). Have fun learning more.
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I’m another who took a short course of lessons through the county. You can get the basics pretty quickly, and then you can start having fun. It is best to start playing with others who have little or no experience, so you grow your skills together.
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I played pickleball twice today ,though less than 2 hours total. 7am indoors ($10/court early bird special) and then 4pm outdoors (temp in 40s). I had on many layers including hat and gloves at the outdoor game, but my friend’s 35 year old son was just wearing sweats and a tshirt and baseball cap.
My town had zero snow in December, unusual. But with warm-ish temps and sunshine it made for decent outdoor play. One crazy group continued their weekly night games… I’d need to dress like the Michelin Man for that.
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It is going to be 23 with 10MPH winds, and I am headed to play PB outdoors this morning. I think I’m a little crazy, and I am prepared to leave if I don’t “warm up” fairly quickly. I’ve played below 30 before, but I’m worried about the wind. It’s sunny though, so fingers crossed.
Oh, that sounds rugged. Let us know how it goes. I’ve run in the 20s (though not lately… in retirement it’s easier to cherry pick my running weather). But as a beginner PB player, there is not enough consistent running to keep me warm.
It was not that bad. I wore fleece leggings and another pair of not as tight pants, and three shirts, a down vest, and a light down jacket. My jacket came off fairly quickly once I warmed up. My fingers felt cold occasionally, but other than that it really wasn’t bad. I stayed an extra half an hour.
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I played pickleball with a “pickleball bully” for the first time ever this week. Almost everyone I’ve played with that I don’t know has been very nice, even if you’re not matched up well. This person was way too serious, made up some “court rules,” and just wasn’t pleasant. I wasn’t quite up to the level of the other players, but I wasn’t terrible either. I was happy when I got points against her :).
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