Temporary Rules for Pickleball
Albany, Oregon
Phase 1 – Through June 3, 2020
Revised/Updated 5/26/2020 (APC)
No Phase 2 Guidelines as of 6/8/2020

Play Singles Only – Doubles Play with Household Members Only (Phase 1 – Change 1)

Hello Albany Pickleball Players.  We know that everyone is anxious to get back to playing pickleball. This is a complicated time for players, clubs, and governments. Please be patient and follow the established guidelines and restrictions. If we do not comply, we may lose what we may lose the gains we have made. The worst-case, scenario, of course, is that we have friends who come down with COVID unnecessarily.

The good news is that the Hackleman courts are open.  The less-than-good news is that play is restricted to singles. Doubles is allowed at this point, but only within your household. This was relaxed from singles play only within to household very recently.  So changes are being made as we go along.

We have been hoping to have our twice-yearly club meeting, but it looks like it will need to be canceled due to crowd restrictions.  We hope to set one up during Phase 2 when group size is raised from 25 to 50.

At this point, we are in Phase 1 (of 3?) through June 3. The state is relaxing restrictions and getting back to “normal” in phases. County and city governments get their restrictions and guidelines handed down from the state. If the precautions and compliance seem to be working (COVID trends remain flat or down), they will relax restrictions and allow more open play. If not, they will extend the phase, or the courts may even be closed.

The Albany Pickleball Club Board has been busy behind the scenes trying to improve play for all pickleball players in the area. We are consulting with the city and county for COVID opening phases and the LBCC courts. We have sent a proposal to both the City Parks and Recreation, the Mayor, and the County Commissioners. Linn county, the lead agency, has forwarded our proposal on to the state. Our goal is reopening doubles in a safe, reasonable, consistent, and compliant way so we do not lose our ability to play this summer.

Since the allowed play is singles and households, we will not be starting organized club play at Hackleman. As we are allowed to start playing open doubles, we will be back with our normal days and times of play at Hackleman at least until the new courts are completed.

As we continue to follow the established safety precautions, the most important aspect is what level of play is open and authorized. (That is singles, doubles with household members, etc.) Please refer to our chart below. We will be updating as restrictions on play levels are authorized.  Hopefully we will have input on levels and safety precautions.

We know that changes are being made nationally in precautions such as wearing masks and virus transmission on hard surfaces. We hope these will be incorporated in new state precautions.  We also know that not everyone shares the same level of concern about the virus.  Our goal is to remain within the state guidelines and make it as safe as possible to play pickleball for as many people as possible. Again, we do not want any of our pickleball friends to become sick because we failed to follow established precautions.

Please note that there may be other facilities that seem to have some different, more relaxed restrictions. We are bringing these to the attention of the county/city.  We still need to comply with our established guidelines. We hope that their play, if outside the guidelines, does not affect our progression through the phases to the “new normal”!

Other News:

• The Rally In The Valley and the SSIPA (Super Seniors International Pickleball Association) tournaments have been canceled due to COVID restrictions and because LBCC court construction may not be completed on time.
• LBCC Court Construction – After a late start, they discovered the courts were originally constructed with 6” concrete pad back in the early ’70s.  The pad developed serious cracking and the solution was a fabric and asphalt lift.  This too developed cracks over time. The project is on hold to develop a change order and hopefully will restart in a week or so. It has been a week or so for a week or so!
• Court lights: The board decided against lights due to cost.
• Possible Shade Structures – Talking with LBCC about shade options including trees.

Temporary Rules for Pickleball
Albany, Oregon
Phase 1 – Through June 3, 2020
Revised/Updated 5/26/2020 (APC)

Play Singles Only – Doubles Play with Household Members Only  (changed from Singles with Household Only)  Hopefully we will get Doubles play in Phase 2.

• Organized Club play will be started back up as doubles play is able to start. At this point setup your own singles and household play times.
• Please have patience and follow the stated guidelines so we do not lose our outdoor courts to play on.
• The Club is consulting with the City and County to get reasonable, consistent, safe guidelines.
• The County forwarded our recommendations (similar to below, but with open doubles play) to the state.
• Our goal is safe play following the established government guidelines and restrictions.

Do not play if:

• You have coronavirus symptoms: mild to severe respiratory illness with fever, coughing, difficulty breathing, or other symptoms identified by the CDC.

• Have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days.

• Are a vulnerable individual or have underlying health conditions.

If you play:

·   Maintain six-foot distancing from others at all times.

·   Don’t congregate on courts, in common areas, or parking lots.

·   Limit or stagger playing groups.

·   Wash hands with soap and water and bring personal hand sanitizer to courts.

• Clean and sanitize paddles, rackets and water bottles.

Do not share equipment.

• Avoid touching gates, fences, nets, benches, etc.

• Use your paddle, racket, or shoe to pass out-of-play balls.

• Consider wearing gloves to help avoid touching pickleballs or tennis balls.

• Coordinate your group so each person serves with a different color or number ball. If that’s not an option, mark personal balls for individual use.

• Virtual handshakes only.

Use your own judgment to determine your ability to participate – play is at your own risk. 

Thank you, 

APC Board