Coastal Alabama Pickleball Club supasses 600 member mark

Coastal Alabama Pickleball Club supasses 600 member mark

By Bob Webb
The Coastal Alabama Pickleball Club, the 7th largest Club in the U.S. surpassed the 600 Member mark on February 13, 2017. The Club was founded on February 1, 2015 and has reached its current number of Members (604) in less than 25 months. Per a March 2014 NBC TV News Report by Brian Williams, there were 250,000 people playing Pickleball in the U.S. as that time. The U.S. Pickleball “population” is expected to exceed 8 million people by the end of 2017. Pickleball is far and away America’s fastest growing sport. 67% of the public tennis courts in the U.S. are being modified to accommodate both Tennis and Pickleball or being converted to dedicated Pickleball Courts.
CAPC-Three (3) Area Venues
The CAPC offers Pickleball at three local venues: The Cultural Center in Gulf Shores (Ralph Perada-Site Director) The Orange Recreation Center (Jonathon Langston-Site Director) and the Lake Osprey RV Resort (Penny & Gary Ratliff Site Directors). Go to coastalalabamapickleballclub.com to join the Club (membership is free) and to find the “Open Play” schedules for the aforementioned venues. Each venue offers three courts and three levels of play A, B, and C, which promotes both safety and competitive balance. There is a $3 facility fee per three (3) hour session at each of the venues. Loaner paddles are available at all 3 locations and Demo paddles (try before you buy) are available at Lake Osprey.
3rd Annual CAPC Tournament Series
The CAPC will conduct its 3rd Annual Club Tournaments Series of 7 tournaments including Mixed Doubles, Ladies, A, B, C and Men’s A, B, C, the week of February 20-24: February 20-A Level, February 21-B Level, February 22-C Level and February 24 Mixed Doubles. Ladies Tournaments are held in the mornings and Men’s Tournaments are held in the afternoons. The Tournament is free to its Members and lunch (also free) is provided by the Cultural Center, where the Tournaments are held.
The CAPC Opens Online Store
On February 11, the Coastal Alabama Pickleball Club opened its Online Store. Member can now purchase CAPC Logo clothing (shirts, shorts, jackets, caps, and visors) and novelty items. The idea of having Logo gear came from Member Bob Connor who suggested to the Steering Committee to make CAPC shirts and other logo items available. After conducting a Public Logo Art Contest, which was won by local teacher Hal Huber, and locating a screen print/embroidery vendor equipped provide the Logo items with the ability to ship items directly to each buyer, the store is now a reality.
Go to www.coastalabamapickleballclub.com to browse the online store. Thanks to Members Bob Connor and the CAPC Webmaster, Brent Cooper of Atlanta for making the store possible.