Get Involved in One of the Fastest Growing Sports in the Country
Mount Vernon Pickleball Club is an active and growing community of members from throughout the Skagit Valley and surrounding areas. Membership consists of a variety of ages and skill levels. We welcome the opportunity to promote this great game for Health, Enjoyment and Social engagement by offering organized recreational and competitive play.
Our goal is to work as a non-profit to seek new playing venues and work cooperatively within the community to promote the sport of Pickleball for all.
New Dedicated Pickleball Courts Open at Hillcrest Park
Our club's fundraising campaign has culminated with the opening of 6 new dedicated pickleball courts at Hillcrest Park in Mount Vernon.
The Mount Vernon Parks Dept. approved the conversion of the park's south tennis courts to pickleball and over the past year our club has been able to raise over $42,000 from 45 donors to fund the project. The effort was helped greatly with a dollar for dollar matching contribution from the Blackburn Family.
The courts officially opened (under Covid-19 guidelines) on June 10 with 3 of the 6 courts available for use.
The Parks Dept. has added a sidewalk to the new north gate and expanded the waiting area near the west gate. The light control box has been moved outside of the court area and the City plans to replace the court's light bulbs.
Our club's next project will be to add wind screens to the north and south fences.
Formal dedication of the courts is being planned for next spring when we hopefully all be able to gather together and celebrate.
Hillcrest Park Play Re-Opened Under Covid-19 Guidelines
The Hillcrest Park pickleball courts are now open for play under Washington State Phase 2 Covid-19 guidelines. Under these rules:
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Play-in groups are not allowed. Players must come as a group of 2-5 and rotate on and off courts as a group.
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Only 3 of the 6 courts will be used. Portable nets are not allowed on the 3 unused courts.
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Court hours are 8am-8pm daily. Members of our club have agreed to be responsible for locking the courts nightly. Thanks Barry and Pam Bartram for organizing this effort. Please respect the volunteers and be ready to leave the courts at 8pm.
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Please adhere to the guidelines posted at each gate.
We hope that scheduled club play can begin again soon. This will be dependent upon the evolving Covid-19 situation.
Vulcan Introduces the V550 Hybrid
Pickleball Paddle
Vulcan Introduces V550 Hybrid Paddle
Pickleball Central has partnered with Vulcan to provide our club with the new V550 Hybrid carbon fiber faced paddle. This great looking elongated-style paddle was put to the test by some of our local players. For the full review click here.
We'll have the V550 at the Hillcrest Park and Skagit Valley Family YMCA play sessions so see Gary Danilson if you want to give it a try.
"I really liked the Vulcan V550 paddle. It had great overhead power with control and the handle is the most comfortable I have ever played with. Loved the extra length and soft feel. Other long paddles I have tried tended to be top heavy. This one does not."
Club member and 3.5 rated player Barry Bartram. To see what others had to say about this paddle click here for the full review.
"The Vulcan V550 gave me great power but still plenty of control. I love to compete in singles and like the extra reach I get with an elongated paddle like the Vulcan."
Local 4.2 player Mike Givens. To read more of Mike's opinion of this paddle click here .
What's Happening at the Y
The Skagit Valley Family YMCA has reopened under the Washington State Safe Start guidelines. Pickleball is scheduled to return to the Y once Skagit County moves into Phase 4 . Click below to visit their homepage and see what activities are now available.
Northwest Tournaments
Tournaments are again being scheduled. Click here to see Pickleball Tournaments.com. Search for upcoming tournaments by location and date.
Tournaments will want to know your level of play or "player rating". If you've never been rated these guidelines will help you rate yourself.
Pickleball Central offers a 5% discount to anyone entering the code CRMountVernon at the time of purchase. Our club also receives a 5% rebate of your purchase amount as credit to use for purchase of balls, nets etc.
2020 Annual Meeting
Our club's annual meeting was held via Zoom on July 6 and 27 members attended the online session.
By-law changes were approved and club officers for this year were set. 2020 officers and committee chairpersons are:
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President Barb McGrady
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Vice-President Daniel Valdez
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Treasurer Chris Miller
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Secretary Gary Danilson
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Past-President Dan Budzinski
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Courts/Grounds Barry Bartram
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Competition Sue Paulson
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Outreach Vacant
The fund-raising campaign and project budget for the Hillcrest Park court conversion was discussed. Details of the discussion can be found in the minutes from the meeting by clicking here.
MVP Club by-laws are always accessible on this website on the Member Page. To view the revised by-laws click here.