A revised Wulf gym schedule takes effect this week. The major change is on Saturdays: There will be no more pickleball (or basketball) since there are CARA (Colorado Association of Recreational Athletics) volleyball matches every Saturday through the end of May.

Also, a week from Friday, April 26, EPRD camp will occupy the west court from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It pays to check the schedule footnotes when deciding when and where to play.

Wulf front-desk personnel have been asked to share the information with pickleball players and the revised schedule has been posted online and in the gym.

As an alternative, the Marshdale courts have proved to be quite playable, despite an alarming headline you may have read in this very newsletter after the courts were damaged in February by unauthorized snow removal efforts. No firm start date has been announced for a major overhaul of the courts, but a summer closure is still planned.

Please note the pickleball guidelines listed under “Gymnasium Class Descriptions” below the schedule. It is EPRD’s world; we’re just playing in it.

40 signups/renewals

Wow! The EPC board thanks all who renewed or initiated membership last week. If you want to help the club continue to grow and expand its influence on local pickleball (more courts, anyone?), click here.

As a reminder, your membership runs Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 no matter when you pay your $20 annual dues, and you may contact VP John Dunlop to verify whether you are current. Except during the fourth quarter of the year, but that’s not now.

Catch, carry or double hit?

From the Dink newsletter:

Double hit: No referee, no intention, right?

Rule 7.L now makes catching or carrying a ball on the paddle a fault without having to determine that the catch or carry was deliberately done.

By slashing the words "deliberately" and "unintentional" from the previous rulebook, this change essentially removes the responsibility from a referee to determine if a player intended to carry the ball on a paddle. If a carry occurs, it's an automatic fault.

Wait, what's the difference between a carry and a double-hit, you ask? Good question:

A "carry" means hitting the ball in such a way that it does not bounce away from the paddle but is carried along on the face of the paddle.
A "double hit" is legally permissible if the player hits the ball twice in a continuous, single-direction stroke. If they hit it twice with more intention, it's a fault.

EPC website can take you back

Carmen Fink is one of the first to learn pickleball in Evergreen. And she’s still crushing it with her serve.

The website is board member Jim Hunsaker’s bailiwick, and there is a wealth of information to be found on it. For instance, club history, updated every year.

No Saturday play at Wulf through end of May