By Greg Ellison

(Sept. 16, 2021) The Ocean Pines Racquet Sports Committee highlighted a number of upcoming tournaments, considered potential court repairs and discussed a pickleball camp proposal during its meeting last Wednesday.

U.S. Tennis Association instructor Terry Underkoffler said a proposal to repaint lines on eight dedicated pickleball courts took a step forward after Dale Ash offered to pony up $400 to cover updates on one court.

Underkoffler said the recommended line refresh would involve a darker shade of blue.

“They’re in agreement they want these courts to eventually have the same kind of lines,” he said.

Underkoffler credited Ocean Pines Pickleball Club President Frank Creamer for sparking a new approach for repainting court lines and repairing surface cracks.

“He said the courts could be repaired,” he said. “He was in the paint business.”

Underkoffler said cracks on court 10 are getting worse and need to be repaired.

Creamer suggested the association contact Seal Master to perform patch work to avoid resurfacing and a total repainting

“We wouldn’t have to wait to paint lines,” he said.

Underkoffler said the repairs are temperature sensitive and would need to be completed before winter.

“You build tennis courts and they’re going to have cracks,” he said.

Seal Master’s process involves filling cracks with sand before adding a topcoat sealer, he said.

It remains to be seen if the association would pay for the work.

“Is Ocean Pines willing to pay $400 more to have it uniform?” he asked.

Creamer recently provided Public Works Director Eddie Wells with contact information and product line details for Seal Master.

“Right now the ball is in public works’ court,” he said.

Underkoffler said the potential exists for public works crews to learn the crack-fill procedure.

“If it’s something they learn to do in-house, there could be some long-term cost savings,” he said.

Committee Chairman Rhett Parsons proposed asking General Manager John Viola and Recreation and Parks Director Debbie Donahue about the repair recommendations.

Underkoffler also discussed a possible funding source for staging pickleball camps at the Manklin Meadows Racquet Sports Complex.

LevelUp Pickleball Camps, which paid $2,000 to hold two events in Ocean Pines in recent weeks, reportedly said a proposed three-day event could cover the price tag to erect four new courts under consideration.

“They told me today if we get pickleball membership to agree that they could build those new courts,” he said. “It’s the top pickleball camp in the country.”

All told, the multi-day camp could net the Manklin Meadows Racquet Sports Complex $6,000, Underkoffler said.

“Members could play later in the afternoon for those three days,” he said.

Camp participants would finish at 3:30 p.m., with members able to play starting at 4 p.m. for the three-day gathering.

The committee also reviewed a host of upcoming tournaments starting with a tennis doubles event on Sept. 18.

Underkoffler said men’s brackets are filled with eight teams registered.

“We had five teams of women and no one else came through,” he said.

Due to lower participation on the women’s side, Underkoffler recommended participants hold a round robin competition on the morning of Sept. 18.

Parsons has registered to take part in what looks to be a challenging doubles tournament.

“Men’s has got some pretty competitive teams,” he said.

Committee member Karen Kaplan said a Platform Tennis Tournament is scheduled for Sept. 25 to honor longtime participant Jim Freeman who passed away in March.

“We’re working on sponsors,” she said.

Kaplan said a marketing push is underway as the event inches closer.

“It gives an opportunity for players and for the larger community to see the sport,” she said.

Parsons said a pair of pickleball tournament are slated for next month, starting with the fourth annual Pink Ribbon Classic on Oct. 1.

Also, the “Octoberfest Pickleball Tournament,” is set to take place from Oct. 22-24

“This tournament is probably one of the main fundraisers for the racquet center,” he said. “It benefits everybody.”

Organizers are hoping to raise at least $10,000 this year.

Underkoffler said the effort to find sponsors and volunteers would pick up steam over the next three weeks.

“We’re looking for volunteers from any [racquet] sport who might want to pitch in a few hours on any of the days of the tournament,” he said.

Among other things, volunteers are needed to assist with parking, check-in and court monitoring.

The next Racquet Sports Committee meeting takes place Oct. 13 at 1 p.m.