We are stronger together. Though we may have 16 designated courts right now, these are only temporary. As a united front we can represent FPC at Allan Witt Park as a strong, successful, force that can influence the decisions and future of pickleball in Fairfield.

We are stronger together. Though we may have 16 designated courts, these are only temporary. As a united front, we can represent FPC at Allan Witt Park as a robust and successful force that can influence the decisions and future of pickleball in Fairfield.

Everyone who wants to can improve their game. From beginners to advanced, we tailor events to be fun and social but also provide some friendly competition to improve our pickleball skills and games. Some events are more competitive than others, and at each level of play, you will find an opportunity to strengthen your skills. Events are typically one day, but open play is almost always available. We will offer more structured programs and events to ensure fair and fun play. You’ve already seen what we offer, such as ladders, social event tournaments, and drills. The current events and future programs will be free to members, and pay-to-play will be available for non-members. Joining gets you access to our programs and events and allows us to protect the volunteers with the club’s insurance.

YES! We always welcome volunteers! Among other things, we need folks to help with our website, to be our public tournaments director, to volunteer to help at events, to help run new player programs and events, and to help manage more ladder and round-robin events. You name it, and we need help with it. So please contact any board of directors member if you are interested. We need you to help Fairfield Pickleball Club to get better and better!

The best way to protect our volunteers and programs who run social tournaments, drills, and ladders is to purchase insurance. Dues will allow FPC to make minor court improvements, advertise to reach more players, and host a public tournament at Allan Witt. Members will vote on a new dues structure at our 1st club anniversary.

The club is a registered non-profit corporation organized and governed by a set of bylaws (published on Facebook). The bylaws allow a board of directors of at least three people to direct the club’s policies and procedures. We currently have six board members, and we are meeting at a frequent pace to get the club organized. We will hold at least two board meetings each year that will be open to all members. In between those meetings, if you have an issue you would like the board to address, please contact one of the board members. We are all pledged to keep our decisions open and well-debated and always in the best interest of our members. We have applied to be an IRS-recognized 501c3 tax-free donation. That designation comes with more rules governing our conduct that we will faithfully follow. Our documents and meeting minutes will be available to all members.

In general, open play will continue as it does today. Some days, our programs and events might take up most of the courts, but other than major tournaments, there will always be courts for open play. We will improve open play by better court maintenance, court improvements, and posting generally agreed-upon rules regarding open play. Our door (or groupme, facebook, or email) will always be open to suggestions to improve play at Allan Witt.

Membership dues recur every year in July. Our membership fee will be $50 per person. We do a six-month pro-rate on the membership fee. If you join after January, membership is $25 through June 30 of that year. Membership will allow free access to most of our programs and events. There may be some that will require an additional fee, but these will be the exception. For folks who do not want to be members, we will offer a 30-day trial membership of $25. A trial membership will allow access to all free-to-member events for 30 calendar days. Trial membership does not include voting in any club elections. We will also offer any one event “drop-in” fee of $10. That fee will cover just the one event a person would like to join.

A lawyer did not write this, so take it with a grain of salt. The IRS code section 501c describes the rules for non-profit organizations to be tax-free. We want to be tax-free so that your dues go to things that are important to you and not go to Uncle Sam. The ‘3’ part of 501c3 means that we can also ask for donations, and they are tax-free to the donors. This does not apply to dues, but it does allow us to ask for sizable donations from organizations to help with major projects.

FPC does not have any paid employees. Your dues go to funding programs and events for you. We may need to rent court space from the city. We will be buying pickleballs for our programs and events. The incredible social events do require supplies to make them so unique. We will have a website, and that will require funding. At some point, we might hire contractors to do special training or run large tournaments, but we do not have and do not plan to have employees.

As you can see from the list below, we are aiming for programs and events for everyone. All of this depends on an active membership and more volunteers. We are also open to suggestions for more events and programs.

• Monthly Social and other competitive events.

• Ladder and other regular weekly competitive programs.

• Public tournament events (future).

• Intramural – club versus club – events (future).

• Player development programs (for all skill levels).

  • Drills events involve high-level paid professionals(future) and member-led drills.

  • New player orientation and instruction (future).

  • Paddle demonstrations and tryout events (future).

  • Children and Family Events (future).

  • Mentoring programs and events where higher-skilled members help lower-skilled members (future).

• Player and volunteer recognition programs (future).

• Off-court social events (future).

• A paddle library where we solicit used paddles from players for lending and beginner player programs (future).

• Inclement weather playing events inside the Allan Witt gym (future).

No. We are blessed to have several players at Allan Witt who play in tournaments, some at a pretty high level. We want to leverage them in some of our programs to help folks gain the skills and confidence they need to participate in tournaments if that is one of their goals. All our programs and events will consider skill levels so that all players, whatever their skill level, will have the opportunity for fair and fun play. Everyone will be welcome, whatever their skill or experience, and we want something for everyone.

Our first goal in year one is to stay solvent. That might sound like a low bar, but there are many things we will be learning this first year. When our budget is finalized, we will publish it, which will be openly discussed at board meetings. We hope not to ask for more dues than we need to run out programs and events, make court improvements, run public tournaments, and have a little reserve.

Not at this time. The board will track members and trial members. Rest assured, if you are a member, you will be recognized to have access to member events.

No. We must ensure that we match people by skill for some events, and DUPR may be a part of that. At this time, we are still trying to figure that out. We could use a volunteer who wants to organize player ranking and development. Could that be you?

Yes! FPC will have a discount code from USAPA that gives you a 5% discount at

Pickleballcentral.com. Using that discount code will also benefit the club as we will get credit to buy supplies we need. We will be pursuing other benefits that official clubs can get as well.

Yes, but not initially. As we get more volunteers, we will institute programs and events specifically geared toward getting new players initiated in ways that are fun and have no pressure. And as we all know, once you get started in pickleball, you get addicted.

Currently, yes. Our scope includes all of Fairfield; for now, Allan Witt is the only pickleball venue. Other venues will just have to wait at this point. Our focus on Allan Witt will allow us to improve as a club and not be spread too thin.

At our club, the essence of fair competition and play is paramount. Our aim in forming this club was to strike a balance between open and structured play, catering to various skill levels and fostering inclusive gaming experiences. Through our events and programs, we're dedicated to providing equal playtime opportunities and well-matched opponents, ensuring that players of all abilities can enjoy their games to the fullest.

We're committed to staying abreast of the latest rules and regulations set by the USAPA, integrating them into our club activities through continuous education. Furthermore, we uphold a strict code of conduct for all members, promoting an environment free from fear, discrimination, abuse, and harassment. This approach not only elevates the quality of games but also nurtures a respectful and fair community spirit within the club.