FROM THE USAPA
USAPA Unveils New Membership
Package
BY JUSTIN MALOOF
Not only has the sport of pickleball continued its meteoric rise in overall popularity , 2016 was a tremendous growth year for USAPA . Membership increased a whopping 63 % last year and is now over 17,000 members . While 63 % growth is an impressive number , last year was certainly not an anomaly . Since 2013 , USAPA membership has increased 325 %!
Given the exponential growth , some may say , “ Don ’ t tinker with success .” However , we are constantly evaluating and looking for ways to make improvements where possible . Over the past year , we turned our attention to our membership program . In mid-December , we launched the new member software , giving members an instant , fully automated registration process , 24 / 7 access to member profiles and other significant upgrades . With the new system in place , we are now ready to implement phase two — a new , simplified member package . Typically , the announcement of a new member package is synonymous with a rate hike . However , I ’ m happy to report that USAPA ’ s new member package will actually include rate reductions for 1-year , 3-year and 5-year members !
Yes , you read that right … a rate reduction . Under the new program , set for launch on February 1 , one-year USAPA memberships and renewals for all members will be $ 20 ! Multi‐year members will enjoy a three-year membership for only $ 54 and five-year memberships will be reduced to only $ 90 . Lifetime memberships however will be increasing to $ 500 . Members spoke and we listened ! We ’ ve heard the member t-shirts were nice but not a deciding factor . Tournament players were also looking for a reduced , no-benefits “ tournament membership ” similar to other sports . While a tournament membership will not be offered , for only $ 20 , USAPA players
can register for as many sanctioned tournaments as they want and receive full member benefits .
USAPA Member Benefits as of February 1 :
• FREE E-mailed Copies of Pickleball Magazine ( 6 per year )
• 50 % Discount ( Off Cover Price ) of Mailed Subscription of Pickleball Magazine
• $ 10 Discount on USAPA Net System
• Seasonal Discounts on USAPA Merchandise
• USAPA e-Newsletter ( 6 per year )
• Member Discounts ( hotels , rental cars , restaurants , pickleball retailers )
• USAPA Rating for All Sanctioned Tournaments ( coming in 2017 )
• Secondary Medical Insurance for USAPA-Sanctioned Tournaments
• Printable USAPA Membership Card
• Member Access to New “ Look-Up ” on USAPA Website
• Member Access to New “ Partner Search ” on USAPA Website
• Member Access to New “ Referee Trainer Guide ” on USAPA Website
• Member Access to New “ Referee Handbook ” on USAPA Website
In addition to the above package , members will also have the option to upgrade and add items during their online registration . Members will be able to add a men ’ s or women ’ s USAPA impact pullover , USAPA hat or visor and / or a hard copy subscription to Pickleball Magazine . Again , these upgrades will be optional but will reflect a member discount . We hope the reduced , simplified membership makes joining USAPA easier and will enable us to continue our exponential growth ! •
6 TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 724.942.0940 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG . COM