Lower Bucks Pickleball Club Meetup
Langhorne, PA
Welcome to the Lower Bucks Pickleball Club (LBPC)!
LBPC was created to provide a safe and friendly space where beginners could feel welcome to learn and play the sport of pickleball. Our **mission** is to have fun, make friends and improve skills while playing, promoting and growing the sport of pickleball in the Lower Bucks County area of Pennsylvania.
**Having Fun I Making Friends I Improving Skills**
LBPC is for everyone, whether you are now learning about the sport or have been playing for a while. Even if you have never heard about pickleball or have heard about it and have been wondering “What is pickleball?” then this is the club for you.
**What Is Pickleball?**
Pickleball is a fun, social and friendly game. Its original purpose was to provide a game that a whole family could play together. The rules are simple and fairly easy for beginners to learn (wait until you learn about scoring😊0-0-2). You could literally walk onto a court and within 90 minutes, consider yourself a pickleball aficionado (ask the Holderness family: [https://youtu.be/MtEWJSc_FJw](https://youtu.be/MtEWJSc_FJw)). Although ideal for recreational play, pickleball can develop into competitive games for experienced players.
**Playing With Our Club:**
You do not have to be a club member to play pickleball with our club. Although, we do hope you join us because being a LBPC member has perks. For example, access to dedicated court times and club owned resources, eager members who can easily be convinced to play “just one more game”, discounts on merchandise, and many more. In addition, you will be supporting the growth of pickleball in Lower Bucks County and surrounding areas. The Lower Bucks Pickleball Club works hard with townships to advocate for courts, lights, and to grow the sport in our communities. We need your help!
**Club Discounts.** Member discounts on purchase of paddles, balls, and other equipment. **Pickleball Central Discount:** LBPC members receive a 5% discount at www.pickleballcentral.com. Use discount code **CRLBPC**. Each time you use the discount, the LBPC also receives a 5% credit to use on balls, etc. *Please **DO NOT** re-post this code on coupon sites.* Doing so will make our code inactive and no credit will be given for any purchase made during that time.
**What Does It Cost?**
* **MEMBERS:** Members can attend all events for free with a membership donation. ($20.)
* **GUESTS:** Guests can play for free for a limited time. After joining us for **5 events**, we ask guest to become a member or donate **$2** for each event they attend. Our club started so anyone could walk off the streets and learn how to play pickleball. We want to continue this. We also know that pickleball is a social sport and groups matter. It takes a few visits to know if a group is a good fit for you. However, the reality is that our club does incur several costs to provide a fun and organized environment for pickleball play.
**Payment Information:**
* **VENMO:** [https://venmo.com/code?user_id=2597499625799680433&created=1648515001](https://venmo.com/code?user_id=2597499625799680433&created=1648515001)
* **PAYPAL:** [https://paypal.me/laurellparris?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US](https://paypal.me/laurellparris?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US)
* **NOTE:** Paypal: To avoid any fees, do not send the money as a donation. Instead, please initiate (from the “Friends and Family” tab of the “Send Money” flow). This would be considered a “personal transaction”. If you use your PayPal balance, bank account or Amex Send account, then there won’t be any fees on your end either.
* Venmo is probably similar. Make sure your transaction is just sending funds and not a purchase or donation.
**Club Information:**
If you wish to play with our club, we ask that you:
1. **Follow the USA Pickleball Sportsmanship Guide** and the **Lower Bucks Pickleball Club Rules and Guidelines.** We follow USA Pickleball’s guide to promote good sportsmanship. The guide defines specific behaviors to promote mutual respect, courtesy, consideration, and fair play among pickleball players. We ask you to read and agree to follow this guide. In addition, we ask you to read and agree to follow our Lower Bucks Pickleball Club rules and guidelines.
* Click here to read the USA Pickleball Sportsmanship Guide: [https://usapickleball.org/member-news/usa-pickleball-sportsmanship-guide/](https://usapickleball.org/member-news/usa-pickleball-sportsmanship-guide/)
* Click here to read the Lower Bucks Pickleball Club Rules and Guidelines **(Available Soon)**
2. **Sign a waiver.** We ask you to sign a waiver indicating you are playing at your own risk. You only need to do this once a year - the first time you attend an event.
3. **Sign-in.** We ask you to print and initial your name when you attend an event. Signing in provides us with useful metrics that we use to plan events and to let townships know just how many people are attending our events. This documentation, supports our requests for more courts, increase playtimes, court repairs, etc.
4. **Wear a name tag.** Names matter! They are how we identify. Wearing a name tag allows us to greet each other and call each other by our names. Name tags will be provided by our club.
**Origin Story**
LBPC came from the mind and heart of Laurell (Lau-rell), who wanted to introduce pickleball to everyone she met and to create a space where everyone was welcome, **especially beginners**.
Laurell first learned about pickleball from a colleague at work during teacher appreciation week in May 2021. Via zoom, her colleague, shared the rules and her passion for the game and invited Laurell to play pickleball the next day in Willingboro, NJ.
After her first time playing, (about two hours of pickleball) Laurell was hooked. The following day, Sunday, she was measuring her side yard and researching what it would cost to put in a home pickleball court. Being not the most *realistic* and *affordable* plan, Laurell knew she had to find a way to create a place where anyone could walk onto a court and learn about pickleball in Lower Bucks County.
Laurell then introduced her friend Karen to pickleball. She sent her a text that Monday and they arranged for Karen to learn about the sport about a week later. Karen also became hooked, and they teamed up to help spread their love for the game. It wasn’t long, a month later, before the two started a Facebook group and a handful of players joined. From people already playing at Firefighters Park, to people who walked their dogs by the courts, to anyone else who was curious about the game – Laurell drew them in and the group grew.
But, Laurell had a larger vision – she hoped to have more people playing more often, and to have courts reserved for pickleballers. So, Laurell and Karen expanded the group to Meetup (Aug 21, 2021).
And, that was when we realized just how many pickleball lovers were in the Lower Bucks and surrounding areas. Within two months, the Meetup grew to more than 150 members, and the courts were filled for every event we schedule.
So, we’re glad you’re here. If you haven’t yet, please join our Facebook group, and come out and play! Also, consider becoming a member to help us bring this wonderful sport to many more people.
**Safety Notice:**
For safety and security reasons, and so that we know who we are playing with, we require that you use your real first name and post a real picture of yourself that clearly shows your face in order to join our group. Otherwise, we will have to decline your membership.
