I did it! I signed up for the Lucy Kitcher Club Med Sandpiper Championship; the most difficult process I have ever gone through to sign up for a tournament in my life. Holy moly!
First of all, I talked a few players into signing up for the tournament. Just look at the flyer. It sounds like a fantastic time. All inclusive for 4 days! Plus a sanctioned tournament.
This is the email I received from Lucy Kitcher, pickleball pro.
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Pickleball Tournament Club Med Port St. Lucie.
All Inclusive Pickleball Tournament and Trip
22 pickleball courts
Port St. Lucie, Florida
What’s included
This is a four day all inclusive tournament and trip for only $599 per person. Everything is included from the moment you arrive at the resort until you leave. It covers all day gourmet dining and open bar (both alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks), lovely accommodations, daily pickleball tournament, play, and court rental, day and night entertainment, cocktail party, and unlimited water and land activities around the resort. Plus medals and a t-shirt! A limited number of single rooms are available for a $100 supplement.
Location
This trip is held at the Club Med in Port St. Lucie, Florida not far from West Palm Beach on the east coast of Florida. The closest airport is Palm Beach International (PBI). There is a resort shuttle from the airport available for an additional fee (shuttle is only included in international trips). Advanced reservations are required. Another option is get an Uber from the airport. The ride is about fifty minutes.
Alternatively, you can rent a car. If you do so, you will have a greater selection of flights to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando or Miami airports which are all approximately one hour thirty minutes. Miami is slightly more.
Arrival and departure info.
Check in on day one is at 3pm. If you want to arrive before three and use the facilities, they charge $20 per person. That gives you full access to the resort which includes meals, drinks (alcoholic and nonalcoholic) and the use of all the resort amenities. However your room may not be available until 3pm. You can leave your bags in your car or at the front desk. We will meet at the pickleball courts for open play at 3:30. Stop by after you arrive. If you arrive early, feel free to go play!
Check out on the last day is 10am. You can stay and enjoy the resort all day for no additional charge, but you have to have your belongings out of your room by 10am. If there is no one checking into your room that day, you can ask for late check out at noon. There are showers available around the resort and you are welcome to leave your luggage at the front desk until your departure.
Pickleball activities
The tournament will take place first thing in the morning. In the afternoon there is optional open play.
On day three there will be an award ceremony at a cocktail party with drinks and hors d’oeuvres. There will be presentations for gold, silver and bronze medals for each skill group. There will also be a paddle give away on the last evening.
We have a reserved section in the restaurant for dinner and the option to sit together at breakfast and lunch. If you prefer to sit outside this is also an option.
Other activities
The following activities are included:
- Golf: access to the driving range & lessons.
- Tennis: free access to courts & lessons
- Water sports: sailing, kayak &
paddle boardIng - Trapeze: available in small groups
- Collective sports: free access to courts, soccer, beach volleyball & basketball)
- Pools
- Outdoor Yoga
- Outdoor Cardio & Fitness Classes
This list is during Covid. It may expand prior to our trip
Available for an additional fee:
- Access to The Saints Golf course, 18-holes, 5 min from the resort
- Water skiing
- Spa
Deposit and payments
The total price of this trip is $599 per person based on double occupancy. There are a limited number of single rooms available for a supplement of $100. Your deposit of $199 is due when you book on PickleballTournaments.com (plus single supplement where applicable). Two additional payments of $200 each are due prior to the trip start date. You must be paid in full 60 days before travel. Your deposit is nonrefundable, however if you’re unable to attend, you are able to send someone else in your place, as long as you provide fourteen days advanced notice. After that, there is a $60 name change fee. If there are guests on the waitlist you will be provided a refund minus a $30 administrative fee. Included in the price of your trip is Club Med’s basic travel insurance which covers the cost of your stay at Club Med in case you are unable to attend the trip due to an injury that might prevent you from traveling, a death in the family, or similar.
Please refer to this website for more detailed information regarding the basic travel insurance. https://ns.clubmed.
If the resort closes for any reason, including COVID 19, you will be provided a credit to be used on a future LucyKitcher.com trip within two years.
Still have questions?
Visit https://lucykitcher.com
If you have any other questions, feel free send an email. ZeroZeroStay@yahoo.com
Ready to book?
For the tournament trip click here
Click here to go to the booking form for instructional trips
https://lucykitcher.com/book-
Lucy Kitcher
954-534-6292
Okay, we were all in. Here comes the hard part. Signing up. Yep! FRUSTRATION! And I am dang good on the computer, so you know if I had a hard time….it had to be hard,.
To sign up you have to go through Pickleballtournaments.com. Okay, that’s not unusual because that’s where I sign up for most of my tournaments, Been there many times. And I went to pickleballtournaments,com and logged in. It went like this:
Log in
Go to FUTURE TOURNAMENTS
Type in LUCY in keyword
I find the Club Med Tournament…REGISTER
MUST BE MEMBER of USAPA or also know as USA Pickleball Association. Well, I am an AMBASSADOR. I am a member and on automatic renewal. I try many times and get the same message. MUST BE A MEMBER.
I log on to the USAPA site and click the button to renew for another 4 years just out of frustration, and I go back to Pickleballtourments,com to try again. Same message. What the????
I call Lucy. She looks into it and says it may take a day to reset.
That night at 7:00, I receive a call from USAPA that I have signed up for 4 years of magazines and not 4 years of membership. The USAPA will refund the $$$, and I am to go back in and renew the membership again. OH MY GOODNESS! By the way, I am also talking to Diane who is going through the same thing. She signed up for the magazine, too. She is also going though hell and high water to sign up for the Club Med tournament.
I have emailed Pickleballtournanments.com about my difficulties. They responded by saying I have to contact the tournament director. By this time, I have Lucy Kitcher on speed dial so I have talked to her, texted her and emailed her.
Lucy explains that you must be a member of the USA Pickleball Association at the time of the tournament which is at the end of the January 2022. That’s right, we are planning ahead. I tell Lucy, I better get a private room. She says she’ll save one for me. (I already know that one of my friends from New York is going to beg to come stay with me last moment and I’ll let them bunk in so private room….probably not.)
My membership at USAPA was up for renewal 7/21. Even though I am on automatic renewal, when I tried to register for the Club Med, it said I wasn’t a member in January 2022. USAPA corrected that for me and I was back to Pickleballtournaments.com to try again and again and again.
Next snafu…you have to be a member of the SSIPA. What?! You cannot sign up unless you have a membership to the SUPER SENIOR INTERNATIONALPICKLEBALL ASSOCIATION.
Another test of my patience…I went thought the steps and signed up for $20.00.
Back to Pickleballtournaments.com. (Any sane person would have given up by now.) We also ran into the issue of someone who was in our group was under 50, so did she have to join the SSIPA? Another Lucy text.
Now all things right at USAPA and SSIPA, I went through the process once again; chose PRIVATE ROOM, MIXED DOUBLES AND WOMENS DOUBLES to play in the tournament; paid the down payment, and I am happy to report—I am signed up and good to go!
Now that I have become a sort of EXPERT on signing up for this tournament, feel free to contact me if you run into problems. I have done this for a couple of people. Last time I checked, over 90 from all across the country have signed up. I am hoping to have a large group from Sarasota attend.
So, that’s my story. I must really want to go to go through all that rigmarole.
Please join us.
Pickleball Terry
USA Pickleball Ambassador
PPR Certified Coach
Owner of Sarasotapickleball.com
Dinkpickleball@gmail.com
Text or call me for lessons at 941-400-0978