The Smashers Pickleball Club is established to promote the sport of Pickleball for Solivita residents. The Club, through its elected Board of Directors is entrusted with creating, managing and maintaining a fair and safe Pickleball playing environment for our Club members in their pursuit and enjoyment of recreational and/ or competitive Pickleball play. To that end, the Board, Solivita Lifestyles Management (SLM) and Taylor Morrison (TM) have established Club member Rules of Conduct and behavioral standards, and a process for appropriate disciplinary actions necessary to address bad sportsmanship and aggressive behavior that instigates, threatens and/or results in violence against fellow club members.
The key to maintaining timely and effective management of this effort is close coordination and transparency among the Board, the Club’s Team Captains, and our members. The Board shall work in concert with the Captains to ensure that any disrespectful, threatening or instigating actions leading to potential or actual mental or physical harm among Club members are addressed immediately and resolved at the lowest possible level.
To that end and within their ability to do so, Team Captains should address any aberrant behavioral or code of conduct violation(s) immediately and maintain a record of incidents that required their intervention. The Board’s intent is to keep incidents, Captain Intervention, documentation of those interventions, and their resolution at the Team Captain level. However, if necessary Captains should include these records as substantiating evidence when reporting single incidents that cannot be resolved at the Captain level or for reporting repeated unmanageable bad behavior.
Incident reports of unsportsmanlike and/ or violent behavior that cannot be resolved on the court should be sent to boardofdirectors@solivitasmashers.com. While the Board requests that members attempt to work these issues through their Captains, this process does not in any way restrict a member’s right to file a complaint for aggressive or other bad behavior directly to the Board should they decide to do so. Upon receipt of an incident report the Board will conduct a preliminary review of the incident within 24 hours and, if necessary and when directed by the Board, the Board Vice President shall conduct an investigation.
Within 48 hours following notification of the Board’s intent to conduct an investigation the Board Vice President will:
- Notify the Team Captain and the individuals involved of the Board’s intent to investigate the incident.
- Propose recommendations for Pre-investigation Restrictions, if necessary for any members under investigation. The Board’s decision to impose any Pre-investigation Restriction will be determined by the severity of the incident under investigation. However, these restrictions do not imply fault for any member(s) receiving said restriction(s). Pre-Investigation Restrictions are intended as a “cool off” period for the member(s) under investigation and to maintain the courts as a safe and enjoyable environment for other members.
- A Pre-investigation Restriction may include revoking club play privileges for period set by the Board of up to, but not to exceed the duration of the investigation process.
- Members holding an active Letter of Reprimand dated less than two (2) years from issuance will receive a Pre-investigation Restriction from club play for the duration of the investigation.
- Draft a memo for Board approval detailing the scope and proposed duration of the investigation. The VP’s memo should include the investigation team’s composition, their potential interview process, and a preliminary list of interview candidates.
During the investigation the Board VP will provide periodic Board updates when requested, but at a minimum updates shall be sent to the Board President at least every 48 hours. The Board VP will draft a report following competition of the incident investigation. The VP’s report shall include individuals interviewed, their testimony, the dates those and any follow-up interviews were conducted, and the VP’s conclusions and recommendations for Board review, approval and action.
Following the Board’s review and an at-fault determination is made, the Board President will direct issuance of a Letter of Reprimand and implementation of Board approved disciplinary actions deemed necessary to resolve the incident. A Board issued Letter of Reprimand shall remain active for a period of not more than two (2) years and will result in loss of Member in Good Standing status for a minimum of one (1) year.
Letters of Reprimand shall also result in:- A warning without any corresponding suspension of club play, or
- A warning with a corresponding suspension of club play for a Board determined period of time not to exceed 90 days, or
- Removal from the Solivita Pickleball Club and revocation of all Club rights and privileges for a Board determined duration of not less than one (1) year, or
- Solivita Pickleball Club membership suspension, termination and revocation of Club rights and privileges without refund of any paid annual dues for any member receiving two (2) Letters of Reprimand within a two (2) year period (Solivita Pickleball Club Bylaws, Paragraph 5.04), or
- Immediate and permanent Club expulsion, revocation of all Club rights and privileges and forfeiture of dues paid for inciting and/ or participating in acts of physical violence.
Members have the right to appeal Board issued Letters of Reprimand and any corresponding disciplinary action levied against them. In accordance with Club Bylaws, members may submit a written appeal within seven (7) days following receipt of a Board issued Letter of Reprimand and disciplinary action (play restrictions, suspensions or terminations) assigned. The Board of Directors shall conduct an appeal inquiry, as required and will inform the member of their final decision within seven (7) days following receipt of said appeal.
Reformatted for website 29 June 2023.