Aiken Pickleball News

Augusta-Aiken Middle School League (AAMSL) Pickleball Championship

There was some great pickleball played yesterday afternoon on the fourteen outdoor courts at Virginia Acres Park. Over fifty girls and boys participated in the Augusta-Aiken Middle School League Pickleball Championship representing their individual schools. These kids are good! Pickleball has officially joined basketball, soccer, football, baseball and golf league competition for the fourteen schools that are members of AAMSL. See photos.

Gold Medal Match

For 3rd place - Main draw

Consolation 2nd place

Consolation 1st place

All fourteen courts in play!

New USA Pickleball Ambassador Appointment - Chuck Buchanan

We are pleased to announce that Chuck Buchanan has been selected as the USAP Ambassador for Aiken County, SC. He will be working with Mo Garcia, the District Ambassador, to secure new pickleball venues throughout our area.

Invalid Court Reservations

We are spending numerous hours correcting careless mistakes or senior moments. The past couple of Thursdays approximately 10% of the court reservations have been invalid. Some are as simple as not putting the first initial and last name of two players, or of making two court reservations side by side, but not listing two different players. More serious infractions are when players exceed the two-court limit, thus temporarily taking up a court they are not entitled to.

Currently court time is limited and everyone is in a hurry to get a reservation, but there is no reason not to enter the names correctly. Prior to entering the SUG, go to Docs and type in the names of the players you are playing with in the correct format (first initial, last name) and do a copy. When in SUG select the court you want and hit paste.

Those of you that are having senior moments and exceeding the two-court limit on Thursdays will now have your last entry automatically deleted. Blatant repeat offenders will be referred to the City for code of conduct ethics violations.

Donald Penzien

One of our old pickleball players passed away last Friday - Donald Penzien. Don was a regular at drop in play. Some of you might remember him when you see his photo.

Significant Rule Changes for 2024:

There were 92 rule changes for 2024. Following are two of the most significant.

1. Correcting Server, Receiver, and Player Position Errors (4.B.9) Faults for incorrect server, incorrect receiver, and player position errors are eliminated. All previous points count. Players return to correct positions with no penalty.

2. Catch or Carry Ball on the Paddle (7.L) Rule 7.L now makes catching or carrying a ball on the paddle a fault without having to determine that the catch or carry was deliberately done.

To access a zoom meeting among USAP Ambassadors and the rules committee discussing the changes click the link below.

Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/ntihK3yvUQBkIfHD73M1cfETUoVm7qJQbLu27_... Passcode: 7zv*raK5