Aiken Pickleball News

Thank you to everyone who came to the celebration of the new courts at Virginia Acres Park. And thank you to Mike and Loretta Beckner and the pickleball pioneers (also known as the Pickledillys) who started us on the road to being the thriving pickleball community that we are today.

Pickleball pioneers Jean Durkee, Sharon McMichael, Mike Beckner, Loretta Beckner, Ron Nelson, and Nelson Spitnale

Mike and Loretta Beckner

 

The next New Players Pickleball Clinic at Odell Weeks will be on Saturday, June 17th. The clinic is for people new to the game of pickleball. Clinic is full. Schedule as follows:

845-9am - Check-in at front desk

9-10 am - Instruction

10-11 am - Practice Play

Clinic will include proper court position, how to keep score, how to make the transition from tennis and other racquet sports to pickleball and much more. Players should wear tennis shoes and bring something to drink. Clinic will be held indoors on Courts 1 & 2 in Gym 2, at Odell Weeks. Balls and paddles provided. Maximum 8 players. Cost is $15 per person which includes the daily access fee. Sign up and pay at the Odell Weeks front desk. Bring your receipt to the clinic.

Note: Fee also covers attendance at the New Players Practice session to be scheduled later.

 

There will be a celebration of the new courts at Virginia Acres Park at 4.30 pm on May 23. Aiken Pickleball Inc. would like to show our appreciation to the City for building the courts and would be delighted to see our pickleball community show up to mark the occasion. 

After the outdoor celebration, we will move inside for a potluck social at 5pm. All are welcome. To sign up for the potluck, click here

We want to give special thanks to Mike and Loretta Beckner, who introduced pickleball to Aiken 13 years ago and changed our lives for the better. We are deeply grateful to the people who first showed up to support Mike and Loretta, some of whom are still actively involved in making pickleball a fun experience for everyone. The pickleball pioneers, who were also known as the Pickledillys, included Ron Nelson, Jean Durkee, Sharon McMichael, Bobbie Atwell, Leigh Maund, Maggie Ward, John Cox, Rob Bromley and Nelson Spitnale.  

Our district ambassador, Mo Garcia, has worked tirelessly with the City to provide the initial 8 outdoor courts as well as the latest addition of the six outdoor courts at Virginia Acres Park. Thank you, Mo!

 

The Aiken/Savannah Lakes Mini-Scramble featured a round robin arrangement for a total of 7 games employing Men’s, Women ‘s and Mixed Doubles. Savannah Lakes Village Pickleball players were Bob Massie, Joe Locke, Bryan Conner, Chuck Wiegert, Anne Hiney, Brenda Briggs, Tracy McGraw, and Julie Elmore. Aiken Pickleball players were Ben Stephens, Rob Harrington, Mike Howard, Jay Wilson, Heidi Abele, Dianne Floyd Peg Sharp, and Christy Pritchard. Great play and camaraderie!

 

Aiken Pickleball is hosting a free New Player Clinic indoors at the Gregg Park Civic Center on Saturday,  May 20th.  Click here to sign up. Schedule as follows:

830 - 9am - Check-in at front desk

9 - 10am  - New Players Clinic Instruction

There have been delays checking in so please arrive early and be patient. Thanks

10 - 11am -  Practice Play

In this sixty minute clinic you will learn everything you need to get started playing the sport of pickleball.  Please wear tennis shoes and athletic attire, and bring something to drink.  Balls and paddles provided. Class limited to eight.  

The April.29th clinic cancelled.

 

Minutes from the Leadership Team's Meeting held on Monday, April 3 have been posted. Click here to read the full report.

 

The 9th Annual Palmetto Indoor Doubles Invitational Pickleball Tournament, held at the Odell Weeks Activities Center August 4-6, 2023, was a great success. Over 170 players participated in twenty-one events - men's, women's and mixed doubles - in all different age divisions up to  and including 70 and above!   Hats off to Jay Wilson, the Tournament Director, Joyce Noland, the Technical Advisor, Mo Garcia and all of the volunteers that made this possible.  You gals/guys are the greatest.  And special thanks to the City of Aiken and all our sponsors listed below.

Click on "Read more" below to see a list of all the medal winners.  Also go to the Aiken Pickleball Facebook page to see their photos.

Gold-level sponsors

 

 

Silver-level sponsors

 

Bronze-level sponsors

Partners:

 

 

Results Palmetto tournament

Men's Doubles Skill: (3.0) Age: (11 And Above)

Gold    

Ronnie Vengua (Grovetown, GA)

Justin Santos (Evans, GA)

Silver

Joshua Pifer (AIKEN, SC)

Robert Schafer(Aiken, SC)

Bronze

Jose Gonzalez (Hephzibah, GA)

Brian White (Grovetown, GA)

Men's doubles 3.0) Age: (70 And Above)

Gold    

Andrew Stivanson (Aiken, SC)

Douglas Ditter (Chapel Hill, NC)

Silver    Mike Burley (Augusta, GA)

Lester Powell (Augusta, GA)

Bronze

Kenneth Mason (Evans, GA)

Ron Jackson (Evans, GA)

Men's Doubles Skill: (3.5) Age: (11 And Above)

Gold    

Ranjeet Singh (Augusta, GA)

Fawzi Naji (Augusta, GA)

Silver    Aaron Shelton (Evans, GA)

Ken Oliphant (North Augusta, SC)

Bronze    

Will Pethick (Aiken, SC)

Kevin Pethick (Aiken, SC)

Men's Doubles Skill: (3.5) Age: (60 And Above)

Gold

Stan Felkner (Conway, PA)

Steve Jensen (Conway, SC)

Silver    

Harry Molloy (Murrells Inlet, SC)

Bob Grueser (Bluffton, SC)

Bronze    

Ken Oliphant (North Augusta, SC)

Mike Newman (Martinez, GA)

Men's Doubles Skill: (4.0) Age: (11 And Above)

Gold    

Westin Bobadilla (Augusta, GA)

Mark Shearer (Augusta, GA)

Silver    

Spencer Smith (Conway, SC)

Ralph Teal III (Myrtle Beach, SC)

Bronze    

Marwan Ben-Jebara (Evans, GA)

Jon Roebuck (Evans, GA)

Men's Doubles Skill: (4.0) Age: (50 And Above)

Gold

JoJo Davis (Myrtle Beach, SC)

Thomas Gull (Myrtle Beach, SC)

Silver

Harve Mobley (Aiken, SC)

Phil Breidenbach (Aiken, SC)

Bronze    

Drew Walker (Greenwood, SC)

Derek Kidd (Greenwood, SC)

Mixed Doubles Skill: (3.0) Age: (11 And Above)

Gold    

Dani Ingle (Fort Eisenhower, )

Ronnie Vengua (Grovetown, GA)

Silver    

Andrea Motley Crabtree (Belvedere, SC)

Justin Santos (Evans, GA)

Bronze    

Emily Jones (Aiken, SC)

Joshua Pifer (AIKEN, SC)

Mixed Doubles Skill: (3.0) Age: (50 And Above)

Gold    

Aimee Kollmansberger (Columbia, SC)

Mike Kollmansberger (Columbia, SC)

Silver    

Cookie Gonzalez (Hephzibah, GA)

Brian White (Grovetown, GA)

Bronze    

Julie Felder (Evans, GA)

Felix Latorre (North Augusta, SC)

Mixed Doubles Skill: (3.0) Age: (60 And Above)

Gold    

Vanessa Rogers (Evans, GA)

Graham Deriso (North Augusta, SC)

Silver    

Pamela King (Evans, GA)

Harry Bacheller (Evans, GA)

Bronze    

Ratchinee Skinner (Martinez, GA)

Ron Jackson (Evans, GA)

Mixed Doubles Skill: (3.5) Age: (11 And Above)

Gold    

Sarah Lancaster (Evans, GA)

Marwan Ben-Jebara (Evans, GA)

Silver    Jane Grange (Germantown, MD)

Will Pethick (Aiken, SC)

Bronze    

Anna Parviainen (Augusta, GA)

Jules Gouron (North Augusta, SC)

Mixed Doubles Skill: (3.5) Age: (50 And Above)

Gold    

Diane Pepple (Evans, GA)

Ranjeet Singh (Augusta, GA)

Silver    June Melton (Asheville, NC)

Ronald Nelson (Tryon, NC)

Bronze    

Tammy Pruitt (Graniteville, SC)

Mike Chaput (Aiken, SC)

Mixed Doubles Skill: (3.5) Age: (60 And Above)

Gold    

Diane Miller (Florence, SC)

Paul Miller (Florence, SC)

Silver    

Victoria Miller (Myrtle Beach, SC)

Stan Felkner (Conway, PA)

Bronze    

Christy Pritchard (Aiken, SC)

Michael Howard (Aiken, SC)

Mixed Doubles Skill: (3.5) Age: (70 And Above)

Gold    

Pat Truesdale (Camden, SC)

Harry Molloy (Murrells Inlet, SC)

Silver    Mimi Borchers (Evans, GA)

Mike Burley (Augusta, GA)

Bronze    

Sally Serago (AikenSC)

Douglas Ditter (Chapel Hill, NC)

Mixed Doubles Skill: (4.0) Age: (11 And Above)

Gold    

Joni Walls (Myrtle Beach, SC)

JoJo Davis (Myrtle Beach, SC)

Silver    

Cameron Frank (Evans, GA)

Jose Vega (Martinez, GA)

Bronze    

Leslie McCowan (Aiken, SC)

Brian Eberhard (AikenSC)

Mixed Doubles Skill: (4.5) Age: (50 And Above)

Gold    

Lisa Barrett-Johnson (Augusta, GA)

Terry (Woody) Irons (Grovetown, GA)

Silver    

Cheryl Breidenbach (Aiken, SC)

Harve Mobley (Aiken, SC)

Bronze    

Amy Buck (Aiken, SC)

Jeff Simizon (Aiken, SC)

Women's Doubles Skill: (3.0) Age: (11 And Above)

Gold    

Aimee Kollmansberger (Columbia, SC)

Crystal Manzi (Lexington, SC)

Silver    

Christine Lightsey (Seneca, SC)

Lauren Young (Clemson, SC)

Bronze    

Kissila Gunther (Aiken, SC)

Pamela King (Evans, GA)

Women's Doubles Skill: (3.0) Age: (50 And Above)

Gold    

Diane Miller (FLORENCE, SC)

Billi Jager (Lexington, SC)

Silver    

Julie Newman (Martinez, GA)

Van Fleming(Evans, GA)

Bronze    

Lori King (Aiken, SC)

Christina Thompson (Aiken, SC)

Women's Doubles Skill: (3.0) Age: (60 And Above)

Gold    

Bebe Murphy (Aiken, SC)

Jan Snipes (Aiken, SC)

Silver    

Andrea Motley Crabtree (Belvedere, SC)

Anna Wilds (Martinez, GA)

Bronze    

Victoria Miller (Myrtle Beach, SC)

Margo Harrison (North Myrtle Beach)

Women's Doubles Skill: (3.5) Age: (11 And Above)

Gold    

Sarah Lancaster (Evans, GA)

Tonya Roebuck (Evans, GA)

Silver    

Jessica Coon (Evans, GA)

Faith Van Rengen (Clarks Hill, SC)

Bronze    

Leslie McCowan (Aiken, SC)

Amy Myers (Aiken, SC)

Women's Doubles Skill: (3.5) Age: (60 And Above)

Gold    

Valerie Karrasch (Graniteville, SC)

Christy Pritchard (Aiken, SC)

Silver    

Miriam James (Matthews, GA)

Barbara Outley (Martinez, GA)

Bronze    

Sally Serago (Aiken, SC)

Barbara Dellamora (Aiken, SC)

Women's Doubles Skill: (4.0) Age: (19 And Above)

Gold    

Cheryl Breidenbach (Aiken, SC)

Lisa Barrett-Johnson (Augusta, GA)

Silver    

Mary Gull (Myrtle Beach, SC)

Joni Walls (Myrtle Beach, SC)

Bronze

Rhonda Fink (Greenville, SC)

Amy Buck (Aiken, SC)

 

 

If you are trying to make a court reservations or change an old one and you get the message "ACCESS CODE REQUIRED", it is probably sometime  Wednesday evening and  8am Thursday morning.  That is when the Signup Genius is locked down for maintenance.  During this time the new court reservations for the following week are being added.  So be patient - you do not need a code - you just need to wait until 8am on Thursday when the SUG will be reopened.

 

 

On January 18th, 2023, Aiken Pickleball took the first step in becoming a non-profit organization at the request of the City of Aiken. This resulted in Aiken Pickleball, Inc (API) being awarded the contract to host the Palmetto Invitational Pickleball Doubles Tournament this August and  to continue to manage the City's indoor pickleball programs at Odell Weeks and Smith-Hazel Recreation Center. You should not notice any changes with Aiken Pickleball, Inc. 

 As we get more organized, we are going to try to raise funds by offering memberships to Aiken Pickleball, Inc to help offset some additional costs we are incurring such as general liability insurance, legal fees, CPA fees, and a city business license. The benefits of memberships will be discounts on lessons, clinics, and drills with Little Mo, tournament registration fees, sporting clothes, and new pickleball paddles. These discounts will more than offset the annual cost of an official API membership.

Everyone that plays pickleball indoors at Odell Weeks, Smith-Hazel and/or Gregg Park and/or outside at one of the numerous outdoor courts available in the Aiken area is by default a member of Aiken Pickleball.  Whether you decide to take an extra step and take advantage of discounts offered by being a paying member of Aiken Pickleball, Inc. is up to you. This also provides a way for those of you that cannot volunteer your time to contribute.  Either way you can still make weekly indoor court reservations.  Nothing has changed.

 

Clinics for Pickleball for Parkinson's are currently being offered at Hillview Baptist Family Life Center at no cost. The clinic are open to anyone with Parkinson disease, Essential tremors, or other movement disorders . Classes meet at 10 am Monday and Wednesday. 

To sign up or get more information, email Nelson Swartzentruber at. truber3066@gmail.com

Pickleball really can change your life.

 

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