Aiken Pickleball News

Code of Conduct

Once again it seems necessary to remind everyone that pickleball is just a game. It is supposed to be fun - for everyone. Throwing paddles is unacceptable. Swearing is unacceptable. Telling beginners they are not good enough to play indoors is unacceptable. Arguing over line calls is unacceptable. We are all Ambassadors for the game of pickleball - act like it.

As for line calls -

Question 15 from the Aiken Pickleball Rules Quiz is one of the most missed questions.

15. If you and your partner are unsure whether the ball is in or out, what is the call?

a. The player nearest the ball makes the call.

b. The ball is called in.

c. The ball is called out

d. The point is replayed.

Select Read more below for the correct answer.

b. The ball is called in

Dedication in memory of Christy Pritchard

On 12/13/25, Aiken Pickleball dedicated a bench in memory of , surrounded by her loved ones and friends. Mike Howard spoke a heartfelt tribute to her.

“Christy and I became pickleball partners four months after my wife Kathy and I moved to Aiken

six and a half years ago and we remained partners till her passing. We always traveled to local

tournaments together, took lessons, practiced against other teams, and she was my assistant

for the past 5 years at the charity event held today. Per our time together it soon became

apparent that Christy had two primary loves in her life; first and foremost was the love for her

family. She was a loving, devoted and a caring spouse to Pat that included providing twenty

four/7 hr. Hospice type care when required, putting off a needed operation for herself to provide

the care he needed before his passing. She was a loving, devoted and caring mother to her

grown children, and always spoke of them in an affectionate and mom loving manner. She was

a loving, devoted and caring Grandmother. Christy’s life revolved around her grandchildren. She

spoke constantly about them, showed me pictures with them, and the love and adoration she

felt was evident in the interaction she had with them, and the love and adoration she received

from them fulfilled her life every day.

The second primary love was pickleball. She loved the game, love playing, drilling, taking

lessons, teaching it to others, watching videos to not only enhance her game but to better

introduce and instruct others regardless of age involving the sport. She brought joy and

happiness to all when she played, but also was always polite, courteous, and professional in

playing the game she so loved.

Christy was multi-talented. She was a natural athlete, I was told a very good tennis player,

played in a league and did well until a severe leg injury caused her to give up the sport, which

led to pickleball. We once were discussing downtown Aiken, when I mentioned that I was

surprised it didn’t have a bowling alley and asked if she ever bowled. She said she did, had

participated in a league and once had her picture and an article appear in the Aiken Standard. I

asked her average and was told it was in the high 200”s. She enhanced her and my pickleball

skills that allowed us to compete in the 3.5 and 4.0 brackets in tournaments including being able

to win a bronze medal in the 4.0 bracket in one tournament.

She was artistically talented. She started collecting discarded pickleballs and made fantastic

Christmas tree ornaments that she gave to friends and to charities for their silent auction events.

She and Beth Eberhard made an American Flag that is about 3’ x 4’

, out of discarded pickleballs

and is displayed every year by SPA when they hold an annual pickleball event to celebrate the

4th. She was always willing to make some type of artifact that would sell at various charities to

support their donation drives.

Christy was an absolute extrovert. She loved meeting, being with, socializing and

communicating with people. We would be talking in a group, she would leave and go over to

another group possibly not knowing who she was, put out her hand and say “Hi, I’m Christy”

The group before she introduced herself may not be smiling or laughing, but I would look over 5

minutes later and see the group smiling and laughing and enjoying themselves. She had that

personality. She had a zest for life, started a website in the past year, with ideas that included

outside insights from others about improving her and possibly her followers daily lives, ideas to

improve family and friend relationships, with a permanent theme being that providing for the

needy when possible, should be a constant staple in our moral makeup.

She had a sparkle in her eye that was present when speaking about family, her interactions with

her grandchildren, introducing and teaching pickleball to anyone, and when giving assistance to

various charities by offering her time, teachings, and artistic contributions.The sparkle was even

present in a picture she showed me when holding her grandchild River on her lap with her arms

wrapped around her, and both smiling so radiantly that no inscription was needed to see the

love and joy that they showed being with each other. I miss that sparkle and look for it in people

every day.

I thought she was a very special person and this was verified when we won a gold medal in

2022 in the Palmetto tournament. She was pleased about how we played and texted me later

and said how excited and happy she was that she was able to tell her family and her

grandchildren that Granny won a gold medal and how much joy she got from her grandchildren

being able to tell their friends what their Grandmother achieved. My feelings about her being a

special person were confirmed as I knew it was the joy and happiness of her family and

grandchildren that was paramount, and not what she had achieved personally.

Today will be a day of mixed emotions for me. I will feel sadness that my pickleball partner and

friend, who has been my assistant at this charity event the past 5 years, will not be present to

hand out the T-shirts that bear the slogan “Pickleball with a Purpose” that she created. I also will

feel joy, as I know a bench with her engraved name is being dedicated in her honor for the

contributions she has given to pickleball, her support of various charities, and for providing only

joy and happiness to so many in the pickleball community.

Kathy and I have a one year old granddaughter named Sydney. She will when the time is right,

hear me say these words,

“Sydney, PaPa wants to tell you a story about a very very special

person”

After the story has been told, I will hear this question,

“PaPa do I have that sparkle”?

My reply will be “No, Not Yet”

But if you love and respect your family like Christy did.

If you treat others like Christy did.

And if you do good things for others in need like Christy did.

You can get that sparkle, You can get that sparkle!”

Aiken Area Pickleball League End of Season Party

The Aiken Area Pickleball League held its end-of-season party on 12/13/25 from 11-12. Players arrived with toys and canned goods donations to help kick off the event and support the Golden Harvest toy and food drive, that followed from 12-3. The league honored each division’s overall team winner with a medal and recognized each division’s Most Valuable Player for their outstanding performances.

Team Winners:

- Developmental Division: The Real Dills

- Women’s 3.0: Dinking Divas

- Women’s 3.5: Carolina Strikers

- Mixed 3.5: Palmetto Slice

Most Valuable Player:

- Developmental Division: Sharon Marra & Vahid Majidi

- Women’s 3.0: Jackie Brooks

- Women’s 3.5: Tracey Howell

- Men’s 3.0: Brad Wilson

- Mixed 3.5: Clarke & Larissa Nelson

Two lucky players had their tickets drawn and won a gift basket. Marion Van Eyk Quigley won a holiday-themed snack basket, while Vahid Majidi won a pickleball-themed basket! Congratulations!

The weather was perfect for a December Saturday, and many players hit the courts for some fun games while soaking up the sun with full bellies of pizza, sweets, and drinks.

The Aiken Area Pickleball League wants to express its gratitude to each of you for your participation and support. The Leadership Team is actively planning Spring 2026 season and will announce more details, including dates and important dates, in January! We look forward to seeing you all in Spring 2026 and wish you each a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Final Election Results for new API Board

On Monday November 10th, the current API Leadership Team met to vote on the new board governance. The following five members were elected by majority vote to serve on the API Board, starting January 1, 2026, for a period of two years: Jordyn Balba, Rochelle Bergren, Dean Cheatham, Nichol Gregory, and Chrissa Matthews This morning, the elected members for 2026-2028 confirmed their nominations and the Board positions were finalized.

Jordyn Balba – President

Chrissa Matthews – Vice President

Rochelle Bergren – Secretary

Dean Cheatham – Treasurer

Nichol Gregory – Board Advisory Representative

API would like to extend our gratitude to all who applied. The high caliber of talent within the Aiken community is evident. We are hopeful that everyone will collaborate to improve Aiken Pickleball for all members, in alignment with API’s mission statement,

New Players Clinic at Odell - Wednesday, January 14th

The next New Players Clinic at Odell will be on Wednesday, January 14th. The clinic will be held in Gym 2 on court 4. The clinic is for people new to the game of pickleball. Schedule as follows:

845-9am - Check-in

9 - 10 am - Instruction

10 - 11am - Practice Play

The 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. Maximum 5 players - minimum 3 - balls and paddles provided. Players should wear tennis shoes and bring something to drink.

Cost is $15 per person which includes the daily access fee. The clinic also includes a free two hour practice play session the following Wednesday. Sign up and pay at the Odell Weeks front desks to reserve your slot in advance. Bring your receipt to the clinic.

Anxious to be a bigger part of Aiken Pickleball

Here is your chance. We need someone to help post items on the Aiken Pickleball website. From “What's Happening” to the latest going ons in Aiken Pickleball. A couple of hours a week be part of the team that makes things happen. Don't have a computer or laptop? Not a problem - a laptop will be provided for your use 24/7 If interested, send an email to AikenPickleball@gmail.com. Training will be provided.

Thank You

Please note that Odell is not longer accepting donations for Golden Harvest or Toys for Tots. For those of you that still want to contribute to Golden Harvest you can take your donations directly to their drop off point at 81 Capital Drive off of Banks Mill Road.

Petition for Additional Courts

For those of you who are helping Jordyn Balba (Asst. League Director - AASPL Program) with getting petition signatures for additional new courts out at OW/Virginia Acres Pickleball Complex, you now have more time for more signatures. Our meeting with the City has been pushed back to Jan 21st. Let’s try to get the entire form filled out (88 signatures on each form - collectively, the goal is 1500-2k signatures). Together, we can do it!! There’s power in numbers!!

(Examples of where we've had some success in obtaining signatures: At park walking trails, store fronts, Stretch Zone, various pickle parks or clubs in town, neighborhoods, church congregations, out and about while running errands, etc.)

If you know of anybody else who would like to help with this initiative, please have them email, call, or text for info and a form to, Jordyn Balba at (702)581-9122 jdb918@Gmail.com Thank you ALL so much!!

Please Sign the Petition

We are trying to get 2000 signatures on a petition to be presented to the City of Aiken on December 17, asking the City to provide more pickleball courts. Please help by adding your signature - contact Jordan Balba at jdb918@gmail.com. And why do we need more courts?

Over fifty schools in Aiken County now have pickleball programs. The Fall League had 134 players. That number is expected to increase to over 400 participants this coming spring. Each year over 100 people attend New Players Clinics offered at Odell Weeks. The sport continues to grow.

Junior Kids - Mead Hall - After School Program

Breaking News - Outdoor Toilets Closed

The toilets closest to the outdoor pickleball courts at Virginia Acres Park are closed indefinitely for extensive renovations. As the project is expected to take a couple of months, the City plans to eventually provide porta potties. In the meantime, players can use the front entrance at Odell to access the restrooms located near Gyms 1 & 2. An official announcement by the City is expected soon.