Aiken Pickleball News

February New Players Clinic

Please welcome Maureen Dunn, Sue Haberkost, Phillis Hoy, Elaine Johnston, Debbie Ostrofsky, Dorothy Sterns, Anne Waura, and Joe Waura to Aiken Pickleball. The eight of them just completed the New Players Clinic held by Mo and his trusted assistant Marian. And again, just to remind, from 10-1145 am Court 1 is designated the beginners court. See photo below.

From Left to Right Debbie Ostrofsky, Joe Waura, Anne Waura, Maureen Dunn, Elaine Johnston, Phillis Hoy, Sue Haberkost, Marian & Mo Garcia

(Dorothy Sterns not available for photo)

Interested in being a referee for the September tournament?

If so, contact Ben Lacy at benlacy1962@gmail.com for more details and to setup a training schedule.

January New Players Clinic

Please welcome Lynn Burkes, Allyson Haselman, Gail Flintom, Paula and Steve Brewer to Aiken Pickleball. The five of them just completed a New Players Clinic held at Odell Weeks Thursday by Mo and his trusted assistant Mariam. Just to remind, at 10am court 1 is designated the beginners court. See photo.

L-R - Mariam, Lynn, Allyson, Gail, Paula, Steve, Mo

March Gladness RR March 5th

Click here to view round robin details.

Registration closed.

March Gladness at Gregg

Mixed doubles round robin at Gregg Park on March 5.

Divisions for 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0.

Separate brackets for under 50 and 50 and up.

Women's 2.5 round robin scramble has been added.

Odell to close at 2:45pm

Odell Weeks afternoon court time will end at 2:45pm through February, for set up for basketball. See calendar for adjusted schedule.

Net Storage

When storing the net bags in the closet please place them in the back right hand corner. Do not block the door on the left leading upstairs. This stairway is the main access for the maintenance crew to the equipment room, and their only exit incase of a fire. Thank you.

Minutes for January Leadership Team Meeting

The minutes for the Leadership Team Meeting that was held Monday, Jan 6th, 2022 at 5:30pm at Odell Weeks, have been posted. Harve Mobley hosted the meeting. Topics that were discussed included player rep vacancies and a request for nominees; the OW New Players Clinics; new hours at Gregg Park; the upcoming Chili Social; our plans for 2022, and much more. Go to Forums or click here to see the full report.

"Little Mo" at Smith-Hazel

The remaining Drills with Little Mo are now available for sign up. The drills start on Wednesday, January 5th, at Smith-Hazel. Click here to sign up.

As in the past, each week will have a different theme.

Jan 5 - Return of Serve, down the line.

Jan 12 - Dinks with a purpose; hitting your target spots

Jan 19 - Half Volley soft drop; Half Volley drives.

Jan 26 - (No drills - Big Mo not available)

Feb 2 - Overhead smash; Volley snap at the kitchen.

Feb 9 - 3rd Shot drop

Feb 16 - Drive topspin volley

Feb 23 - King/Queen of the court, (Doubles)

Mar 2 - Drop, Chip, Drive.

Mar 9 - Lobs

Mar 16 - Specialty shots (Various Big Mo Shot choices).

The card you use to access Odell Weeks will allow you entry into Smith-Hazel.

Just When You Think You Know the Rules to Pickleball…

Your calendar for next week’s pickleball match shows that 2022 is on the horizon. Another year has passed with many cracked pickleballs. But you’ve finally gotten the 2021 rules solidly under your belt, right?

What you may not know is that the end of the calendar also means the USPA Rules Committee is close to finalizing the 2022 rule changes…YAY!!! …but what are the changes?

To help you prepare for the 2022 rules, Coach Ben Lacy (also our resident Head Referee) has put together a summary of the changes. Along with the summary, Coach Ben also provided a companion video and organized the changes by recreational play and tournament play.

So please follow the links and get updated on the USAP rule changes so you are not caught short in the kitchen.

You can also get your own pdf copy of the DRAFT 2022 rules here:

https://usapickleball.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2022-Draft-Rulebook.pdf

City Challenge – A New Tradition Begins

Saturday morning local pickleballers awoke anticipating their team’s win in the first annual City Challenge. Four local pickleball communities Aiken, Augusta, Lake Hartwell and Lexington and their ardent fans filled their travel mugs, grabbed a quick breakfast and drove to Gregg Park Civic Center in Graniteville confident in their team.With just a thirty-minute window before the first bracket... Click here to read full article