Aiken Pickleball News

Generally, the Aiken Pickleball community is made up of older adults.  On average local players play 3-4 times a week at one or many of the great facilities available to use in the Aiken area. One thing we may not think about is injuries. We expect that after pickleball we will go about our day finishing up our to-do lists, not planning for a trip to Urgent Care in our schedule.. 

Be aware fellow pickleballers, a recent Emergency Department study of ER visits estimates that there are over 19,000 ER visits related to pickleball annually. Patients over 50 accounted for over 90% of patients where 50% were male…

So be careful out there, do your stretches, watch out for barriers and walls and sometimes just let the lob shot go.. It’s just a point in a pickleball game.

Aiken Pickleball

Ref: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31796221/

Below is response from Aiken Parks, Recreation and Tourism(PRT) to questions about the April 1, 2022 Fee Schedule Change.

Why is there an increase at all?

Short answer: The new structure simplifies all of the various facility user fees, providing benefit to the participant, and improved operations for staff.   

Extended answer: As a City Department we are responsible for evaluating/assessing programs, fees, budgets, services, participation numbers, etc..  In addition to feedback from our recent needs assessment and focus group meetings conducted by Clemson University, and trends within the PRT profession across the state, fees were evaluated and a proposal presented to the Recreation Commission with support, and received approval from PRT and City Management.

Why are City residents paying the same as County residents?

City citizens already pay the same rate as county residents on rental fees and other services provided by PRT; we have been inconsistent in our fees for services.  We recognize that our parks and facilities serve a much greater population than within City limits. The PRT Department budget is funded from Accommodations and Hospitality Tax Collections, in addition to the General Fund.

Will my membership "grandfather" in until next year or do I have to pay the new rate effective April 1, 2022?

the present membership will convert to the Wellness Membership and the new rate will not take effect until the current membership expires. 

Please welcome Anna Kerstiers, Bart Zweigora, Cindy Little, Ginger Hudock, Doug Hudock and Samantha (Sam) Chesnee to Aiken Pickleball.  The six of them just completed the New Players Clinic held by Ben Lacy on Saturday, March 19th.  See photo below.   Special thanks to Nelson Swartzentruber and Jim Poore (not shown) for assisting.   And again, just to remind, from 10am-12pm, Mon-Fri, Court 1 is designated the beginners court.  If there are lessons on court 1, court 2 is the beginners court.

L-R + Ben, Anna, Bart, Cindy,, Ginger, Doug, Sam, Nelson

Aiken Pickleballers

Our planning survey results are in with 88 responses to the survey!

Please have a look at the results here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OjDrrammrt2mqFMafcrMXHGNgw19WyvR/view?usp=sharing

Below is a quick summary of the results, but please review the results for yourself.

The average PB player responding to the survey is about 67 years old and from Aiken County. Players have been playing pickleball for about 4 years, have been rated but doesn't really care about their rating.

Players get most of their information from the website, closely followed by emails and word of mouth.

On average players play 3-4 times a week either indoors or out. Odell Weeks is the primary location; Smith Hazel is not used much. Eustis Park is the second most used outdoor court.

Everyone loves to talk about PB. Aiken Pickleball events are supported either through participating or volunteering if convenient for players.  

A majority of players are not interested in the USA PB association or activities that require certification.

Players spend little time working on their game and would rather just play. While open play is popular, reserving a court and playing with a group is the preferred option.

Most players are not that interested in participating in competitive play. This was the case at our most recent Round Robin, March Gladness with only 36% of players coming from the Aiken area.

Generally, the survey results indicated little interest in becoming an organized club.

Thank you to everyone that participated!

Aiken Pickleball