Aiken Pickleball News

Localendar vs Google Calendar

I'm sure most have noticed that the calendar on the website has been taking forever to load. Some of you have just now discovered there are two calendars on the website - Localendar and Google Calendar. What is the difference?

Localendar is generated from the Google calendar by an iCal feed. We do not type any entries into Localendar. When working properly it is easiest to read using a smartphone. When the Localendar site is busy (with calendars in addition to ours) it takes forever to load, sometimes as long as three minutes and has numerous duplicate entries.

Google calendar is the master calendar that we work from. It is generated by us from the monthly schedules we received from Odell Weeks, Smith-Hazel and Gregg Park. We use the entries on the Google calendar to update the Sign up Genius each week. When brought up on a computer or laptop it is easy to read when displaying one week at a time. Not so easy to read when using a smartphone, but still readable.

The good news is the Local Calendar is back to loading in a reasonable amount to time.

Smith-Hazel open

Smith-Hazel is open as of Monday, October 7.

Outdoor courts at Odell Weeks are open

The outdoor courts at Virginia Acres Park (behind Odell Weeks) are open! There is some debris on the courts, so you might want to take a broom or blower if you plan to play there.

Update from Gregg Park

Gregg Park will reopen on Monday, October 14 with regular hours. Pickleball will go back to it's regular schedule starting on Tuesday!

Odell Weeks statue

Indoor pickleball at Odell Weeks resumed normal play on Thursday, October 10.

Why Aiken Pickleball is the Best!

Some 4.0 players joined our Saturday morning drop-in play. It was exciting when they battled each other. The balls that came my way made me play to the best of my ability, but I never got smashed at or felt out of place. Super fun! This is why pickleball is so popular. Thanks to everyone that made this happen.

Courts 4 & 5 Available for Morning Court Reservations

Court 4 & 5 will be available for court reservations 845-11am on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting next Tuesday September 24th.

Smith-Hazel Reopening

Smith-Hazel Activity Center located at 400 Kershaw St NE, will reopen for a 2-hour walk through from 5:30-7:30 pm on Sept. 25th. Pickleball will restart on September 30th - every Monday and Wednesday - court reservations 9-1030am and 1030-12pm - three indoor courts. You will be able to reserve a court using the same Sign up Genius you use for Odell. The membership card you use to access Odell Weeks will allow you access Smith-Hazel. For non members the daily fee is $2, same as at Odell.

Fall Women's 3.0 and 3.5 league

API would like to invite individuals interested in leading a women's pickleball team for the Fall 2024 season. Teams will consist of 3.0, 19+ and 3.5, 19+ players.

Players have the option to represent their respective Courts/Facilities:

- Virginia Acres Park

- Eustis Park

- Cedar Creek

- Woodside

- The Reserve at Woodside

- Gem Lakes

- others, please specify.

Matches will consist of best 2 out of 3 games to 11, win by 2.

Each team will provide 4 lines, in ascending order, with a total of 12 players per team.

Match days will be on :Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

Teams will be allowed to play lines before the scheduled match date, but not after.

Once the number of teams has been determined, a captains' meeting will be announce.

Season is expected to run from 10/1/2024 - 12/10/204

Please contact Mo Garcia, league director (mog01@aol.com), or Jordyn Balba, assistant league director, with any questions.

Minutes for August Leadership Team Meeting

Minutes for the Leadership Team Meeting held on August 12th, have been posted. Faith Loeb announced that she is retiring from Aiken Pickleball after eight years. Faith initiated the New Players Practice that followed each New Players Clinic, giving players new to the game of pickleball more structured playing time. Linda Blake is now providing New Players Practices after the New Players Clinics at both Odell Weeks and Gregg Park. We received great feedback on the Palmetto tournament with suggestions for improving. There was a well deserved round of applause for Jay Wilson the tournament director and all the other hard working volunteers that made the tournament so successful. Click here to read the full report as a lot more items were discussed including - Feedback from Player Rep's - proposed Social in September - Update on Pacer Life - Junior tournament in October - Mo’s Youth program - Wrecking Crew - Need for Volunteers - and much much more.