Aiken Pickleball News

Christmas Social

Fun was had by all at the Christmas Social on December 6th. The food was delicious and the holiday mood was made even brighter by the live music provided by Bill Wright on his saxaphone.

Debbie Tam and Kathie Robers were presented with their embroidered paddle covers for scoring 96% on the Rules Challenge. For anyone who missed this the first time, we will offer the challege again in January. (Detils will follow.)

Thank you to Barbara Burns and Pat Smith for all their work in setting up the beautiful decorations.

Aiken Pickleball Player Featured in Bella Magazine

Aiken pickleball player Diana Hunt was recently fetured in Bella Magazine for her interaction with tigers in Thailand. Click here to read the story.

First Day of Play at First Presbyterian

After a small opening bump with finicky keys, fun was had by all at the first day of play at First Presbyterian Church. If you want to give the new facility a try, see the calendar for times, and sign up using the appropriate link under "Sign-ups" on the main menu.

Pickleball and Longevity

Click here to check out this article on pickleball and longevity in the Aiken Standard.

October 2018 Round Robin Results

The October Round Robin was a great success. Thank you to Nancy Vermilye for all her hard work in organizing this event, and thank you to all the court monitor volumteers who helped to make everything run smoothly.

Thank you also to all the players and subs. Everyone showed great sportsmanship and played hard. It was great to have players from Columbia and Augusta join us in this event.

Winners from the various divisions are posted below. For more photos, click here.

3.0 division

First place: Paul Deason - Yuriko Palermo

Second place: Mike Wells - Russell Crews

Third place: Carole Mouton- Jim Tegart

3.5 division

First place: Walter Suescum - Vivian Chi

Second place: Richard Pack - Nelson Spitnale

Third place: Chuck Buchanan - Michelle Bullington

4.0 Division

First place: Mo Garcia - Luis Garay

Second place : Jeff Beckner - Jim Kabel

Open position

We are well underway in the new year for the Pickledillys. We do have one open position that needs to be filled immediately.

It would be nice to see some new faces volunteering in the Pickledillys group. In this position, there would be people to assist you as needed.

League Manager

Shadow Mo Garcia this fall season
There are two seasons for league each year - Spring and Fall
Schedule dates for league play - arrange location and time of play
Manage the captains
Manage the Top Dog Sports website
Arrange location and time of play

We appreciate your consideration. iI you are interested in this position, please contact Nancy and Joyce at info@aikenpickleball.com

Thank you to the tournament volunteers

From Lisa Miner

I would like to thank every one of you personally for all the hard work you put in over the tournament weekend.

The tournament was a huge success and that was thanks, in no small part, to each and every one of you. From the check in and event desks to the lunch room and the court monitors, all the comments that I heard were entirely positive. Congratulations!

The post tournament survey results are in and I thought you might like to hear some of the feedback that we got. The players were asked to rate their enjoyment of tournament on a scale of 1 to 10 and the average score was 9.17. That’s incredible. 88.1% liked the swag bag contents, there were some who were not keen on the shirt color but when you pick something that bright you know some will object. The lunch scored 4.2 out of 5 and having lunch provided was considered a big bonus. When asked whether they would return next year 78.82% said yes and 17.65% were undecided — again great numbers.

Finally here are a few of the comments from the survey:

"All the volunteers were fantastic."

“Thank you for a great weekend. The organizers and volunteer staff tried very hard to make it enjoyable. Give them all a big hug."

"I had a wonderful time, good organization with helpful and courteous volunteers. Kudos to all of you."

"Loved loved loved the staff of volunteers - made it all worth while."

"Best run tournament that I have attended EVER"

"Had a Blast one of best Tournaments I’ve played. ??"

"The staff working the tournament are extremely friendly.”

So thank you once again. When I see you I will try and remember to give you the Big Hug!

Lisa

2018 Palmetto Doubles Tournament

The 2018 Palmetto Doubles Tournament was a huge success! Thank you to tournament director Lisa Miner, computer specialist Nelson Spitnale, and all of the other volunteers who made this outstanding event possible.

Chuck Buchanan has placed photos he took of the event under "Information/Photos" - or you can just click here. Thanks, Chuck, for taking these great pictures!

And congratulations to all the medal winners from the Aiken area. Aiken again showed what great pickleball program we have!

Lost and Found

Please drop off any items found in the gym to the front desk. Jeana is very adept at tracking down the owners!

Mo Garcia Named District Ambassador

USAPA has approved Mo Garcia as the District Ambassador for the Midlands District in South Carolina. He is replacing Loretta Beckner. He currently has 10 local ambassadors in the Midlands District reporting to him. Mo will be working directly with the Regional Director, Joe Borrelli, who heads the newly aligned Mid-Atlantic Region.

Mo will be a wonderful asset to USAPA in promoting pickleball in the Midlands. Please give him your support whenever possible, as he takes on yet another pickleball responsibility! Congratulations, Mo, and thank you!