The city of Aiken has issued a proclamation to recognize the month of April as National Pickleball Month in the City of Aiken. This was included on the March 25th City Council agenda. We would like to ithank everyone who attend the meeting to show the city that pickleball is here to stay and GROW!
Steve and Lisa Miner, who will soon be moving to Florida, were honored at the quarterly social on March 19th. We will miss their leadership, friendship, and support of the Aiken pickleball group.
Fun was had by the nearly 60 people at the social last night. Thanks again to Barb Burns and Pat Smith for the lovely spring deocrations and for organizing the event.
Mo Garcia has been working with Aiken Department of Public Safety's Karl Odenthal to arrange a series of pickleball clinics for a dozen of their police recruit officers. The young police recruits have embraced pickleball as part of their PE activity most mornings before heading to the police academy.
As USAPA district ambassador and a member of the Aiken Pickledillys, Mo has invited a group of these recruit officers, along with other members of Aiken Department of Public Safety, their families and friends, and PRT to a special pickleball clinic in support of this event. The event will be commemorated with the presentation of limited edition graphite pickleball paddles displaying the "Thin Blue Line with ADPS Shield" donated by Mo Power Sport, LLC.
The first of such clinics will be held on Saturday, March 30th from 09:00 am - 12:noon in Gym 1 at Odell Weeks and will be attended by 6-8 recruit officers.
To kick off the clinic we will have a brief demonstration of doubles and singles pickleball by some of Aiken's finest pickleball players. Immediately following the demonstrations, we will break out into mini-clinics, followed by open play to include ADPS members and family with members of the Aiken pickleball community. Everyone in our pickleball community is invited to attend this event and mix in to play with the guests of honor.
By Mike Beckner
Just a gentle reminder to all Pickledillys (and others who play at Odell Weeks) that pickleball is fundamentally a game which encourages and nurtures good sportsmanship. Here in Aiken, we have been known from the very inception of the sport for making all players welcome, regardless of their individual skill level as all of us were beginners at some point and we remember how difficult it was for us early on. We also emphasize that fair play and friendship are integral to the enjoyment of the sport.
With the growth of pickleball here, there have necessarily been times when rules and guidelines needed to be developed, in partnership with the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department of Aiken. These changes were designed to maximize the use of court time in a way that is fair to all players and also to protect beginners/weaker players from more advanced and/or more aggressive players. None of us want to be known as enforcers or the “pickleball police” but with our growth and subsequent organization, players have volunteered to be on the leadership team to help us with the sport as it continues to grow. We are indebted to those volunteers and their commitment to make pickleball in Aiken as good as it can be.
One of the products of our organization was the formation of player representatives for each skill level. These “player reps” are the ombudsmen for their respective skill levels and bring topics of interest from their players to the leadership team. They also serve as the eyes and ears of the leadership team and help explain the rules and guidelines during play. Please respect and listen to the player reps if they are sharing guidelines and rules with you on the court. They are simply carrying out their duties and do not deserve to be disrespected or insulted when simply trying to share information regarding a variety of issues. If there is a disagreement with any of the rules, ask the player rep to seek further guidance from the leadership team. In the meantime, please follow the guidance given by the player rep.
Players who become abusive, obnoxious or disrespectful run the risk of being sanctioned by the leadership team and/or by Parks, Recreation and Tourism. Unfortunately, there have been instances when PRT has had to ask offending players to leave the court and subsequently barred them from future play.
The following was posted by Brandon Swanson on the Pickleball Forum. It’s good food for thought for all of us.
Some play just for fun. Stop encouraging them to play tournaments.
Some play for fitness. Stop telling them they have to play differently.
Some play to challenge themselves and play hard. Stop telling them to ease up.
Some play to improve and win tournaments. Stop telling them it’s just for fun.
Some people want to play with players their own skill level. Stop telling them to “give back to the sport.”
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Find a like-minded group of players and enjoy the elements of the game YOU enjoy. Don’t try to change those around you to serve your own wants.
Talk to each other. Pickleball grew up overnight and I see us becoming a big dysfunctional family with an identity crisis.
We can be all these things! (listed above)
We can be tournament and festival. We can be family and competitors. Rivals and friends. Drop and drive.
Take a breath and let this sport shape itself around you. Let others know what you’re looking for.