Club History
Pickleball play began North of the Broad River indoors at The Shed in Port Royal in March 2016. As the number of players grew, several individuals began to attend meetings with the Beaufort County Parks and Leisure Services (PALS) to promote pickleball. Between 2017 and 2019 players offered several suggestions including that pickleball lines be painted on the tennis courts at Battery Creek Road. It was requested that the county provide an opportunity to play indoors on the basketball courts at Burton Wells but that never materialized. It was finally recommended that new dedicated public pickleball courts be constructed.
In March 2021, the first Annual Sea Islands Pickleball Club (SIPC) meeting was held, officers elected, and a team, under the leadership of Elly Levin, Advocacy Chair, developed promotional materials and began conducting presentations to influential area decision makers. They met with the Port Royal Town Council, the Beaufort Sports Council, Beaufort County Council and others to promote pickleball and the need for dedicated courts. The following April, The Shed was closed and Club members moved to the tennis courts on Battery Creek Road where they taped pickleball lines on the tennis courts, purchased balls, first aid kits and portable nets which had to put up and taken down each time that they played.
2021 was a pivotal year for the future of pickleball in Northern Beaufort County. SIPC members actively monitored Beaufort City’s Southside Task Force meetings in early 2021 and mobilized members to participate in the associated survey to promote the construction of pickleball courts. While the city recognized the large outpouring of support for pickleball documented in the survey, they forwarded the responsibility for pickleball courts to Beaufort County who is responsible for organizing and managing “active” sports. Following this disappointment, SIPC members conducted an email “Call to Action” directed to their county council representatives to support the construction of dedicated pickleball courts at Southside. This effort led to pickleball being discussed at the County Council’s Annual Retreat and a Pickleball Task Force being established to work on short-term and long-range plans for a pickleball complex to include converting underutilized tennis courts. When funds weren’t included for new pickleball courts in the county’s upcoming budget another “Call to Action” was conducted to support that pickleball courts be included in the Beaufort County Master Plan. By May, so many county council representatives’ email boxes were being flooded with requests to support the construction of pickleball courts that the County finally responded. The County Administrator found sufficient funds in the budget to convert one tennis court each at Southside and Shell Point into two dedicated pickleball courts at each location. On September 15, 2021, county and city officials together with SIPC members attended the Grand Opening of the first dedicated public pickleball courts North of the Broad River.
Today, SIPC is over 90 members strong, and growing. SIPC leadership continues to work closely with the Beaufort County Parks and Recreation Department to ensure pickleball and the players who enjoy and love the game, continue to have the resources and support needed as the sport continues to grow in popularity throughout the county.