SSI Pickleball History

Pickleball on SSI owes much of its success to Charlie Crawley, who introduced the sport when he began chalking temporary lines on tennis courts at Epworth, in 2014. As the local USA Pickleball Ambassador, Charlie would eventually convince the Parks and Recreation Department to permanently stripe two pickleball courts at Epworth. It wasn’t until 2015 that the two tennis courts in Kings Park were striped for pickleball, advancing the opportunity for people to enjoy the game.

In March of 2017, two additional pickleball courts were striped at Epworth. Unfortunately, the demand to use what had once been tennis only facilities led to conflict with the tennis community. It was clear that with the growth of pickleball among both residents and visitors, additional pickleball facilities, preferably designed for pickleball only, would be needed.

Under Charlie’s patient guidance, the Glynn County Commission was persuaded to build new, dedicated pickleball courts. In 2019 the Commission authorized the construction of six dedicated pickleball courts in Kings Park. Unfortunately COVID reared its ugly head before construction could begin. Ultimately the pandemic delayed the start of construction of the courts, and reduced the number of courts to be built from six to four.

In March of 2021, the four dedicate pickleball courts were finished and true pickleball play began. While the pickleball lines were removed from the courts at Epworth at that time, pickleball play continues on what are now recognized as multiuse courts in Kings Park.

The SSI Pickleball Club was formed in 2022 as a Non Profit 501 C (3) organization, the first dedicated to the sport of pickleball on St. Simons Island. The move to establish the club was initiated by local USA Pickleball Ambassadors Mary Kline and Bill Carmichael, who had replaced Charlie Crawley when he retired from the Ambassador role.

One of the principal tasks undertaken by the SSIPB Board was to try and persuade the local authorities to increase the number of dedicated pickleball courts on the Island. While so far these efforts have not panned out, this effort continues.