Southern Pickleball Academy is thrilled to announce Caitlin Barry as the new Program Director for our First Paddle program.

Because of a $15,000 grant from the Community Foundation of the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) recently awarded to our Academy, we will be able to bring our First Paddle program to even more youth in 2026!

Annual sponsors are our heroes! Your contributions are so appreciated and make a difference in the work we do in our communities.

In 2025, Southern Pickleball Academy expanded youth pickleball access across Aiken and Edgefield counties, strengthened school partnerships, grew the First Paddle youth program, and hosted the region’s only junior pickleball tournament, Battle of the Paddles. Through clinics, tournaments, and community events, the Academy continued building healthy youth and communities through pickleball.

Southern Pickleball Academy welcomes Paul Turner to our Board of Directors. A talented pickleball player and lifelong athlete, Paul brings decades of business leadership, nonprofit service, and passion for helping under-resourced youth to support our mission of growing the game of pickleball and empowering young players.

We're thrilled to announce that Southern Pickleball Academy has earned the Platinum Seal of Transparency from Guidestar – the highest level of recognition available and a distinction held by only a small percentage of nonprofits nationwide.

For a young nonprofit organization, the past year has been full! Hold on to your hats as you read these highlights.

We are thrilled to announce the addition of JD Ross to the Southern Pickleball Academy Board of Directors.

First Paddle: a program that combines pickleball instruction with character development lessons to benefit students launches this fall.