Great examples of our commitment to Pickleball and Community

SCPA made a donation to the Southern Crescent Technical College’s Allied Health Program

The Spalding County Pickleball Association was delighted to make a donation to the Southern Crescent Technical College’s Allied Health Program.

Southern Crescent nursing students are always dedicated, willing, eager, and knowledgeable volunteers during our local SCPA tournaments. They are on site to help any player who needs immediate medical attention or advice.

We are very thankful for their expertise and for their willingness to help. For these reasons, donating annually to the nursing scholarship program is a priority for our Spalding County Pickleball Association.

Pictured (L-R) are

Kimberly Register, VP for Academic Affairs, Southern Crescent Technical College

Erin Jones, Department Chair, Nursing, Southern Crescent Technical College

Mike Gumbinger, President, Spalding County Pickleball Association

Connie Baldwin, Board Member, Spalding County Pickleball Association

Dr. Irvin Clark, President, Southern Crescent Technical College

James Corbett, Treasurer, Spalding County Pickleball Association

Barbara Jo Cook, VP for Advancement, Southern Crescent Technical College

Post from Spalding County Sheriff's Department

Spalding County Pickleball Association Donation 2024

"A big thank you to the Spalding County Pickleball Association for their generous donation to our Santa Sheriff program!! We appreciate the Pickleball Association’s sponsorship and the additional donation from the members who participated in the Round Robin in memory of Jeff Sharrett. Your support and heart for children help to make our programs possible."

Pictured are (l-r) Captain Clark, James Corbett, Connie Baldwin, Mike Gumbinger, and Chief Thomason.

Spalding County Pickleball Association Donation 2024

The Spalding County Pickleball Association donated $2000 to the 2024 Fairmont Community Center Breakfast with Santa program. This program is the 2024 winner of the Georgia Recreation and Park Association Event of the Year!

This year's event on Saturday, December 14th, is a magical morning for deserving families offering a delicious breakfast, photos with Santa, holiday crafts, and lots of door prizes.

This year’s program will served over 300 family members. The SCPA has happily supported this worthwhile program for the past several years.

L-R are Toreion Simon, Connie Baldwin, Mike Gumbinger, James Corbett, and Robbie Milner.

Congratulations to SCPA Volunteers of the Year 2024!

Mike Gumbinger, SCPA President, Presents Volunteer of the Year Awards 2024

Our Spalding County Pickleball Association’s annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner was held last night at the Spalding County Senior Center. Despite it being a dreary, rainy night, over 50 Spalding Pickleball volunteers enjoyed a very nice dinner with music, door prizes, and appreciation gifts. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Volunteer of the Year Award.

For 2024, there were three winners: Ed Baldwin, who leads a maintenance crew called Manly Men and Moms, and Gus Staats and Cyndi Leedy, who are the creators and facilitators of the Monday morning Skills and Drills group.

Ed and his crew of hard-working volunteers maintain and clean the pickleball complex by blowing off the courts, repairing nets, repairing and replacing wind screens, hanging signs, hanging Christmas decorations, pressure washing, and whatever tasks need doing on any given day.

Cyndi Leedy

Gus and Cyndi meet every Monday morning to facilitate drills and skills for anyone who wants to learn or improve their pickleball skills. These clinics are free of charge and open to anyone of any skill level.

Gus Staats

Through their and their helpers’ efforts, many new players are enjoying pickleball and are contributing to the Spalding County Pickleball Association.

Congratulations to these very deserving Spalding County Pickleball Association’s 2024 Volunteers of the Year!

SCPA Founders: Original Board Members, Officers

Recognition of SCPA original officers and board members

November 15, 2024 was a special day in the life of the Spalding County Pickleball Association in that we unveiled a bench plaque at the courts recognizing the dedicated efforts of the original officers and board members who are the founders of our association.

Bench plaque at the courts

Recognition of SCPA original officers and board members

The founders were led by Peter Phelps, the first president and visionary force for pickleball in Spalding County. This vision resulted in the acclaimed pickleball facility we all enjoy today! From left to right in the picture are Sheila Phelps, Peter Phelps, and Lindsay Lancaster. Original board members not pictured are Gayle Brittingham, Dave Main, and Carey McRae.

Please participate in the Spalding County Parks & Leisure Services 10-Year Master Plan Survey

Spalding County Parks & Leisure Services value your input and ideas. We're conducting a survey to gather feedback for our upcoming 10-year Master Plan, which will guide the development of our facilities and programs. Your participation in this survey is crucial as it forms a key part of our data collection process.

We're interested in hearing your thoughts on our current facilities, programs, and events, as well as any suggestions you may have for new additions.

Our goal is to cater to the diverse needs of our community, ensuring that our Parks & Leisure Services Department serves as many citizens as possible.

Your input will directly influence decisions aimed at enhancing your quality of life.

Please take a 10 minute to complete the survey to make your voice heard.

Thank you for helping us shape the future of Recreation in Spalding County!

Click here to take the survey

Spalding County Pickleball Association 2024 Accomplishments January 1 – October 28

A) Facility Maintenance and Improvements
            1.Manly Men volunteers
            2. Installation of all new wind screens
            3. Net replacement
            4. Resurfacing of 8 front courts and installation of center net anchors
            5. Podium Lights

B) Membership and Activities
            1. 395 current members
            2. Ladder leagues (88 participants)
            3. Monthly round robins (484 participants)
            4. Classes offered by pros (36 with 215 participants)

C) Charitable Events, Donations, Community Outreach
            1. Homeless families helped by members
            2. Hurricane Helene relief help to Dublin
            3. Midwest Food Bank Tournament (150 participants, raised $12,000, collected 1,429 pounds of peanut butter
            4. Backpack Food for Kids Round Robin ($2,200 donation)
            5. Provision of loaner paddles and loaner balls
            6. Free to the public skills and drills (113 participants)
            7. Beginner classes
            8. Sheriff’s Kids Camps (2)
            9. Griffin Spalding County Schools Camps for Kids (2)
            10.Griffin Spalding County Schools Camps for Exceptional Kids (2)

D) Communication: Social Media,Web Page, WhatsApp
                  1. Facebook page (1659 followers)
                  2. Instagram page (new this year, 190 followers)
                  3. Website (spaldingpickleball.com, 24,713 visits in October 2024
                  4. WhatsApp Peeps (284 participants)
                  5. Get-well and sympathy cards
                  6. Group lunches

E) Tournaments and Tourism
                  1. Doc Holliday (Over 300 participants with over 25 volunteers)
                  2. Georgia State Championship (Winter Classic) in November
                  3. Drop in/overnight visits from players from Canada to Florida (approximately 100 visitors to Wyomia Tyus from travelers)
                  4. Spalding County Tourism Grant ($8,000)

F) Sponsors
                  1. Over 30 sponsors
                  2. $14,000 in sponsorships

G) Enhancements of and by the Spalding County Pickleball Association
                  1. Purchase of Blackstone grill for concessions
                  2. Purchase of Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and outdoor heated AED cabinet
                  3. AED training
                  4. Donation of new paddles by Selkirk (12)
                  5. Christmas decorations

Future Projects

A) Pavilion

B) Fence repair

C) Resurfacing of remaining 10 courts

D) APP Qualifying Tournament

E) Live-stream court condition camera

Visit Wyomia Tyus Olympic Park

About the Park / Directions

Spalding County built Wyomia Tyus Olympic Park in 1993.

This beautiful regional park of 164 acres is named after Olympic Gold medalist, Wyomia Tyus from Spalding County. She is a retired American track and field sprinter, the first to retain the Olympic 100 meter title.

Since its opening, this park has quickly become a favorite featuring 2 large picnic pavilions overlooking a 3 acre lake, soccer fields, baseball fields, pickleball courts, playgrounds, frisbee golf and a 5K walking trail.

Spalding County Pickleball Association

1301 Cowan Rd, Griffin, GA 30223

770-362-6374 SpaldingPickleball@gmail.com

Court Hours

Open today

08:00 am – 10:00 pm

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