PUBLIC SPACES SOUGHT AS SPORT’S POPULARITY RISES

The Hilton Head Island Pickleball Club’s charge was twopronged: to show the need for a public pickleball center on the island, and to bring that dream to fruition. The first part is complete, but much work lies ahead to complete the second, says club president Alex Cruden.
“In the eyes of town officials, pickleball has gone from an oddsounding splinter group to a full-fledged recreational priority,” Cruden said. “We’ve done our best to help the town leaders learn more about it and see how it would be possible, and even easy, to fit a good-sized pickleball center into town property — and why that would be a good attraction.”