Hilton Head Sports

LOWCOUNTRY FENCERS OFFERS AN ATHLETIC OPTION FOR KIDS TO ACTIVE SENIORS

Most kids tend to get started in sports with the staples — baseball, basketball, soccer — but kids in the Lowcountry have a new option at their disposal, and it has appeal even for children who might not show interest in traditional athletic options.

“What little boy wouldn’t enjoy being able to bout with a weapon and not get in trouble for it?” says Amber Caswell, whose 12- and 9-year-old sons have become avid fencers since joining a growing club —lowcountry fencers (the club’s official name is all lowercase) — aimed at introducing area youth, and their parents and grandparents, to a sport that hasn’t previously taken hold in the region. Caswell’s oldest son, Colten, picked up an épée two summers ago when Hilton Head Island resident Patricia Wilkens put together an open house at the Island Rec Center. It was Colten’s first foray into sports, and he was immediately hooked. His younger brother, Haden, joined the mix a year later.

BICYCLING AS A FAMILY IS OUR FAVORITE ACTIVITY.

Bicycling as a family is our favorite activity. My husband and I have been on bikes together since we started dating and we happily added our son to our riding adventures when he was 9 months old.  

We've been on beach cruisers, tandem bikes, mountain bikes, road bikes, and cargo bikes. We've ridden in the mountains and on the beach. We’ve biked in the sunshine, in the rain, and a few times in the snow (I don’t recommend). 

LOCAL TEAMS READY TO PLAY AFTER PANDEMIC DELAY

While major college leagues around the country were delaying or postponing their football seasons because of the coronavirus pandemic— and while South Carolina’s public schools were pushing back the start of fall practice — the S.C. Independent School Association (SCISA) decided to play.

SCISA athletic director Mike Fanning never wavered from the notion of playing a full season, allowing the state’s private school athletics programs to resume workouts under a set of guidelines to encourage social distancing and numerous best practices to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

PUBLIC SPACES SOUGHT AS SPORT’S POPULARITY RISES

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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.”

faberLONGTIME JASPER COUNTY BASKETBALL COACH ENJOYS SPENDING TIME OFF THE SIDELINES

He’s traveled just outside of Columbia to see his grandson play basketball. He’s visited one son in Tennessee and another in Atlanta, and he and his wife of 37 years, Jacklyn, are planning a cruise. 

He’s played a lot of golf. 

LOWCOUNTRY SOCCER PLAYER MEETS DREAM TEAM

Over Memorial Day weekend, John Burk felt a lump in his neck that turned out to be malignant. Five months later, Burk found himself thousands of miles away, at Old Trafford stadium in England, home of Manchester United Football Club. 

A guest of Red Devils star Marcus Rashford, Buck was living a dream, watching his beloved team play.

PEDAL HILTON HEAD CONTINUES ITS MISSION OF HELPING AREA KIDS, ONE RIDE AT A TIME

Generosity in Motion

Since it began in earnest 13 years ago, Pedal Hilton Head has grown from a single charitable cycling race to an entire weekend of celebration. Each year has seen an expansion in scope: last year saw the addition of a course that took riders across the bridge to Bluffton and new parties that let visitors experience Hilton Head Island at its finest. 

HANNAH EDELMANHANNAH EDELMAN RULES THE BEACH COURT

Like many girls growing up on Hilton Head Island, Hannah Edelman loved spending time at the beach.

She also loved playing volleyball.

Putting the two together changed her life.

In 1969, Hilton Head Island was a different place: full-scale development was only just beginning, and infrastructure was limited. And the racial tensions roiling across the rest of the country could be felt on the small island.

It was an unlikely spot for the launch of a racially integrated youth football program.

ROWING CLUB OFFERS FITNESS, CAMARADERIE

In gyms around the world, people are rowing. Their hands grasp handles that simulate oars, and they slide back and forth on seats anchored to pulleys. Their bodies become fitter, but rowing machines don’t do much to improve the soul.

Consider instead the workout experienced by members of the Palmetto Rowing Club: On a recent weekday, Broad Creek was calm, refreshed after a pre-dawn shower. At 8 a.m., the sun was warm but not hot, and a breeze moved over the rowers as they prepared to launch their boats. A blue heron sat on a piling, watching several men and women work together to carry the long, brightly colored sculls to the water and fit their oars in place. Because rowers face backward in their boats, club members almost glided past a pair of bottle-nose dolphins before they saw them.

Golf

Recreation

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