Hilton Head to host Special Olympics pickleball, tennis championship
For the first time in the Special Olympics’ 55-year history, a pickleball championship will be played — and fittingly, Hilton Head Island is poised to host the event.
Starting at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, 16 pickleball players from North and South Carolina will begin play at the Hilton Head High School gymnasium’s three courts. Play was originally scheduled at the Palmetto Dunes tennis and pickleball facility’s 24 dedicated courts, but organizers said inclement weather forced the change.
Weather permitting, the event will return to the Palmetto Dunes facility on Friday. Events will be held through Oct. 15, with matches played in both single and double formats. The facility’s courts are lighted, allowing tournament play to continue after sunset if necessary.
This is the first time pickleball has been added to the championship weekend. The event comes months after Hilton Head town officials previously expressed a desire to build the island into a regional pickleball Mecca with dedicated public facilities for the booming sport. Some residents of neighborhoods near a proposed 24-court public pickleball facility expressed concerns about the sport’s noise impacting their quality of life, but plans for that construction are not yet finalized.
The weekend will also feature the 23rd year of the Special Olympic’s North American tennis championship, which will see 185 players from across the continent compete in singles and doubles at the island’s Van Der Meer Tennis Center.
Medal ceremonies for both tournaments will take place Saturday.
This story was originally published October 12, 2023 at 11:33 AM.
