Press Release
Mayor Gavin Buckley
Public Information Office
160 Duke of Gloucester Street
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact: Mitchelle Stephenson, 410-972-7724 or mwstephenson@annapolis.gov
Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley Names City’s First
Ambassador for Pickleball. She’s Sara Aiken.
Annapolis, MD (June 10, 2019) – Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in America. The game looks familiar since it incorporates elements of tennis, table tennis and badminton. But it’s none of those things. It is its own thing. It’s a thing Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley plays at “Pip” Moyer Recreation Center regularly. His love and appreciation for the game are some of the reasons he is naming Annapolis resident Sara Aiken as the City’s “Ambassador of Pickleball.”
“I know I try to get everyone I know interested in playing,” Buckley said. “But when it comes to recruiting people and cheerleading the sport, nobody comes close to doing what Sara does.”
Aiken learned the game in the Bahamas in 2015. By 2016, she had launched Eastport Pickleball. In addition to being a trained instructor, Annapolis Pickleball Club member, tournament director and US Open competitor, she is also the USA Pickleball Association Ambassador to the City of Annapolis.
“Being named an Ambassador for the City is an honor,” Aiken said. “This designation makes it easier to advocate in the sport and for showcasing the economic importance and health advantages of the game.”
Already, the City has received revenue from tournament play of more than $3,250. Aiken hopes to get the City of Annapolis recognized as the Pickleball Capital of the Mid-Atlantic.
In August, Aiken will travel to France to play in the Pickleball French Open. Later in the year, she will lead a group of players across Ireland visiting Pickleball clubs on the Emerald Isle.
For more information on playing Pickleball in Annapolis, visit: www.annapolis.gov/189/Recreation-Parks.
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