On November 3, 2010 a group of 11 residents decided to form the SVE Pickleball Club with Dan Oborn elected as its first President.  They decided to have an information table in the SVE auditorium for “Discover Arizona” day to introduce pickleball to the community, set up a by-laws committee, a fund-raising committee and scheduled the very first beginners’ pickleball lessons. They shared the sport court with volleyball players each morning and when volleyball was done, they took down the volleyball net and tied their pickleball net across the courts.  They taped lines and played with heavy wooden paddles made by Ralph Yellick in his garage workshop.

By the end of the first season, they had 26 members and needed more courts. In April 2011 made a presentation to the HOA board for 4 courts in the Palo Verde Basin.  However, the HOA board voted to pursue the North green area near the tennis courts for the four new pickleball courts so Dan Oborn and Ray Warner, the club VP, got bids from contractors and a tentative OK from the City of Mesa zoning administrator.  After 20 long months of discussions, the HOA board voted 4-3 against the pickleball court proposal.  Pickleball club had 35 very disappointed members.

In January 2013, the HOA board decided to redesign the sport court to accommodate three pickleball courts, with one being a multi-purpose court to be shared with volleyball players.  Pickleball club had grown to 59 members and played on those three courts for the next 7 years.

Pickleball club continued to attract new members with Gerald Warman organizing and teaching beginner lessons for many years.  By 2016 there were 166 members who never gave up the dream to have more courts.  The club spent many months selling golf cart raffle tickets with great success and having many other fundraisers and in January 2017, Buzz Gilbreath recommended that the club form a committee to explore further court needs; and the work began.

The committee spent the next year researching every possible space in the Village, got estimates from contractors, talked with City officials, architects, civil engineers and did feasibility studies.  Finally, in September of 2017, the club president, Coert Vanderhill submitted a budget request to the HOA  and requested to be on the March 2018 ballot.  Club members did power point presentations at HOA meetings and at three community informational meetings, had neighborhood coffees and sent out a “Yes Vote” mailer to every person in the SVE Directory.

On March 15, 2018 our ballot proposal passed by a 2 to 1 margin!!  With Les Johnson, the Pickleball Club Project Manager and two more years of studies, city permits, engineering, designing, excavating and construction, and the hard work and generosity of our club members, and donations and support of the SVE Community and Clubs, the new courts were dedicated on March 12,2020.   

Our Pickleball Club continues to grow because of our members’ dedication to a club that meets the needs of all players – with lessons for beginners, drills for low-intermediate players and clinics for high-intermediate players. 

We emphasize fun with social events, round robins and club tournaments; expanding out to other area clubs with CMARS; and continue with our fundraising efforts to meet our club needs and improve our courts. 

We get better every year!