The winners in the men’s 2.5 level are, from left, Alan Cortez, Mike Curington, Justin Swartzentruber, Dennis Swartzentruber, Lex Moore and Kevin Ross.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — The South Georgia Classic pickleball tournament held Feb. 25-26 at the Moultrie YMCA drew 150 players.

All profits were donated to Crossroads for Her, which has recently finished building its house and is now preparing for its opening. The organization have both a ribbon-cutting with the Chamber of Commerce and an open house scheduled in March.

The 75 teams playing in the tournament were divided first on skill level and sometimes also with age.

“I played in the over 60 division,” said Linda Berl. “But what’s great is you could have 60 year olds playing against 20-30 year olds, and this is one of the few sports where senior citizens cannot only play, but be able to compete.”

In pickleball, skill levels start at 2.5 for beginners and go up in half point increment to 5. However, the South Georgia Classic currently only goes up to 4.5 skill level as there was only one team at the 5 skill level, which is considered a professional player.

“This was my first time ranking up,” said Logan Cannon who went from the 2.5 to 3 point skill level in this tournament. She won bronze.

A skill level in pickleball is initially self-appointed when a player registers for their first tournament. After the third tournament, the database locks in whatever skill level the player has settled on. Once recorded, a player can progress up in skill, but can no longer register to play at a lower level.

The South Georgia Classic was set up round-robin style so that every team played against every other team at the same skill level. Then, the top four teams moved into the championship round. Games were played to 11 points, winning by 2.

Doubles for both men and women were played on Saturday.

In the 2.5 skill level, with no age restriction, Dennis Swartzentruber and Justin Swartzentruber took home the gold, Mike Curington and Alan Cortez won silver, and Kevin Ross and Lex Moore placed bronze.

Kyle Reagan and Clay Ulmer won gold in the 3.0 skill level followed by William Zhu and Kirby Smith in silver and Freddie Williams and Scotty DeMott in bronze. This division also had no age limit.

Age 40 and above with skill levels of 3.5 saw Blake Williams and Derrick Bridges took gold, Bruce Owen and Roy Reeves took silver and Stew Merdian and Chad David won bronze.

Skill level 3.5 also had an under 40 league. Kevin Quigg and Matthew Lewis won gold while Kevin Hall and Oscar Godinez won silver and Jason Cox and Dalton Murphy took bronze.

Christian Edwards and Stephen Adcock won gold in the 4.0 skill level, any age. Peter Crowley and Cameron McMillan followed with Silver and Jeff Davis and Ryan Burk had bronze.

Finally, in the 4.5 skill level, no age restriction, Brad Bowen and Jeffery Barnett took home gold, Brian Berl and John Michael Hall took silver and Clint Kyle and Sean Rady took bronze.

Playing in the women’s division, Miriam Funderburk and Frances Thrower won gold in the 2.5 skill level. Cyndi Ferguson and Rachelle Ross followed with silver while Sherry Moncrief and Joyce Moore took bronze. There was no age restriction on this skill level.

Also open to all ages was the 3.0 skill level. Kelly Turner and April Singletary placed gold followed by Terri Rykard and Christy Adams in Silver and Robbie Briggs and Cannon at bronze.

At the 3.5 skill level there were two age groups, under 60 and over 60.

In the under 60, Kristin Adcock and Emily Hall took first place with gold, Teresa Dennison and Dawn Smith took silver and Shana Murphy and Monique Tripp had bronze.

Over 60 saw Tammie Vann and Berl take gold, Joanne Ragans and Dolly Rump take silver and Cheryle Reeves and Jana Wear take bronze.

On Saturday, Jessica Jones and Kristin Kennedy took gold in the any age 4.0 skill level. Marina Cozac and Shalyn Dennison had silver while Carla Polk and Laura Spicer had bronze.

Mixed doubles played on Sunday with the following metals awarded:

The beginner 2.5 skill level was open to any age. Laura Elliott and Alton Garrett won gold. Terri Sullivan and Mike Curington won silver. Jessica McLain and Rusty McLain took home the bronze.

At the 3.0 skill level, there were two age groups: 50 and younger, and 51 up.

Malissa Eliason and Kenneth Strickland won gold in the under 50 followed by Raquel Mutuc and Marlon Mutuc in second and Robin Roberson and Lang Flowers III in third.

51 and over saw Li Zhang and William Zhu win gold while Kelly Turner and Edward Aragon placed silver and Cheryl Quigg and Kevin Quigg snagged the bronze.

The 3.5 skill level had the most age groups with three: 38 and under, 39-55 and 56 and older.

Bree Green and Dalton Murphy won gold in the 38 and under followed by Lisa DeMott and Scotty DeMott in silver and Maggie Murphy and Josh Wilson in bronze.

The 39-55 division had Teresa Dennison and Ryan Burk take home the gold. Silver was taken by Leah Braswell and Jared Gibson while April Williams and Blake Williams got bronze.

Gold was awarded to Sally Lopez and Brian Vincent in the 56 and older. Cheryle Reeves and Roy Reeves took silver. Jana Wear and Michael Wear took bronze.

The highest skill point for mixed doubles was 4.0 with all ages playing together. Kristin Kennedy and Sean Rady won gold. Mariana Cozac and Chris Eaton took silver and Jessica Jones and Byron Poore placed bronze.

Winning is always a great achievement, but for many pickleballers the sport is about way more than that.

“It’s a great atmosphere,” said Moore, bronze winner in 2.5 for men’s. “I like to see like-minded people all out having fun together.”

“I love that this is local and supports the community,” agreed Barnett, who has been playing pickleball for four years and is one of the only Pro level Moultrie players. “It’s been great to see it grow and have more people playing.”

The Moultrie YMCA will host its next pickleball tournament with the Smash Out CF April 29-30 to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. To register, visit pickleballbrackets.com. Registration is $55 per player.