About Us
The mission of the Siouxland Pickleball Association is to create and maintain a fun, safe, and encouraging environment where players of all levels can improve their skills, share in camaraderie of other pickleball enthusiasts, and enjoy the health benefits of an active lifestyle.
Pickleball has been growing in popularity in the Siouxland area for the last several years. However, players have struggled to find regular, dependable locations to play, with no guarantee that courts would be available on a regular basis due to other events at those facilities.
A meeting was held with Sioux City Parks and Recreation in March 2019 to explore options for dedicated outdoor pickleball courts in the Siouxland area. After some research, Parks and Rec proposed the repurposing of several aging and little used tennis courts in Riverside Park in Sioux City.
Further discussions ensued, and in January 2020, pickleball representatives went before the City Council to request approval of a plan to repurpose five tennis courts into eight pickleball courts and two tennis courts, with the City covering the full cost.
In February, the City Council approved this plan, and work began at the site in May. The project was completed in August 2020 and the dedication ceremony took place on August 24, 2020.
In June 2020, the decision was made to establish the Siouxland Pickleball Association in order to provide a united voice for the pickleball community and help grow the sport in this area.
After a start with 50 members, the SPA membership is currently at 500, and continues to grow.
In July 2020, the Association achieved 501(c)3 Non profit status.
On August 24, 2020, 8 new dedicated pickleball courts were open for play at Riverside Park.
On June 12th and 13th, 2021, SPA hosted the first annual Summer Kickoff Outdoor Pickleball Tournament in Siouxland.SPA hosts two tournaments a year--an outdoor tournament in the summer and an indoor tournament in the fall.
We look forward to seeing the sport of pickleball grow in Siouxland! Feel free to reach out to us at siouxlandpickleball@gmail.com if you have questions, comments or concerns.
You may also contact individual Board of Director Members:
Duane Hoffmeyer President duanehoffmeyer@gmail.com
Lisa Soole Vice President lsoole@gmail.com
Kelli Heilbuth Secretary keldog15@gmail.com
Michelle Connor Treasurer mkconnor65@gmail.com
Kevin Lilly Player Development pickleballkevin2412@gmail.com
Barb Knepper First Serve Passes barbknep@gmail.com
Pam Miller Sponsorships miller4321@hotmail.com
Nate Castillo Director ncastillo07@gmail.com
Phil Goetstourwers Director philippegoetstouwers@gmail.com
Todd Hensley Director siouxcityhawks@aol.com
Randy Hisey Director randyhisey@aol.com
Laura Troth Director lltroth@yahoo.com
Spero Vlahoulis Director vlahoulis@aol.com
Robbie Neswick Director robertneswick99@gmail.com Carolyn Ellwanger Past President cellwanger1@hotmail.com