Get in the Game

The Callawassie Island Balance: Active Living in Harmony with Relaxation

“This PLACE helped me make the life change. That happens here because it’s all very connected to ‘today’ – being present and living in the moment. You don’t have to be on your A-game, you just have to get in the game.” – Ellen Peters, Resident

At every turn, you find two things in harmony on the island: the incredible peace and beauty of the natural landscape (both painstakingly manicured and organically raw) and an endless array of opportunities to live a thriving and active lifestyle.

It’s no accident – it’s a balance that’s been intentionally designed over the years, not only by the staff behind community development, but by the residents themselves whose interests, involvement, and investment in one another have built a network of activity that’s hard to keep up with. There is something for every imaginable someone, any passion, personality, or level of ability.

What may seem like a typical approach to “fun and fitness,” however, on Callawassie Island is something quite different. More than a simple pastime, hobby, or way to meet friends can be a

transformational source of connection and renewal. Under the right circumstances, it can just about save a life – like in the case of resident Ellen Peters, who came to Callawassie Island and found something she never imagined.

A Family Affair

“A year before we came here, I had cancer. We lived in Pennsylvania where it’s cold in the winter so it’s normal that you shut down for most of the year and just got by until you could ‘take care of yourself’ in the warmer months,” she recalls, painting a picture of limited access to a truly active and healthy lifestyle.

But it’s not just the difference between cold climates and warmth. There’s a magnetic difference you consistently hear about from residents that makes living on Callawassie Island different than surrounding communities. Peters was able to put it into words in terms of her own family and her own personal transformation alongside husband, Ivan Otto.

Pickleball was her weapon of choice to get underway and get in the game – any game, just to get out there and start moving and making connections. “I wasn’t proficient. I came in with no skills. I hadn’t had real time to recreate for decades. But I connected to people who played on my level and enjoyed friendly competition.” Peters describes a lively camaraderie and ability to visit with a variety of people who find their counterparts in different layers and levels of whatever their go-to program.

For the Peters Family, pickleball became a family affair. “Water finds its own level, as they say, and for us, when our adult family first started visiting, pickleball was just getting off the ground, so we learned together. My daughter was an advanced tennis player, and my son played golf in college, but ‘pickleball was for everyone.’”

Age is Only a Number

Everyone means everyone, as evidenced by the national rise in pickleball popularity over the last decade. So too went island interest, as this lighter-impact activity benefitting from Callawassie Island’s exceptional racquet sports facilities, became a crowd favorite among residents discovering the benefits in-the-moment. “It was something all of us picked up here. Recreational or competitive, whether you’ve played long ago or never played, dust off your racquets and come out. We teach you square one – grip, ground stroke, equipment is available, and there are probably 40 ladies all in the same boat.”

Same boat, but on a course that surprised Peters who says, “I never thought I would live such an active lifestyle. I lost weight and gained energy. I never thought I would consider myself athletic, at any age, but I do now, and I’ve learned that “age is only a number” is not an empty phrase. I used to say that when I hit 50s it would all be downhill but now, I see people in their 70s crushing it with better reflexes than I have, and they’ve given me great hope for the future.”

Living Proof – The Callawassie Island Difference

“This place unleashes me from the mental barriers that I thought I had. I look at people living full and active lives into their 70s and 80s. I’m getting beat every day on the pickleball courts by people two decades older than me, while I’m giving it my all. They’re living proof of how exciting and fun life is and how, if I keep this up, I can look forward to the same.”

But why is it so different on Callawassie Island? If it were just the game, you can play pickleball in a thousand lowcountry places. If it were just fun and fitness, there are 200 other ways to stay active and involved as an island resident, whether through the litany of special interest clubs and events, or the club’s renovated fitness center stocked with state-of-the-art cardio equipment.

Fitness Center Director Deanna Cara, whose passion for wellness is contagious in her commitment to help members reach their fitness goals, has recruited a team of instructors who share that heart, leading classes in conditioning, aerobics, and disciplines like yoga, Pilates, Tai chi, as well as nutritional programs, health screenings, massage therapy, and personal training sessions, fulfilling the sentiment that “fitness is the hallmark of the Callawassie Island lifestyle.”

But when people talk about Callawassie Island, it’s not just physical health or entertainment. It’s an emotional conversation. Asked if she could put into words what makes that incredible testimony everyone’s story, Peters didn’t skip a beat before taking a swing.

The Callawassie Island Way

“This place does that. All of that, really, is from living here. This PLACE helped me make the life change. That happens, because the way people live, here, is all very connected to ‘today’ – being present and living in the moment. That’s the name of the game. Nobody says ‘hey, these are the rules,’ but it works out that way. It’s rare that people try to one-up each other or keep up with the Joneses. I’ve never seen a place where everyone is so present and simply happy for one another. The present is so great there’s no room for anything else. It crowds out the superfluous.”

“Nobody cares about what you did, all they care about is what you’re doing. Not that people ‘don’t care’ in a negative way – it’s that those distractions are crowded out by the positive opportunities at your fingertips and how engaged everyone is in that. It’s not about the bygone days like you sometimes see in a retirement community. That isn’t the flavor of Callawassie Island. It isn’t The Callawassie Way.”

Called & Fostered

Callawassie Island is one of the area’s best kept secrets, but the true nature of the community is no secret to its residents. “Our realtor was right. He tried to tell us. People here genuinely care. They don’t just pull in and close the garage door and never see one another. Everybody has had a difficult day, no one’s exempt, but people help each other through in such a way that you feel very protected. I could see right away that Callawassie Island was different in this way. You can be vulnerable. Because people know this, it creates an incredible exchange of caring and appreciation. It’s a place where you hear people expressing gratitude all the time.”

This beautiful, balanced way of life was no accident. Callawassie Island has been “care-fully” built to draw people to itself who reflect the natural spirit of the place. “It not only calls them,” says Peters. “It calls then fosters that spirit. It calls the grateful types then fosters that element in an environment where everyone can thrive in gratitude together.

Heath, healing, and happiness can be found at the intersection of a peaceful, edifying environment built to keep residents at their healthiest to make the most of life on the island, whether that’s health of body, mind, or spirit. “You don’t have to be on your A-game,” says Peters. “You just have to get in the game.”

Come walk it, play it, feel it for yourself. Book your Discovery Tour to explore the balance, beauty, and belonging that so many now call home.

You don’t have to imagine it—just experience it.