Graphic Design Intern (PAID)

Company Description

The Southern Pickleball Association is dedicated to expanding access to pickleball by organizing well-run, reasonably priced events and supporting local community pickleball clubs. The organization works to grow the sport nationwide, creating opportunities for players of all levels to participate in competitive and social play. Through partnerships and tournaments, the association fosters a welcoming and inclusive pickleball community. Applicants will join a team that values collaboration, sportsmanship, and community engagement. Position Overview Southern Pickleball is seeking a Graphic Design & Creative Marketing Intern to assist with the creation of digital and print assets supporting tournaments, marketing campaigns, social media, sponsorships, and the overall Southern Pickleball brand. This internship is ideal for a student or recent graduate interested in graphic design, marketing, sports creative, visual communications, or brand development who wants to build a portfolio using work that will be actively published and distributed. The intern will primarily work in Canva within Southern Pickleball's existing brand standards while also having opportunities to bring new creative ideas to upcoming tournaments and campaigns. Primary Responsibilities Tournament Graphics Create promotional graphics for upcoming Southern Pickleball tournaments. Develop registration deadline graphics, countdown graphics, event reminders, player information graphics, and other tournament assets for promotions and recaps. Resize and adapt graphics for Instagram posts, Stories, Facebook, email, websites, and other platforms. Update tournament templates with new locations, dates, sponsors, venues, and event information. Marketing Assets Assist with graphics for Southern Pickleball social media campaigns. Design assets for special promotions, discount campaigns, tournament announcements, and registration pushes. Create graphics supporting Southern Pickleball TV, the Southern Pickleball Podcast, leagues, memberships, and other company initiatives as needed. Assist with email marketing graphics, digital advertisements, and website assets. Develop sponsor recognition graphics and help ensure sponsor branding is properly represented. Brand Development Work within established Southern Pickleball branding while identifying opportunities to improve visual consistency. Organize Canva templates and creative assets so they can be easily reused by the marketing team. Help develop new templates for recurring marketing needs. Research trends in sports graphics, tournament marketing, and social media design. Bring creative concepts to the team for future campaigns. Ideal Candidate We are looking for someone who: Has an interest in pickleball and has played in pickleball tournaments before. Is pursuing or interested in graphic design, visual communications, marketing, advertising, sports media, or a related field. Has experience using Canva and is comfortable working from templates. Understands basic design principles including typography, hierarchy, spacing, composition, and branding. Can follow existing brand guidelines while bringing creativity to projects. Is highly organized and pays close attention to names, dates, locations, sponsor logos, and tournament information. Is comfortable working on multiple projects with different deadlines. Learning Opportunities Through this internship, the intern will gain hands-on experience in: Sports graphic design Brand management Event marketing Social media design Digital advertising creative Sponsor asset creation Template development Designing across multiple formats and platforms Managing a real-world creative workflow The intern will leave the experience with a portfolio of graphics that were used in actual tournament and marketing campaigns. Potential Internship Projects Depending on the needs of the company and the intern’s interest, projects could include: Developing the full promotional graphic package for a Southern Pickleball tournament. Creating a new social media template system. Developing graphics for a tournament series or championship campaign. Redesigning recurring Southern Pickleball marketing assets. Creating a sponsor activation graphic package. Developing templates for Southern Pickleball TV or the Southern Pickleball Podcast. Organizing and improving the company's Canva template library. Schedule & Expectations This role can primarily be completed remotely, estimating between 5-10 hours of work per week. Hours can be structured around the student's academic schedule and internship requirements. Because tournament marketing operates on deadlines, the intern should be comfortable managing assignments according to a weekly content and promotional calendar. Most projects would be expected to be completed within 3-5 calendar days upon assignment. This is being offered as a six-month internship initially, with the opportunity to extend or the potential to grow into a part-time or full-time position dependent on performance and business need. Hiring Process Applications will be open through EOD Wednesday, October 28th, 2026, with the ideal candidate starting mid-November. Please submit your application via the following form: Graphic Design Internship Application