Technical guidelines
1. Tournament Rules
The tournament shall be governed and guided by the current official pickleball rules, except when modified by the Tournament Committee.
Any local rules or tournament-specific regulations from the Tournament Committee shall be announced before the start of competition.
2. Eligibility
Only officially registered players are eligible to compete in the tournament.
Each participant may be able to register for a maximum of three (3) categories.
No player substitutions are allowed after the closing of the registration unless approved by the Tournament Committee for valid reasons and reasonable circumstances.
3. Tournament Format
BEGINNER Men’s, Women’s, and Mixed: the TOP 1 team from each bracket advances to the Semifinals; the remaining one (1) slot is the Wild Card berth, awarded by Average Point Differential (APD). Semifinals: crossover with Rank 1 of Bracket A vs Wild Card, Rank 1 of Bracket C versus Rank 1 of Bracket B). The Winners in the Semifinals will proceed to the Final Round and the Losers in the Semifinals will proceed to the Battle for Bronze.
BEGINNER PRO Men’s, Women’s, and Mixed: the TOP 1 team from each bracket advances to the Semifinals; the remaining one (1) slot is the Wild Card berth, awarded by Average Point Differential (APD). Semifinals: crossover with Rank 1 of Bracket A vs Wild Card, Rank 1 of Bracket C versus Rank 1 of Bracket B). The Winners in the Semifinals will proceed to the Final Round and the Losers in the Semifinals will proceed to the Battle for Bronze.
NOVICE Open: the TOP 1 team from each bracket advances to Semifinals (crossover with Rank 1 of Bracket A vs Rank 1 of Bracket D, Rank 1 of Bracket B vs Rank 1 of Bracket C). The Winners in the Semifinals will proceed to the Final Round and the Losers in the Semifinals will proceed to the Battle for Bronze.
4. Match Format
ELIMINATIONS (Round Robin), and SEMIFINALS: One game to 11 points, change ends at 6; sudden death at 10-10 to determine the winner.
BRONZE title will be given to the team with better Average Point Differential (APD) from the Semifinal Round.
CHAMPIONSHIP Match: One game to 15 points, change ends at 8. At 14-14, a maximum of two (2) slide twos; sudden death at 16-16 to determine the winner.
5. Court Assignment
Court assignments will be posted on the tournament app for players to be guided. Changes to court assignments may be made on the day of the tournament by the Tournament Committee, as necessary.
Players shall report to the tournament venue at least thirty (30) minutes before their scheduled match.
Players shall immediately proceed to their assigned court when their match is called by the Tournament Committee.
6. Warm-up
A maximum of 2 minutes of warm-up will be provided for each match.
7. Time-outs
Time-outs shall only be applied to the SEMIFINAL and CHAMPIONSHIP rounds, with each team entitled to only one (1) one-minute time-out per match in those rounds.
Medical time-outs shall be granted for up to five (5) minutes. If the player is unable to continue, they shall forfeit the match.
8. Match Officials
Matches will be officiated by referees or designated tournament officials.
9. Line Calls
Players are responsible for making line calls on their own side of the court. However, the referee is given the privilege to overrule a line call if they clearly observed that the call was incorrect.
Referee decisions, when assigned, are final.
10. Service Rules
The referee shall announce the score before the server puts the ball into play.
The serve must comply with current official serving regulations.
An incorrect server or incorrect receiver shall receive a warning for the first offense. Any subsequent incorrect server or incorrect receiver violation shall result in the giving of a point to the opposing team.
11. Injury and Medical Assistance
Injured players shall immediately notify the referee or any court official.
Medical personnel may be called if available.
A player that is clearly unable to continue, or deemed by any medical responder to be unable to continue playing, shall forfeit the match.
12. Defaults and Forfeits
A player or team shall forfeit a match if:
Players who fail to appear within the five (5)-minute grace period after their match is called shall automatically forfeit the match.
They refuse to continue the match with whatever reason or circumstance they declare to the Tournament Committee.
13. Tie-Breaking (Round Robin)
If two or more teams finish with identical win–loss records, ties shall be broken in the following order:
Average point differential (APD); and then
Head-to-head result (win over the other team).
14. Tournament Committee Authority
The Tournament Committee has the authority to:
Interpret tournament rules.
Modify schedules when necessary.
Resolve disputes not specifically covered by these guidelines.
Make decisions in the best interest of fair play and participant safety.
15. Final Decision
All decisions made by the Tournament Committee regarding rules, scheduling, player eligibility, protests, and unforeseen circumstances are final and binding on all participants.
Registering means you agree to these