Pinetree Pickleball Leagues

Rules

1. Waiver of Claims

Players participating in any Pinetree Pickleball League acknowledge and understand the risks associated with playing competitive pickleball, accept those risks voluntarily, and, in consideration of their acceptance, registration and participation in any Pinetree Pickleball event, assume all risks for bodily injury, waive all claims for injury and property damage, and release and hold harmless Pinetree Pickleball Leagues LLC and their owners, with respect to any injury or loss caused by negligence or otherwise to the fullest extent permitted by law.

2. How to rate yourself

We encourage all players to select a level that offers good, competitive matches. The final division placement will be made by Pinetree Pickleball Leagues taking into consideration your Self Rating and your league play history. If you win your division, we encourage you to move up to the next highest skill level (if there is one) for the next season that is offered to challenge yourself!

For Doubles and Mixed Doubles leagues, we encourage you to be within 0.5 of your partner's skill ratings.

Skills-Based Guide (PPA Tour)

A 2.0 player has an understanding of the rules, knows how to keep score, can hit a forehand, backhand, and volley, and can serve accurately into the correct spot. That person also knows where to stand when serving and returning.
A 2.5 player knows the basic rules and the two-bounce rule, can hit a forehand and backhand with direction, is accurate with the serve, is able to sustain a dink rally, can volley with some direction, understands fundamentals, and can accurately keep score.
A 3.0 player can hit a medium-paced forehead and backhand, can serve with depth and accuracy, can control a dink rally, can hit a medium-paced third-shot drop, and can hit a medium-paced volley with direction, as well as understand the fundamentals of the game, positioning, and may have played in tournaments.
A 3.5 player can use a forehand and backhand with a moderate level of control, can consistently get the serve in, return the serve in, can serve deep, and can return the serve deep. This player can also sustain medium-length dink rallies, can control the height and depth of dink shots, and understands the variation of pace for dink shots.
A 4.0 player has all of the skills above and is accurate on overhead shots, can sustain a dink rally with control, height, and pace, consistently executes third-shot drops from the baseline, and is able to change soft shots to power shots and then back to soft. A 4.0 player can also block and return fast, hard volleys and is aware of their partner’s position on the court.
A 4.5 player can do all of the above and can set up shots to generate errors from the other team, recognizes and attempts to hit attackable dinks, poaches effectively, has effective lobs, good footwork, and is comfortable playing at the non-volley zone line as well as understanding strategy and can adjust during the game.
A 5.0 player has all of those skills above and has them mastered, can serve in a variety of ways with power and accuracy, mastered the dink shot, and exhibits patience during a rally.

3. How to schedule your matches each week

Every player or team is responsible for scheduling their own match each week with their assigned opponent. Pinetree Pickleball Leagues will provide a schedule of play on the website, but the players are responsible for communicating with their opponent to set up a time during the play week that works for everyone. If you click on your opponent's "team page" there will be an option to email the players on that team. We will also provide cell phone numbers of the players in your division so you can contact them that way if you choose. Your phone number will only be given out to other players in your division. We encourage you to reach out to your opponent early to ensure that your match is played by the end of the week.

Who is responsible to reach out to who?

Don't wait for your opponents to reach out to you! Both teams are responsible for scheduling the match with their opponent. We encourage you to reach out to your opponent the weekend prior to the upcoming week of play to get your match scheduled. Each team should offer 3 available dates and times to your opponents. Please do your best to work with each other's schedules to find a time that works for everyone.

What happens if we aren't able to find a time that works for everyone during the week or inclement weather intervenes with playing the match by the end of the week?

We understand life happens and nobody can control the weather! If you aren't able to play a match during the scheduled week, you have the remainder of the schedule to make up that match. We do also have a make up week at the end of the season before playoffs start to allow for any remaining matches to be played that were postponed. If your division has an odd number of players/teams, due to necessary byes throughout the season you may have league games scheduled during the make up week.

Unable to contact your opponent?

If you have made a diligent effort to both phone and email your opponent several times and receive no response by Thursday of the match week, please email the League (pinetreepickleballleagues@gmail.com) so that we have a record of it. If you still have not received a reply by the Sunday morning of the scheduled play week, you should take the win by forfeit. This is only if you have received no communication from your opponent after several tries.

4. Match Play

USA Pickleball rules code of conduct will apply during all matches.
All players are expected to uphold their commitment to the league and the other players in the division by completing all matches.
Court surface: All play has to be on hardcourts. The home court has to have permanent lines. A home court is allowed to use both temporary or permanent nets.
Balls: The home team must supply outdoor USA Pickleball approved balls for the match and will retain the balls after the match. Our recommendation is to use DURA-40 balls.
Warm-Up: Teams have up to 10 minutes prior to the start of a match as a warm up.
The winning team MUST post the match score before midnight of the deadline date (Sunday).
Court fees: Any required court fee must be paid by the home team.
Coaching: Coaching is not permitted. Spectators may not intercede in anyway. Pinetree Pickleball Leagues welcomes spectators to attend matches and cheer on their family, friends and teammates. However, to ensure a positive match experience, spectators must remain outside of the court, not cause distractions or delay of play, and must not intervene on behalf of a player or team by making line calls. If a spectator is disruptive in any way, they may be asked to leave by the opposing team. Failure to leave the court area is grounds for a default.
Changeovers: You will have an allotment of 2 minutes to changeover and switch sides in between sets.
Opponent is late: There is a 20 minute default rule. After 20 minutes, the waiting team has the option of taking the win by forfeit or waiting longer for the opponent to arrive. Schedules list cell phone numbers so you should at least try to contact a late opponent to be sure they aren't lost or having traffic problems. Please remember, Pinetree Pickleball Leagues is about playing pickleball. We want matches determined on the court whenever possible.
Excessive Forfeits: A team having excessive Forfeits may be disqualified from playoffs and/or suspended for the next season. This penalty applies to any team withdrawing after the registration deadline and to teams that forfeit playoff matches.
Conflicts should be settled by the players using the Pinetree Pickleball League Rules page first, then the USA Pickleball rules if the conflict is still not resolved. All players have the right to question a line call or score. If you dispute a call, reaffirm with your opponent what they saw and accept their decision. Remember... Good sportsmanship begins with fair play and a good attitude. Disagreements between players that are subjective in nature will not be ruled on by the League Office. While the league Office will not rule on these events, we do want to be informed of all extremely poor behavior or flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct. Please report these incidents to the league office so that a complaint may be logged and appropriate action can be taken. Possible issues could include: foot faults, scoring issues, or rude behavior. Because a league representative is not present during matches, we cannot take one player's word over the other. Players who encounter conflicts on court are expected to resolve them in an adult like manner on the court. The League Office will not mediate matches or settle disputes between players regarding these types of conflicts.
Unsportsmanlike conduct: Pinetree Pickleball Leagues reserves the right to refuse to place a player that has a history of unsportsmanlike conduct complaints filed against him/her.

5. Scoring

All matches are best 3 out of 5 games. This means, that the first team winning three games, is the winner of the match.
A game is completed when one player wins 11 points by a margin of 2 points.
Reporting scores: Scores for all matches (including "Forfeits" and "Retired")
Forfeit win: A "Won by Forfeit" is reported when the opponent(s) is not available to play the match or does not respond to the opponents's emails and phone calls. Any forfeited matches will be scored as 11-0, 11-0, 11-0.
Retired matches: A "Retired" win is reported by the winning team when a match cannot continue due to injury, illness, or personal reasons. To record a Retired match, enter the score of games/games played up to that point. Any remaining sets will be scored 11-0 in favor of the player/team was able to continue playing.
Points Awarded: The winner of a match receives 1 point in the standings.
If the score is not reported, the match will be shown as "not played" and each team will receive 0 points. A score may be recorded after the play-by-date if needed.
To enter scores, you will need to go to the "Schedule" page. At the bottom of the page you will see a green box that says "Enter Scores." Click on the box and find the match that was completed. Be sure to enter both the final set score and the scores of each set. For example, if player A won the match 11-0, 11-6, 2-11, 11-8, they would enter the score as 3-1 in the first two boxes, and then hit the + button and enter the score of each individual set below. Please contact the league office if you have any questions with this.

6. Injury/Replacement Players/Withdrawal

Substitute Players: Substitutes are not allowed, but a permanent replacement player/team is allowed. If you (or your partner) become permanently injured and/or cannot finish the season, please email us immediately and we will come up with a solution together. The replacement player/team will not need to pay any extra fees. They must be the same skill level or lower than the player they're replacing.
Injury - Singles: If you become injured and are unable to complete the season for any reason, please email the League Office immediately. We will attempt to replace an injured player.
Withdrawing from Play: You must notify the League Office if you need to withdraw from the league.
There are NO REFUNDS or CREDITS for withdrawals after schedules are posted.

7. Division Winners

Division Winners are determined by the team who wins the playoffs. The top four teams in each league will compete in an elimination round format to decide who is the division champion. All Division Winners will receive a trophy and will be celebrated on Pinetree Pickleball Leagues social media pages.