LEAGUE PLAY

DETAILED RULES GOVERNING COMPETITION OF ALL  PICKLEBALL LEAGUES

WHO CAN JOIN OUR LEAGUES

Our pickleball leagues are generally open to anyone who already knows how to play pickleball, knows the official rules, has been playing for 6mos, and who has an official skill rating.**  We ask that low skilled (i.e., 2.00), inexperienced, or total beginners join only our Beginner Class to take lessons to achieve a higher skill prior to registering for our leagues.  

**(Players can be assessed by a certified pickleball Pro to obtain an official skill rating.)

You do not have to be a member of Scarborough East Tennis Club to join our pickleball leagues.   However, if you are a club member you receive a discount on league fees and don't have to pay the session fee.  In addition club members get priority over non-club members for filling any open spots.  During registration a club member can bump a non-club member out of a league as long as the non-member has another open spot option in another league. Club members are also at the top of the wait list to get into a league, and at the top of the list of substitutes that the Pickleball Director maintains.

The Pickleball Director may fill any league with players who have specific official DUPR skill ratings (measured at the time of registration).  This is strictly at the discretion of the Pickleball Director.  

In addition, Scarborough's leagues have the following ranking on precedence of getting into our leagues:

1. Scarborough club members

2. Current league members as long as the league is balanced.  

If the league is not balanced such that all league members get a great experienced playing in our leagues, the Pickleball Director may have to limit current players from being in the next session according to skill level (i.e. eight 3.0 players, eight 3.5 players, eight 4.0 players...).

3. Everyone else.

Players who are non-club members have to qualify for all leagues based on each league requirements.  Exceptions to qualifying for requirements:  If a player is returning from injury and has not yet achieved his/her previous skill level.  This exception may not be granted if there are sufficient number of players who already meet the skill requirement of the league and take all available spots.

Scarborough Club members may be exempted from the requirements of any league at the discretion of the Pickleball Director.  

Any league may be co-ed so men and women all playing together, or any league may be gender specific.  Any league may also be age specific generally following accepted USAPA practices.  Any league may have specific DUPR skill restrictions.

FORMAT & RULES TO WHICH THE LEAGUE ADHERES

2025 International Federation of Pickleball regulations or USAPA 2025 official rule book, which supercedes the other, are the guidelines we follow in our leagues.  

At any time the League Director may institute a new rule -- even if it does not align with USAPA or IFP rules of play -- for the fairness, safety, or fun of the league as a whole.

Scarborough incorporates DUPR by submitting weekly league game scores to DUPR so all players get official ratings after sufficient play history exists.  All games, no matter if finished or not, are submitted to DUPR.  No exceptions!

In addition the League Director uses DUPR ratings (Or USAPA ratings or a Skill Assessment by a pickleball Pro) to decide where players should be started when either a new player joins the league or when a new session starts (seepolicy above).  At the beginning of each session, the Pickleball Director will sort players according to their OFFICIAL DUPR/USAPA/assessment ratings to give players their initial court assignments.  A new player is put on a court that has players closest to the new player's official skill level. 

LADDER LEAGUES

• You do not need a partner to join a ladder league.  You will be placed on a court each week with 3 other people.  Each week you will have 2 different players on your court.  You may also share a permanent spot --  and the costs -- with one other person if you want to play less than once per week, or if you know you are going to miss several weeks straight.  

• The ladder format is designed so that players mostly play others of similar skill level.  The player's weekly ranking in the league and, thus, which court they play on for any given week, is based on the player's winning percentage of the previous week.  The winning percentage is defined as the ratio of points won to total points possible.  Two players out of four on each court will move up or down the ladder (or one court) each week according to whether they have the highest or the lowest winning percentage.  The other two players will stay on the same court.  

• If two players on the same court have a tie in their total game points on a given day of play, the player with the lower Player Order # (e.g., higher ranked order) in the Court Assignments for that day of play wins the tie.  Example:  Player Order #1 is higher than Player Order #2, and Player Order #2 is higher than Player Order #3, etc.  If applicable, the player who wins the tie might move to the next higher court, or, the player who loses the tie may go down a court.  If both stay on that court, the player who won the tie gets the lower Player Order # again the next week relative to the other tied player.  In the case of a tie between a player and a substitute player, the normal league player automatically wins the tie regardless of the Player Order #. 

• There is no rule stating which team's starting server begins a new game (i.e. serves the first ball in the game).   Players are not compelled to use another player's personal preference of who serves first.  

• Each team may take one 30 second time out during one game.

• There is a maximum 3 minute break between games during which players should enter their game scores or go to the restroom.

• Ladder League Management tabs for each league are kept on this website for a minimum of 4 sessions.  The tabs have all game scores of all players in all leagues.

SINGLES LEAGUES

• Singles leagues are based on specific USAPA skill levels and skill level definitions, and accepted match formats for tournament competition.  

• Players rate themselves often times so one player's opinion of his/her own or someone else's skill level may differ.  If players have official DUPR or USAPA ratings, these ratings must be used as a player's stated skill level.

• Singles leagues are conducted via a round robin format.  This means each player in a specific league plays every other play in the same league one time.  

• Each player may take two 30-second time outs during one 11 pt game.

• Players decide who serves in all games.

• There is a maximum 3 minute break between games during which players should enter their game scores.

• Previous league scores are kept on this website for 3 sessions.

LADDER LEAGUE MATCHES

• The match format is 3 games.  

• All ladder league games go to 21 points win by 2. This means match lengths will be around 2 hours.  NOTE: Due to the win by 2 rule, the matches may go to 25-23, for example.

SINGLES LEAGUE MATCHES

• The match format is 2 games to 15, win by 2.  Match tie break first to 5 points if both players win 1 game.

• This means match lengths will be around 75 minutes.  NOTE: Due to the win by 2 rule, the matches may go to 19-17, for example.

GAME BALL

• Only the yellow Franklin X-40 outdoor ball is allowed on court.  Players rightfully expect the same ball to be used throughout a league season.  Ladder league players expect the same ball on every court as they move up and down the ladder.  

• Any player bringing another type of ball to use in the league is subject to REMOVAL FROM THE LEAGUE.

ENTERING SCORES

• All points and all game results from all matches count towards your accumulated points and your DUPR rating!!  Game results are entered by someone on the winning team of the game.  The score entry is done by the online ENTER GAME SCORE tool on this website.  Players on the losing team of the game need to verify scores being entered.  Verification should be using the VERIFY GAME SCORES tool so the player can see the data has hit the copleagues database. 

• All scores, once entered, are final.  

• This will become the "official" game score in the copleagues.com database and the DUPR database as well.

• Any points above 21 (i.e. 25-23) will be counted so all players receive all points they earn!

• Any singles game points above 11 will be counted.

• No raw data (i.e., individual game scores entered via the Enter Game Score tool) will be kept longer than 3 months in the copleagues.com database since DUPR keeps game score data for years. 

WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF A TIED GAME

NOTE:  DUPR does not take tied scores.  At 3 minutes before your league's ending time, if your game is tied, players must play a sudden death point and use rally scoring for that last point so games do not result in ties.  It is acceptable to have only 1 point between opponents final scores in this one case since there was not time to win by 2.

MAKING LINE CALLS (including No Volley Zone lines, sidelines and baselines)

• Calling the ball in or out is done by either player(s) that is on the side of the court where the ball bounces last.  Everyone MUST respect a player's call (even when we may disagree with the call).  THERE IS NO RE-DO of any points unless the official USAPA rules call for a re-do in the rule book.

• All players MUST give the benefit of the doubt for balls very close to the lines i.e. if you are not 100% positive that a ball is out, then, by definition, you MUST call the ball is IN.  If team members playing on the same doubles team disagree with each other on a call, by definition (you both don't see the ball OUT), you MUST call the ball IN.  This is different than one player seeing the ball bounce, and the other player being unable to see the ball bounce.  In the latter case, two players cannot call the ball since only one saw the ball bounce.

• Here is an excellent detailed post on line calling.

• Making frequent poor line calls is subject to removal from the league.

WINNING THE LEAGUE

LADDER LEAGUES

• At the end of the season, the player with the most accumulated points across ALL matches of the session is the 1st place winner and receives a medal.  We will also present 2nd and 3rd place medals as well as most improved player (chosen at League Director's discretion).  In the case of a tie for a certain place, all players who tie get medals.

• NOTE:  You must be present to accept your medal or make arrangements for you medal to be picked up.  Otherwise, I will declare the player with the next most points the winner.  I don't hold medals for anyone.

SINGLES LEAGUES

• At the end of the season, the player with the most match wins across ALL matches of the season is the 1st place winner and receives a medal.  We will also present 2nd and 3rd place medals .  In the case of a tie, the official tournament rules will determine a tie.  Namely head to head results is the first tiebreaker, and differential points is the second tiebreaker.

MISSING A DAY OF PLAY - USING A SUBSTITUTE PLAYER IN LADDER LEAGUES

LADDER LEAGUES

• If a player has to miss a day of their league, that player must use a substitute player off of the sub list.

• A substitute player's game scores are entered as official results just as if the permanent player was there.  These results determine if the absent player will stay on the same court or move down a court.   To protect against an inappropriately skilled substitute player advancing a permanent player up a court, a sub cannot advance a player up to the next court no matter the substitute's game results.  A sub can keep a player on the current court or drop a player to a lower court.

• The points added to the absent player's accumulated point total is the average of all four players' game totals.  This protects the absent players from a sub's poor game while also preventing the absent player getting a substitute player who is too skilled for the absent player's court.

SINGLES LEAGUES

• If possible, 9 players will be in each singles round robin.  This means all players get 1 bye.  The players can tell the League Director which one day of the 8 weeks they cannot play.  The League Director will try to schedule that player with a bye on that date.

• If a player must miss a 2nd day of the league, that player must use a substitute player so the league can stay on schedule.  That substitute player's results are counted as an official score.

USING A SUBSTITUTE PLAYER

• Players MUST find their own substitute players if they need to miss a week.  To make this very easy, the league director maintains a list for each league with many substitute players names, skill levels, contact info AND availability.  To protect substitute players' contact information, the League Director does not keep sub lists online.  The league director will include a link to the sub list in the "Important Information for The First Day of League" email that all players receive shortly before league begins.  In addition the league director will frequently email this link to each league member in subsequent "league update" emails so the sub list link is easy to obtain.  Players should BOOK MARK the sub list link for easy access.

• Players must get a sub off of the sub list.

• Players must follow any notes in the sub lists that indicate which subs can play on what courts. 

• A substitute's DUPR rating must be generally within .25 or less of the player's DUPR skill.  This can be challenging because ratings move each week.  The day that you get the sub is when you need to check the sub's DUPR rating.  As long as the rating on that day is within .25 then you can get a particular sub.

• Players must fill out the MY SUBSTITUTE form with what day(s) the player will be absent and provide the name of the substitute player.  The 'My Substitute' form is located as a sub-menu of the Substituting tab.  Not submitting the 'My Substitute' form means you get 1 strike against you.  See Respect On Court section above.

• The league director requires everyone who substitutes to be on the official sub list so we have ready access to the sub's contact info, emergency contact info, DUPR email address.  However, league members already provide me with ready access to this information and are DUPR members.  League members ARE considered as "on the official sub list."

• If a player who gets a sub that is entirely too highly rated, the League Dir. will automatically drop the player down to the lower court for an unfair advantage.  The player will lose all points for that day.

• Subs play for free.  Invite your friends to sign up to be a sub at https://www.copleagues.com/substitute-list

• NOTE THAT SUBSTITUTE PLAYERS MUST COMPLY WITH ALL LEAGUE RULES!

TIME MANAGEMENT FOR PLAY AND PENALTIES FOR BEING LATE

10:00am-10:01 All players arrive on the court.

11:00am-11:01 All players arrive on the court.

12:00pm-12:01  All players arrive on the court.

7:00pm-7:01  All players arrive on the court.

8:00pm-8:01  All players arrive on the court.

8:05pm-8:06  All players arrive on the court.

Not arriving on time is a Respect on Court issue and gets a late player 1 strike against them.  Not arriving on time a second time will result in the late player getting 2 strikes and be assigned a no-show status.  Not arriving on time a 3rd time will result in the League Director asking you to leave the league.

10:00am-10:10  All players warm-up. 

11:00am-11:10  All players warm-up.

1:00pm-1:10  All players warm-up.

7:00pm-7:10  All players warm-up.

8:00pm-8:10  All players warm-up.

10:10am   First games start on all courts.

11:10am  First games start on all courts.

1:10pm   First games start on all courts.

7:10pm  First games start on all courts.

8:10pm  First games start on all courts.

10:10am /

11:10am /

1:10pm /

7:10pm / 

8:10pm        If any court has not started game 1 because someone is missing (has not shown up at all), whoever is missing will receive a game score of zero for the first game.  As soon as the missing person is present, game 1 should start.

10:20am /

11:20am /

1:20pm /

7:20pm / 

8:20pm         If any court has not started game 1 because someone is missing (has not shown up at all), whoever is missing will receive a game score of zero for all 3 games.  As soon as the missing person is present, game 1 should starts.  

The game scores will be entered with whatever score the games end at even if unfinished (no ties!).

1:58pm - Sunday     The entire match must be concluded by 2:57pm at the very latest.  Players should be walking off the court with the nets, balls, and ALL of their belongings at 3:00pm.

8:58pm - Sunday    The entire match must be concluded by 8:57pm at the very latest.  Players should be walking off the court with the nets, balls, and ALL of their belongings at 9:00pm.

10:02pm - Monday      The entire match must be concluded by 10:03pm at the very latest.  Players should be walking off the court with the nets, balls, and ALL of their belongings at 10:05pm.  

11:57am - Tuesday     The entire match must be concluded by 11:58am at the very latest.  Players should be walking off the court with the nets, balls, and ALL of their belongings at 12:00pm.

12:57pm - Wednesday    The entire match must be concluded by 12:58pm at the very latest.  Players should be walking off the court with the nets, balls, and ALL of their belongings at 1:00pm.

9:57 - Thursday      The entire match must be concluded by 10:00pm at the very latest.  Players should be walking off the court with the nets, balls, and ALL of their belongings at 10:00pm.  

PLEASE NOTE:  Even if a player is 25 or more minutes late and will receive a score of zero for all 3 games, we all expect that late player to show up and play as soon as possible so no players have an incomplete court.

DURING AND AFTER A GAME.

• Each team may take one 30 second time out during one game.

• There is a maximum 3 minute break between games

• These time management rules fall under Respect on Court policies.