Etiquette and Rules

Court Etiquette & Safety Suggestions

Announce the score before every serve

● The receiver can refuse the serve if the CORRECT score is not announced loud enough to be heard by the receiver. If you are playing with someone who is deaf, use sign language (and your voice if you can) to announce the score. Or ask your partner to help if you don't know sign language scoring.

Be aware of safety issues to games on other courts

● If your ball goes onto another court, loudly yell “BALL” to warn them of the safety issue. Do not retrieve the ball. Wait for the other court’s players to send it back to your court.

● When your game has ended, do not walk through or behind another court until their current point is finished. Then, BEFORE you walk across, let them know that you are crossing over by announcing “SLIDE”, or “BEHIND YOU”, whichever applies.

Follow good sportsmanship

● If your team has any doubt whether your opponent’s shot is “in” or “out”, call it “in”.

Use court time efficiently

● When your game is finished, meet the other team at the net and then exit the court promptly so the next players in line can come onto the court.

● Limit your warm-up and do not spend extra time on the court talking, practicing shots, etc.

● Do not stay on the court and begin another game or move to another court and begin another game.

Remember: Court etiquette & safety, combined with good sportsmanship, ensures the game is fun for everyone

Pickleball

(Rules for Doubles Play)

Scoring:

• Points are only scored by the serving team

• Games are won by the first team to reach 11 points, ahead by at least 2 points

• The score must be called before each serve. Three numbers are called. The first number is your team’s score, the second number is your opponent’s score, and the third number is either a 1 or a 2 (1 if the server is the first player serving for the team, 2 if the server is the second player serving for the team)

Serving Order:

•  New game:  Only 1 player on the first serving team is allowed to serve ( the first score called is 002 ) - from the right side

• Thereafter, both players on the teams serve

• The player on the right side of the court always serves first

• When the serving team wins a point, the server moves to serve from the other side of the serving team’s court (right to left to right, etc.)

Serving Rules:

• The serve must be underhand

• The server must keep both feet behind the baseline, with at least one foot touching the court

• The paddle must contact the ball below the server’s waist

• The serve is made diagonally and must land behind the 7 foot short-serve line

• The point is lost if the serve touches the short-serve line.  (All other lines are IN, at all times.)

• If the served ball hits the net and then lands in the proper court, the serve is played as a good serve.

• Double Bound Rule on Serve - After the serve, the ball must be “played off the bounce” once on each side of the net before a ball can be volleyed (hit in the air before it bounces).

NonVolley Zone:

● “Volleying” is hitting the ball in the air before it bounces.

● The area between the net and the short-serve line is called the non-volley zone. Players may not step in this zone or on the line of the zone when volleying.

● The point is lost if a player volleys and the player or anything the player is wearing or carrying enters the non-volley zone.

● The point is lost even if the player’s momentum places the player or anything the player is wearing or carrying to enter the non=volley zone after the ball is hit, or even after the ball is declared dead.

● Players can be in the non-volley zone and hit the ball, as long as the ball bounces on their side of the net before they hit it (“played off the bounce”).

Miscellaneous:

● The player’s hand is considered an extension of the paddle and is a legal hit.

● The point is lost if the ball hits any other part of the player’s body or clothing.

This page is under construction!