Pickleball's Restrictive Mixing Methods

Recreational pickleball clubs commonly employ rigid partner/opponent mixing-systems that would be considered odd by athletes who play other racquet and paddle sports. Many racquet players are surprised to learn, for example, that the on-court agendas of pickleball players are often dictated by algorithms. Unlike the case for athletes from other racquet sports, doubles pickleball players are often

• not free to select their teammates.

• not free to choose their opponents.

• not permitted to skip a game or two in order to rest because skipping games interferes with the proper operation of the game-setting algorithms peculiar to the sport of pickleball.

Tables And Charts - What if You Can't Read?

It is well known that pickleball organizers utilize chart and table algorithms to produce random strings of partner/opponent pairings prior to the commencement of league games. These algorithms not only determine which players will team up but also dictate which players will serve as the opposition for each and every game that will be played at that day's session. Fixed pairing systems like these are restrictive by their very nature. These restrictions make it possible (and even likely) that club members who wish to play either together or against one another may be unable to do so because that partner/opponent pairing was not generated by the chart on that particular day.

Recreational pickleball players at clubs where these algorithms are utilized can be heard to support chart and table mixing-systems because, they say, these systems promote socialization. Although this reasoning is imperfect, it is easy to understand: Random mixing of teammates as well as random mixing of opposition teams gives every player the chance to meet and compete against every other player at the club that day.

What proponents of these chart and table mixing-systems fail to acknowledge, however, is that random pairings often result in the generation of unrewarding games because these algorithms fail to take into account the various player skill-sets and mixing-preferences. Consequently, over time clubs utilizing tables and charts for mixing purposes experience unexpected attrition when players become discouraged by the rigidity of the system.

The Winners' Box And The Losers' Box - No Wonder You Can't Find Your Paddle

Recreational pickleball clubs that do not use tables and charts to generate partner/opponent pairings often employ other equally restrictive mixing strategies. In particular, mixing-systems like "losers-leave-while-winners-stay-and-split", "paddles-in-a-box", and "paddles-in-a-line" are three of the more common methods used to generate random partner/opponent pairings. Like chart algorithms, these systems ostensibly promote socialization through random pairings. However, the very nature of these mixing methods means that they also fail to take skill-sets and player preferences into account. As a result, mixing methods like "paddles-in-a-box" can lead to the generation of games that fall flat because partners and opponents are not properly matched.

A further corollary to paddles-in-a-box mixing-systems is that players subjected to these systems can regularly be heard asking if anyone has seen their paddle (it can be difficult to dig your paddle out of a box full of other players' paddles when the box manager determines it's time for your game).

In any event, players faced with rigid and poorly thought-out mixing strategies like these have been known to become frustrated and quit playing the sport.

Pickleball OSC Offers Freedom From Unimaginative Mixing Strategies

At Pickleball OSC, players are encouraged to think outside the box. Like other racquet and paddle sports, Pickleball OSC players hold rematches and grudge matches as they see fit. Furthermore, OSC players are permitted to play in fixed-teams regardless of whether they are preparing for an upcoming tournament or not. Put simply, players at Pickleball OSC pick their partners and their opponents from game to game as they please. When making these decisions, Pickleball OSC players are never constrained by tables, or by the order of paddles in a row, or by whether the previous game was won or lost.

Pickleball OSC's commitment to free players from banal mixing systems

• improves the cohesiveness of the group because players must know each other by name if they are to successfully set games without the assistance of a rigid chart or an impersonal line-of-paddles,

• minimizes attrition rates because players don't get stuck in games they don't want to play, and

• encourages friendly competition because club members can set up the grudge matches they want to play when they want to play them.