Rules

Study the rules carefully and make sure all your team members are briefed ahead of time. Practicing the scoring system will give you a leg up on those that don’t. Send any questions you may have ahead of time to: brett@southernpickleball.com.

The rules are below. Please share them with your team members.

Click here to download Rules PDF file.

Pool Play

Each match in pool play will consist of the 5 games listed below. All 5 games are played for each match. A team can win 3-2, 4-1, or 5-0.

Women’s Doubles
Men’s Doubles
Mixed A
Mixed B
TeamMaker™

Each game is to 21 using Major League Pickleball’s rally scoring. Win by 2 points. You must win on your serve.

The TeamMaker™ is similar to Major League Pickleball’s dream breaker, but in TeamMaker, teams play doubles rather than singles. The order is as follows: women’s doubles, men’s doubles, mixed team A, and mixed team B, and play continues until one team reaches 21 using rally scoring.

  • Two time-outs per game
  • Players on a team choose a side of the court to play – left or right.
  • Odd-even serving, i.e., the right-side player serves when the score is even, and the leftside player serves when the score is odd.
  • Unlike side-out scoring, the team will only get one complete serve. The team continues to alternate servers (odd/even) until they make an error, and then the opponents get the serve AND a point.
  • Players remain on their original sides of the court and may only change sides (right or left) after a time-out or during the side change after the first team reaches 11 points. Please let your opponents know you have switched to avoid confusion.

Play-off seeding will be based on:
1st Wins and Losses
2nd tie-breaker is head to head
3rd tie-breaker is the total team score from all pool play matches

Note: Games that extend beyond 21-19 (e.g., 24-22), will be scored as 21-19 in the standings.

Medal Rounds

In brackets with only one pool of teams, the 1st and 2nd place teams will play for gold and silver medals. The 3rd and 4th place teams will play for bronze medals. Medal match format will be the same as the pool play, except all matches do not have to be completed. As soon as a team wins 3 of the 5 games, the match is over.

In brackets with multiple pools of teams, teams will be seeded, and specific teams will advance to a single elimination bracket where the format is the same as the pool play, except all matches do not have to be completed.

Rally Scoring Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE7tgzgP_HI

Format and Rules

Pool Play

  • One game to 21, rally scoring, win by 2
  • Switch sides at 11 points
  • Two time-outs per game
  • Players on a team choose a side of the court to play – left or right
  • Odd-even serving, i.e., the right-side player serves when the score is even, the left-side player serves when the score is odd
  • Unlike side-out scoring, the team will only get one server. The team continues to alternate servers (odd/even) until they make an error, and then the opponents get the serve and a point
  • Games must be won on a serve
  • Players may only switch playing positions with their partners by using a timeout or switching at the side change– limit 3 position switches per game

Play-off seeding will be based on:
1st Wins and Losses
2nd tie-breaker is head to head
3rd tie-breaker is the total team score from all pool play matches

Note: Games that extend beyond 21-19 (e.g., 24-22), will be scored as 21-19 in the standings.

UPDATE:Captains submit a designated team before each match. Teams can change throughout the event and in playoffs, but no substitutions are allowed during a game.

TeamMaker™

  • One game to 21, rally scoring, win by 2
  • Switch sides when the first team reaches 11 points
  • Two time-outs per team
  • Substitutions (1 or 2 players may be substituted) during the 11-point side switch or any time for an injured player. Injured player may not re-enter the game.
  • Playoff doubles in order of play:
    • First 4 serves – women
    • Second 4 serves – men
    • Third 4 serves – mixed team A
    • Fourth 4 serves– mixed team B
  • Switching continues throughout the match
  • Teams for each grouping must be submitted ahead of time.
  • Switch teams every 4 points or every 4 serves when scoring is frozen
  • Teams must rotate into games in the pre-determined order
  • Players on a team choose a side of the court to play – left or right.
  • Odd-even serving, i.e., the right-side player serves when the score is even, the left-side player serves when the score is odd
  • Unlike side-out scoring, the team will only get one server. The team continues to alternate servers (odd/even) until they make an error, and then the opponents get the serve and a point
  • Teams must win the match on a serve, not an error.
  • Players do not switch playing positions with their partners
  • If players choose to switch playing positions, they may use a time-out and let the opponents know of the switch and may switch at the side change – limit 3 position switches per game

Play-off seeding will be based on:
1st Wins and Losses
2nd tie-breaker is head to head
3rd tie-breaker is the total team score from all pool play matches