RULES

League Overview

Welcome to the  NPC 2024 Fall Pickleball League!

 -League Director: Christy Eibel

-Contact information: npcleagues@npcpcw.com

 -We will be using Pickleball Global as our operating system for the NPC league this year.  This is the same website NPC used last season.

 -League Registration opens July 30

 -Registration and Cancellation Deadline September 9, 2024.  There will be no refunds after this date.  Sorry but no exceptions.

 -League Dates-

      Men and Women 3.0 (5-6:15pm)   Monday Sept.30 - Nov. 18

      Men and Women 3.5 (6:15-7:30pm) Monday Sept. 30 - Nov. 18

      Men and Women 2.5 (5-6:15pm). Thursday, Oct. 3 - Nov. 21                                                                                

      Men and Women 4.0 (6:15-7:30pm) Thursday Oct. 3 - Nov. 21 

-League Format: 8 Week season.  Six weeks of round robin matches leading into a two week single elimination tournament.  All league play will be best 2/3 games to 11 win by 2.

 -Team fee: $600 per team. Min.8 players Max.10 players

 -Captains are responsible to register the team and pay the $600 team fee.  Captains will make arrangements for players to pay them the player fee based on the number of players on the team.

 -Individuals without a team - Please email the League Director with name, email, phone number and level of play at npcleagues@npcpcw.com. The League Director will place you on a team or build a team with solo players.  You will be responsible to pay your portion of the team league fee to the Captain.

 - There will be a Captains Meeting in September after registration closes and before the season begins.  Date and time to be determined.

NPC League Regulations and Rules

League Format - Six players from a team will participate in 3 doubles matches each week during the league.  The matches will be identified as Court 1, Court 2 and Court 3. This is not in order of strength of play.  A captain does not have to play who he/she believes to be his/her best players on Court 1 and so on.  The captain decides the pairings and lineup for each match.  I am encouraging all captains to try and play each team player in at least 2 matches.

Matches-   League matches will be best 2 out of 3 games to 11 points win by 2.

League Ball-  We will be using the Franklin X as the official NPC league ball.  Each team will receive 9 new balls at the captains meeting prior to the start of the season.   If you are unable to attend the meeting, you may pick up your league balls before the first match at the Pavilion.  Please use these balls for league play only.  Home teams will provide balls for each match.

Adding Players- Teams may not use a player that is on the roster of another team.  Doing so will result in a loss of the match.  If you have not filled your 8 roster spots and you need a player, you can add them with League Director approval mid-season.   Adding a player must be done prior to scheduled match play.  Only players who have played in a minimum of one regular-season match are eligible for playoffs.   

Warmup Time- Teams are encouraged to warm up before match play.  Please go to your assigned courts before match time to warm up.

Lineups- Captains will exchange line ups 5 minutes prior to the start of the match.  Once lineups are exchanged, they cannot be changed.   After the exchange, players need to report to their assigned courts and begin the match.

Start of a Match -Any fair method shall be used to determine which player or team has first choice of end, serve, receive, or defer (e.g., a 1 or 2 written on the back of the score sheet, flipping a coin). If the winner chooses to serve or receive first, the loser chooses the starting end. If the winner chooses the starting end, the loser chooses to serve or receive. Once a selection has been made, it cannot be changed.

Forfeits- Match Forfeit time is 15 minutes after scheduled start time.  Please use discretion when calling for a forfeit.  If the opponent is late due to unforeseen circumstances and they are making an effort to arrive at the courts, please try to be understanding and play the match. Scoring in the event of a forfeit is 11-0, 11-0.

If you do not have enough players to fill a court and need to forfeit, please contact the opposing team captain and let them know as early as possible.  A day in advance or several hours would be encouraged.  This is a courtesy so players do not drive to NPC and find out they do not have opponents to play in a match.   Captains will begin with forfeiting court 3 on the scoresheet.  Fill out the scoresheet with the word FORFEIT.

Injury rules- A player with an injury will be provided a 15 minute injury timeout.  If the player cannot continue after 15 minutes, that game will result in a forfeit. The game score will be recorded for the non retiring team as11 points while keeping the score as was for the retiring team.  If that is the first game, then the second game will be recorded as 11-0 if the player cannot play.

Scoresheets- Please print out and use the provided league score sheet.  Please be sure to fill out complete information including first and last names of each player in your lineup.  At the conclusion of the match, the captains need to agree on the match scores and initial or sign the scoresheet.  Home captains will be responsible to enter the scores on the website and send a photo copy of the scoresheet to the league director within 24 hours of match play.  Please include in the subject line- Date of Match and the Team Names.   Please keep a copy of your score sheets for your records until the league is completed in case there is a discrepancy.   

Timeouts- Each team will receive one 60 second time out per game.  A time out can be called by the players on the court by setting their paddles down on the court.  

Point System- Each court represents one point in a match.  The team that wins two out of the three points wins the match for the week.  All points will be be added to the final regular season standings and will determine seeding for the playoff tournament at the end of the season.  All teams participating in the league will play in the end of season single elimination tournament.     

Rain outs- Make-ups for rainouts will be arranged and agreed upon by the two captains.  Makeups must be completed within two weeks of the regularly scheduled match.  NPC courts cannot be reserved for makeup matches.  You may use courts at NPC or agree with the other captain on another location for the makeup to be played.  The mornings are very busy at NPC.  My suggestion would be to play during the day when the courts are less full or even in the evening. If you make up a match at courts that are using the sign up board, you will have to rotate on and off the courts.  If the boards are not being used, you should be able to play your best 2/3 games without leaving the court.  Please email the league director with make-up information including teams, date, time and location.  This needs to be done prior to match play.    

Level of play- We are requesting all teams and players register at the level he/she plays on a regular basis.  If you have a rating from tournaments or league play, please register at that level.  Registering a team and playing down a level is not acceptable. We will be running the NPC league like our clinics.  For players that take clinics or play in the mini tournaments at NPC, we are able to see your level of play.  For those that do not participate in NPC clinics or mini tournaments, please be aware if a player or team registers and is playing down and beating teams by large margins week after week, the league director may remove a player or team from the league with no refund.  This is to protect the integrity and consistency of play. If you need assistance with level of play, reach out to the league director.

Coaching- There will be no coaching during the match.  Coaching may take place only on timeouts and changeovers.

Spectator Sportsmanship - Spectators are asked to follow good sportsmanship at all times.  Please do not shout during a match, make calls during a match, use hand signals during a match or distract any players on the court in any other manner.   The NPC League Staff and League Director have the right to ask a spectator to leave the court area if good spectator sportsmanship is not being followed.

League Schedule-The goal of the league is for teams to play as many teams as possible during the league season before moving into the single elimination round of the tournament.

Byes- The goal in each division and pool is to have an even number of teams. In the event there is not, a BYE may be added to the round robin schedule.

Sometimes the number of teams in a division and the weeks of play do not allow for a complete rotation through the 6 week schedule.  The goal will be for all teams to play the same number of matches during the round robin portion of the league.  In the case they do not, we will use a win percentage to determine seeding moving into the tournament.  This would be number of overall team wins divided by number of matches played.

NPC League Rules

-We will use the USAPA official rules.  https://usapickleball.org/what-is-pickleball/official-rules/

-Please familiarize yourself with the rules before league play begins.  If there is a disagreement between teams during game play, please call over a NPC League Staff Member or the Director to resolve the problem.  Please do not disrupt play on courts around you.

-The entire score must be called before the ball is served.

-Pickleball players will call the ball “in” or “out” on their own side of the court.

-Although it is still the responsibility of the players to call a line fault on their own kitchen line, the opposing team may also call line faults on your kitchen line. If this happens and the two teams disagree, the point will be replayed.

-In or Out Rules

• A call that you are not able to confidently call “out” will be considered “in.”
• If you cannot clearly see a space between the line and ball when the ball hits the ground, you should not call an “out” call.
• You must call an “out” call before the ball is hit by your opponent or before the ball becomes dead.
• If two partners in doubles cannot agree on whether the ball is “out” or “in,” then the ball is considered “in.”
• You must call “out” by a voice and/or hand signal.
• Before the ball lands out of bounds, if a player yells “out,” “no,” “bounce it,” or any other communication that may signal to their partner that the ball will land out, it is not considered an “out” call — it is considered partner communication only.
• When a ball is called “out” after it bounces, play shall stop and the ball is considered dead.
• If you call a ball “out” on your side, but are overruled by your partner, an official, or even yourself, then the opposing team gains the advantage.

BEST OF LUCK AND HAVE A FANTASTIC LEAGUE SEASON!