Welcome to Greater Houston Pickleball Association!

Greater Houston Pickleball Code of Conduct

As Greater Houston Pickleball is a member of USAPA, we agree to the mission of the USAPA and want to promote the development and growth of pickleball in the United States and its territories. Pickleball will succeed best if participants embrace the values of good sportsmanship. It is essential that Greater Houston Pickleball (GHP) participants also adopt this mission, model good behavior, lead by example, and show self-control by agreeing to the pledge below.

This document presents the expectations that Greater Houston Pickleball holds for members, players and spectators that partake in any of our events. We hold all attendees of our programming to the highest standard of sportsmanship and conduct so GHP can provide a safe, fun and rewarding experience for members and guests.

As a member, player or spectator you agree to:

• Support USAPA policies, procedures, plans and initiatives.
• Exemplify the highest standard in ethical behavior and fair play.
• Engage in conduct that is free from fear, discrimination, abuse, and harassment.
• Not engage in any form of cyber bullying of any player, captain or GHP officials.
• Ensure that all spectators/guests to GHP league and social events will follow all rules of any host location.
• Prohibit drug use at any GHP event.

· Accept responsibility and supervision for my guests ages thirteen (13) years or younger.

· Prohibit the use of inappropriate language and gestures, as well as any other outburst of rage directed toward opponents, captains, GHP officials and other spectators at GHP league matches or events.

Greater Houston Pickleball League Captain Responsibilities

Captains of pickleball league teams provide leadership and encouragement to their teammates, they act as ambassadors for the sport as well as the league. The main function of a captain of a pickleball team is to organize a group of individuals who are interested in playing pickleball competitively. Teams are encouraged to have a captain and if possible, a co-captain to share in the collective duties that are required to have a successful league season.

A designated Captain must be committed for the entire season. If a captain becomes unable to fulfill all the requirements, then the Co-Captain shall step in to replace. A team can change the Captain after a season has been completed but prior to the next season beginning.

Specific duties performed by captains and can be shared by their Co-Captains are:

1. Recruit players to gain commitments from in order to form a team.
2. Register teammates and ensure payments made to GHP per player
3. Register all teammates to a team in GHP League designated website (TopDog)
4. All Captains and Co-Captains must have at least one cell phone number listed in the GHP League designated website (TopDog)
5. Secure dedicated courts for the duration of the season for all designated Home matches.
6. Schedule teammates for weekly matches
7. Communicate and coordinate with other team captains team line ups and any logistics of designated courts for scheduled matches. Meet communication deadlines for scheduling lines four days prior to scheduled match.
8. Be present or coordinate with Co-Captain to be present for all scheduled matches for the duration of the season.
9. Ensure that league approved balls are made available for all Home matches
10. Ensure that all costs/fees for hosting Away team are paid in timely manner to secure Home matches
11. Ensure a coin (quarter size or larger) is available for all Home matches
12. Ensure that team scores are either uploaded or correctly loaded on a weekly basis
13. Be the model and standard barer for good sportsmanship for your team. Help resolve any conflicts that may arise during matches between teams with full cooperation and willingness to achieve mutual agreement.

Emails are the first line of communication in running a league season. Those that agree to captain, and Co-Captain have a responsibility to monitor their emails throughout the league season and to promptly respond to other team captains and league coordinator emails.

GENERAL RULES FRIDAY DOUBLES FOR SPRING 2024

1. Greater Houston Pickleball (GHP) is happy to coordinate Friday Morning Doubles league. League categories for Spring 2024 will be:

a. Womens Only 3.0 8-Player Team

c. Co-Ed 3.0 8-Player Team

d. Minimum of two teams must register to create a league per category and rating.

e. Teams will be formed with players who are all the same skill/rating.

f. If there are not enough players to form women only or men only or Mixed Doubles teams, the default will be Co-Ed. The category of Co-Ed is NOT Mixed Doubles. Teams may be formed with both men and women and compete against each other.

g. Team ratings fr Fall 2024 season will be 2.5 (2.5-2.9), 3.0 (3.0-3.4), 3.5 (3.5-3.9), and 4.0 and above levels. Each category will be separated by rating level.

h. Team members must be 18 years of age and older.

i. As the GHP league grows, category/rating level divisions will be established based on geographical locations of the playing sites.

j. Player’s skill level is based on their prior league performance, DUPR ratings, and/or any information found on pickleballbrackets.com/pickleballtournaments.com, and USAPA website on a player’s level. All players will work with their team captains to determine their correct rating based on their skills. The League Coordinator in conjunction with the Director of Competition reserves the right to adjust player and team level. The league will have ZERO tolerance of sandbagging on any team in the league.

k. Players may play up from their designated rating level. They may not play down.

l. All players will agree to adhere to GHP Code of Conduct as a condition to playing in league.

m. Each year there are two seasons, Spring and Fall. The exact start date for each season will be determined by the Director of Competition and will be published on the Website (www.greaterhoustonpickleball.com). All dates related to Leagues will be posted to GHP Website.

i. League Coordinator shall provide the following dates per season

1. Registration Open

2. Last Day to register and finalize team rosters

3. First day of matches

4. Open Dates (days listed on calendar that matches are not scheduled) to be used for rescheduled matches

5. The last day and time of day to submit match scores before the matches are considered forfeit

6. The day that league results are posted

2. Each player on a league team must be a paid member of Greater Houston Pickleball. GHP considers each regular and substitute player to be equals on the team. A team is formed when there is a roster with a minimum of 8. The designated team captain will register each team member online (www.topdog.com) by the registration deadline.

a. Each team member must pay non-refundable dues to GHP to be named on a team roster.

b. A date designated as the roster submission deadline will be set by GHP League Coordinator for each season. This will be the last day the captains may amend their rosters.

c. Additions and deletions to the roster may be made after this date (provided the total roster does not drop below 8 players) by notifying the League Coordinator. Changes will be reviewed by League Coordinator and approved by Director of Competition.

d. After the Roster Submission Deadline, a player may only be removed from a team if the player has not yet played a match.

e. A player must get approval from the League Coordinator to switch teams.

f. Any player who plays on a team without being a paid member of GHP and the team forfeits any wins.

g. There is no roster cap. Each captain is responsible for setting their teammates expectations regarding playing and scheduling players for matches.

The league coordinators will be working with captains to assess optimization of team roster sizes. The goal of the league is to get more teams formed, and more matches played during a season. The league reserves the right to establish caps to team rosters as the league continues to grow.

3. Each team must have a Captain and Co-Captain who is responsible for securing courts for home matches, scheduling team players for weekly matches, coordinating with other team captains on team line ups, logistics of designated courts, and uploading their team scores on a weekly basis. All Captains and Co-Captains must have at least one phone number listed on the Top Dog website. Those that agree to captain have a responsibility to monitor their emails throughout the league season and to promptly respond to other team captains and league coordinator emails.

4. The Home Team will furnish new or lightly used pickleballs for the matches. GHP recommends the USAPA approved Franklin X-40 or Dura Fast 40 for matches played on concrete whether this surface is played indoors or outdoors or Franklin 26, Onix Pure 2, Onix Fuse for indoor wood surfaces.

5. Playing Site Requirements

The League Coordinator has the right to approve playing sites.

a. Sites must have a minimum of two playable courts to allow two matches to be played simultaneously.

b. Courts and nets should meet standards set per USA Pickleball.

c. It is the responsibility of the Home Team Captain to ensure that minimum of two courts are reserved for league matches for stated times for each week they host matches during the season.

d. It is the responsibility of the Home Team Captain to ensure there are no scheduling conflicts with their Club’s pickleball coordinator or Head Pro. This should be done as soon as schedule is released.

e. Playing sites must have a restroom and water available or provide bottled water. Captains are responsible to communicate location of nearest public restroom if restrooms are not available on site.

f. Court fee/guest fee/parking fee must be paid by the Home Team.

6. Schedule

a. Matches are scheduled for Friday mornings at 9AM and 10:30AM. Two designated lines and four matches will be played per each time slot.

b. If Home Captain can secure more than two courts, they need to communicate with the Visiting Team Captain. If the visiting team captain can accommodate for allowing additional players to proceed with designated matches, this is allowed.

c. Captain communication between teams should be done via email for written record of all communications between teams. Cell phones are a secondary choice of communication. Cell phones should be used on day of match if there is an urgency to communicate with the other team.

d. Home Team Captain must contact Visiting Team Captain at least 4 days prior to match (No Later than Monday Noon) to provide line up order per 9AM and 10:30AM. Designated Home Team captain will have the discretion to determine their own team line ups. This means determining which two lines play at 9AM and which two lines play at 10:30AM. This flexibility is required to allow Captains to work with their team member’s availability to play per week.

e. Designated lines one and two must be played at the same time slot. Designated lines three and four must be played at the same time slot.

f. The address for where the match will take place will be provided to the Visiting Team Captain as well as stating if the courts are indoor or outdoors.

g. Home Team Captain must inform the Visiting Team Captain of any Home Team club dress codes or other protocols, if any.

h. Each team must have a Captain, Co-Captain, or a designated point person present at every scheduled match.

i. Captains must verify the line-ups before players are sent to their courts. A substitute (a player who was not scheduled to play on the original line-up email) may be used on any line that has not begun play. Any player on a team’s roster may be called up to play as a substitute to fill each of the lines for the match. It shall be the Home Team’s responsibility to ensure that all lines are playing on the proper court.

7. Matches

9:00AM four designated matches shall be scheduled and played. 10:30AM the remaining four scheduled matches shall be played.

a. All players should arrive 15 minutes prior to the beginning of their scheduled match. Check in with their team captains.

b. The first 15 minutes of the designated start time will be allocated to warmup for all scheduled players for that time. Warm up should consist of dinks, baseline hitting and practice services.

c. A player arriving on the court fifteen minutes after the scheduled time shall not be entitled to any warm-up.

d. Late player or players shall be given up to twenty minutes after the scheduled start time to arrive on the court before a default is called. Assumes no communication happening with captains ahead of match.

e. A later or staggered start time is permissible, and all four lines may play at one time (pending court availability) if agreed upon in advance by both Captains. No team will be penalized if they cannot play all four matches at same time.

f. The WINNING TEAM CAPTAIN should report the scores online (TopDog) the day of the match. The losing team Captain should confirm reported scores online.

g. If a match is to be played as a rain make-up or for another valid reason, rescheduling is mandatory.

8. Team matches will consist of 8 doubles matches. Each team will consist of two players per designated line 1, 2, 3, and 4. Home Team’s designated line 1 will play against Visiting Team’s designated line 1. The two designated line 2 teams will play against each other, the two designated line 3 teams will play against each other, and the two designated line 4 teams will play against each other. Play will continue with Reverse doubles matches. Designated line one players will change partners with their line two teammates and play another two matches against the other team. Designated line three players will change partners with their line four teammates and player another two matches against the other team.

a. Each match will begin with determining who wins first serve and playing side via coin toss, paddle spin, or calling of 1/2 hand signal as agreed by the team captains.

b. Individual matches will be best two out of three games. Games are first to 11 win by two. USA Pickleball rules apply.

c. Match winner is determined first by matches won, if necessary, games won, if necessary, points won. Match and games are tracked in TopDog.

9. Scoring

a. The Server shall announce the game score before the first point of a game and the point score before each subsequent point of the game.

b. Disputes over score shall be resolved by the following:

i. Count all points of the game agreed upon by the players and replay only disputed points.

ii. Play from a score mutually agreeable to all players.

iii. Spin a paddle or toss a coin.

c. Scores should be recorded right after each match concludes. On the score sheet make sure scores are recorded correctly per visitor and home teams. Circle the winning team player names per

match.

d. The WINNING TEAM CAPTAIN shall enter all scores for the matches into TopDog website. Please have scores entered by end of day that the matches were played. Losing team captain should

verify scores and click acceptance of recorded scores.

e. The team with the most matches and or total games won will be designated the winner. Matches and games are tracked in TopDog.

10. Line Calls/Foot Faults

a. The league will adhere to USA Pickleball Rules for Non-Officiated match play. Here is a link to USA Pickleball rules: https://usapickleball.org/docs/ifp/USA-Pickleball-Rulebook.pdf

b. Non-Officiated Play (USA Pickleball Rules page 56)

b.1. Players call all lines on their side of the court, including NVZ and service foot faults.

b.2. Players may call NVZ faults and service foot faults on the opponent’s side of the court. If there is any disagreement among players about the called fault, a replay shall occur.

b.3 In the spirit of good sportsmanship, players are expected to call faults on themselves as soon as the fault is committed or detected. The fault call must happen before the next serve occurs. For non-officiated matches, if a player believes a player has committed a fault, they may mention the specific fault to the player(s) but have no authority to enforce the fault. The final decision on fault resolution belongs to the player that allegedly committed the fault. A replay shall occur.

11. Default

a. There will be a 20-minute default rule in effect for all scheduled matches.

b. Players are urged to report for their matches at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time.

c. Default time for second round matches will be immediately following completion of first round matches but not before 20 minutes after the scheduled time. For example, default time for a 10:30 a.m. scheduled match would be 10:50 a.m. This rule must be strictly followed. A default should not be played and is credited to the team having both players present on time.

d. A defaulted match will be scored 11-0, 11-0 to the winning team for each match that was defaulted on league match day.

e. Matches will be defaulted if called late, no shows, and didn’t complete make ups by designated deadline. If a captain cannot fill a line due to player availability, then they must communicate a default with the other captain BEFORE match day so other team can plan accordingly.

f. If a match is defaulted, it will not be rescheduled.

12. Grievances

a. Captains are responsible for the overall match play of their team. Any score or fault disputes should be resolved while all players are present.

b. If any difficulties are encountered, Captains should contact the League Coordinator. If a grievance is to be filed, Captains should not sign off to the score online and notify the League Coordinator.

c. GHP officials may not rule on controversies involving the teams they play on.

d. Challenges in the League Championship Final must be made immediately and resolved before the next match.

e. Challenges may be escalated from League Coordinators to Director of Competition to GHP President of GHP Board.

13. Weather

a. If it is raining: Home Captain must contact Visiting Captain no later than 8:00 a.m. A rainout should be called if, in the reasonable opinion of the Home Captain, the courts will not be playable by 9:30 AM

b. If it looks like rain: In questionable weather, teams scheduled for first round matches must be at the Playing Site. Cancellation of matches by Captains should not be made until 30 minutes have passed. If rain occurs after matches have begun, be prepared to wait for 30 minutes to determine if courts become playable. Second round matches will be considered rained out if first round matches cannot begin within 30 minutes of the scheduled start time.

c. If match was defaulted by either captain PRIOR to a rain out being called, then the default will stand and no reschedule will occur.

d. Rained out matches: must be rescheduled at the discretion of both Captains. If mutual agreement cannot be reached, the League Coordinator may select a date. Once a rain makeup is mutually agreed upon and filed with the League Coordinator, teams are committed to play on that scheduled date and time (barring further rain).

i. Rained out matches must be completed by the last date to report scores. In the event of a rainout, the Home Team will advise the League Coordinator on the day of the rain-out.

ii. If some lines have finished: completed matches will stand as played.

iii. If a match was started and is considered an incomplete, the match must be resumed by the same four players at the same score.

14. Rescheduling/ Make up of matches

a. Captains are encouraged to schedule rained out lines as soon as possible.

b. All rescheduled matches must be played at courts furnished by the Home Team unless a change of location is agreed upon by captains.

c. Captains are encouraged to work cooperatively to get all scheduled matches for the season played by the deadline. The deadline will be posted on the GHP League website. The proposed deadline will be the last scheduled Open date listed on the calendar.

d. If matches cannot be completed by the last open date posted then the match will not be scored for either team.

15. Cold Policy A match play may be rescheduled if the actual temperature (without consideration of the wind chill factor) at the home team’s courts is less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit at 9:00 a.m. on the day of a scheduled match. If a match is postponed due to cold weather, a make-up match must be scheduled in accordance with the rain make-up rules, above.

16. Sportsmanship is essential. Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated. The League Coordinator under the advisement of the Board may penalize a player or team that displays unsportsmanlike conduct. All protests of any breach of the Code of Conduct must be submitted in writing within 2 days of the scheduled match being protested. The League Coordinator will investigate all allegations made with the full cooperation of all involved. The league wishes to encourage a competitive spirit among the teams, the league wants to ensure that competition between teams is fair.

17. League Championship Finals TBD TBD TBD TBD

a. Eligibility players must be on the roster from the date that rosters close as stated above. Players who participate in the championship finals must have played one match during the regular season.

b. Format of championship finals Spring 2024. After the last day of competition, the top two teams will be announced based on total matches won, games won and if needed total points won as tracked in TopDog.

I. The two teams will meet at a designated location TBD by Director of Competition. There will be a total of four matches played.

II. Each team captain will seed their teammates 1-4. Each seeded team will play one match best two out of three games. Games are first to 11 win by two.

III. USA Pickleball rules apply.

IV. Score sheets will be provided for each match. Scores are to be recorded and turned into the League Coordinator or designated GHP official upon completion of each match.

V. After the four matches are played, IF a tie occurs, (matches won, games won, and points won are equal per team after four matches played) Then a tiebreak match will be played. Captains will select two players and play one game, first to 15 and win by two.

VI. The Championship winning team will be decided after tiebreaker match.

GENERAL RULES FRIDAY DOUBLES FOR SPRING 2024

1. Greater Houston Pickleball (GHP) is happy to coordinate Friday Morning Doubles league. League categories for Spring 2024 will be: Four Player Format

a. Co-Ed 3.5

b. Minimum of two teams must register to create a league per category and rating.

c. Teams will be formed with players who are all the same skill/rating.

d. If there are not enough players to form women only or men only or Mixed Doubles teams, the default will be Co-Ed. The category of Co-Ed is NOT Mixed Doubles. Teams may be formed with both men and women and compete against each other.

e. Team ratings for Fall 2024 season will be 2.5 (2.5-2.9), 3.0 (3.0-3.4), 3.5 (3.5-3.9), and 4.0 and above levels. Each category will be separated by rating level.

f. Team members must be 18 years of age and older.

g. As the GHP league grows, category/rating level divisions will be established based on geographical locations of the playing sites.

h. Player’s skill level is based on their prior league performance, DUPR ratings, and/or any information found on pickleballbrackets.com/pickleballtournaments.com, and USAPA website on a player’s level. The league coordinator will average all ratings of a player to make a determination of skill level the player should play. All players will work with their team captains to determine their correct rating based on their skills. The League Coordinator in conjunction with the Director of Competition reserves the right to adjust player and team level. The league will have ZERO tolerance of sandbagging on any team in the league.

i. Players may play up from their designated rating level. They may not play down.

j. All players will agree to adhere to GHP Code of Conduct as a condition to playing in league.

k. Each year there are two seasons, Spring and Fall. The exact start date for each season will be determined by the Director of Competition and will be published on the Website (www.greaterhoustonpickleball.com). All dates related to Leagues will be posted to GHP Website.

i. League Coordinator shall provide the following dates per season

1. Registration Open

2. Last Day to register and finalize team rosters

3. First day of matches

4. Open Dates (days listed on calendar that matches are not scheduled) to be used for rescheduled matches

5. The last day and time of day to submit match scores before the matches are considered forfeit

6. The day that league results are posted

2. Each player on a league team must be a paid member of Greater Houston Pickleball. GHP considers each regular and substitute player to be equals on the team. A team is formed when there is a roster with a minimum of 4. The designated team captain will register each team member online (www.topdog.com) by the registration deadline.

a. Each team member must pay non-refundable dues to GHP to be named on a team roster.

b. A date designated as the roster submission deadline will be set by GHP League Coordinator for each season. This will be the last day the captains may amend their rosters.

c. Additions and deletions to the roster may be made after this date (provided the total roster does not drop below 4 players) by notifying the League Coordinator. Changes will be reviewed by League Coordinator and approved by Director of Competition.

d. After the Roster Submission Deadline, a player may only be removed from a team if the player has not yet played a match.

e. A player must get approval from the League Coordinator to switch teams.

f. Any player who plays on a team without being a paid member of GHP and the team forfeits any wins.

g. There is no roster cap. Each captain is responsible for setting their teammates expectations regarding playing and scheduling players for matches.

The league coordinators will be working with captains to assess optimization of team roster sizes. The goal of the league is to get more teams formed, and more matches played during a season. The league reserves the right to establish caps to team rosters as the league continues to grow.

3. Each team must have a Captain and Co-Captain who is responsible for securing courts for home matches, scheduling team players for weekly matches, coordinating with other team captains on team line ups, logistics of designated courts, and uploading their team scores on a weekly basis. All Captains and Co-Captains must have at least one phone number listed on the Top Dog website. Those that agree to captain have a responsibility to monitor their emails throughout the league season and to promptly respond to other team captains and league coordinator emails.

4. The Home Team will furnish new or lightly used pickleballs for the matches. GHP recommends the USAPA approved Franklin X-40 or Dura Fast 40 for matches played on concrete whether this surface is played indoors or outdoors or Franklin 26, Onix Pure 2, Onix Fuse for indoor wood surfaces.

5. Playing Site Requirements

The League Coordinator has the right to approve playing sites.

a. Sites must have a minimum of two playable courts to allow two matches to be played simultaneously.

b. Courts and nets should meet standards set per USA Pickleball.

c. It is the responsibility of the Home Team Captain to ensure that minimum of two courts are reserved for league matches for stated times for each week they host matches during the season.

d. It is the responsibility of the Home Team Captain to ensure there are no scheduling conflicts with their Club’s pickleball coordinator or Head Pro. This should be done as soon as schedule is released.

e. Playing sites must have a restroom and water available or provide bottled water. Captains are responsible to communicate the location of nearest public restroom if restrooms are not available on site.

f. Court fee/guest fee/parking fee must be paid by the Home Team.

6. Schedule 4-Player Format

a. Matches are scheduled for Friday mornings to begin at at 9AM.

b. If Home Captain can secure more than two courts, they need to communicate with the Visiting Team Captain. If the visiting team captain can accommodate for allowing additional players to proceed with designated matches, this is allowed.

c. Captain communication between teams should be done via email for written record of all communications between teams. Cell phones are a secondary choice of communication. Cell phones should be used on day of match if there is an urgency to communicate with the other team.

d. Home Team Captain must contact Visiting Team Captain at least 4 days prior to match (No Later than Monday Noon) to confirm player availability.

e. There should be at least one man or woman in lineup ideally two women and two men. This is not a gender specific format. Captains will communicate prior to match day to help minimize matches with men only pairings playing against women only pairings. Captain shall not play four men on game day.

f. The designated Home Team captain will have the discretion to determine their own team line ups.

g. The address for where the match will take place will be provided to the Visiting Team Captain as well as stating if the courts are indoor or outdoors.

h. Home Team Captain must inform the Visiting Team Captain of any Home Team club dress codes or other protocols, if any.

i. Each team must have a Captain, Co-Captain, or a designated point person present at every scheduled match.

j. Captains must verify the line-ups before players are sent to their courts. A substitute (a player who was not scheduled to play on the original line-up email) may be used on any line that has not begun play. Any player on a team’s roster may be called up to play as a substitute to fill each of the lines for the match. It shall be the Home Team’s responsibility to ensure that all lines are playing on the proper court.

7. Matches 4-Player Format

Match play begins at 9AM. All players should arrive 15 minutes prior to the beginning of their scheduled match. Check in with their team captains.

a. The first 15 minutes of the designated start time will be allocated to warmup for all scheduled players for that time. Warm up should consist of dinks, baseline hitting and practice services.

b. A player arriving on the court fifteen minutes after the scheduled time shall not be entitled to any warm-up.

c. Late player or players shall be given up to twenty minutes after the scheduled start time to arrive on the court before a default is called. Assumes no communication happening with captains ahead of match.

d. The WINNING TEAM CAPTAIN should report the scores online (TopDog) the day of the match. The losing team Captain should confirm reported scores online.

e. If a match is to be played as a rain make-up or for any another valid reason, rescheduling is mandatory.

7. Team matches will consist of 6 doubles matches. Each player will play one match partnering with each player on their team for a total of three matches played. Captains will designate their pairings per match on score sheet. Each player must play one round with each player on their team. No repeat pairings of partners permitted.

a. Each match will begin with determining who wins first serve and playing side via coin toss, paddle spin, or calling of 1/2 hand signal as agreed by the team captains.

b. Individual matches will be best two out of three games. Games are first to 11 ponts win by two. USA Pickleball rules apply.

c. Team winner is determined first by matches won, if necessary, games won, if necessary, points won. Match and games are tracked in TopDog.

9. Scoring

a. The Server shall announce the game score before the first point of a game and the point score before each subsequent point of the game.

b. Disputes over score shall be resolved by the following:

i. Count all points of the game agreed upon by the players and replay only disputed points.

ii. Play from a score mutually agreeable to all players.

iii. Spin a paddle or toss a coin.

c. Scores should be recorded right after each match concludes. On the score sheet make sure scores are recorded correctly per visitor and home teams. Circle the winning team player names per match.

d. The WINNING TEAM CAPTAIN shall enter all scores for the matches into TopDog website. Please have scores entered by end of day that the matches were played. Losing team captain should verify scores and click acceptance of recorded scores.

e. The team with the most matches and or total games won will be designated the winner. Matches and games are tracked in TopDog.

10. Line Calls/Foot Faults

a. The league will adhere to USA Pickleball Rules for Non-Officiated match play. Here is a link to USA Pickleball rules: https://usapickleball.org/docs/ifp/USA-Pickleball-Rulebook.pdf

b. Non-Officiated Play (USA Pickleball Rules page 56)

b.1. Players call all lines on their side of the court, including NVZ and service foot faults.

b.2. Players may call NVZ faults and service foot faults on the opponent’s side of the court. If there is any disagreement among players about the called fault, a replay shall occur.

b.3 In the spirit of good sportsmanship, players are expected to call faults on themselves as soon as the fault is committed or detected. The fault call must happen before the next serve occurs. For non-officiated matches, if a player believes a player has committed a fault, they may mention the specific fault to the player(s) but have no authority to enforce the fault. The final decision on fault resolution belongs to the player that allegedly committed the fault. A replay shall occur.

11. Default

a. There will be a 20-minute default rule in effect for all scheduled matches.

b. Players are urged to report for their matches at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time.

c. Default time for second round matches will be immediately following completion of first round matches but not before 20 minutes after the scheduled time. For example, default time for a 10:30 a.m. scheduled match would be 10:50 a.m. This rule must be strictly followed. A default should not be played and is credited to the team having both players present on time.

d. A defaulted match will be scored 11-0, 11-0 to the winning team for each match that was defaulted on league match day.

e. Matches will be defaulted if called late, no shows, and didn’t complete make ups by designated deadline. If a captain cannot fill a line due to player availability, then they must communicate a default with the other captain BEFORE match day so other team can plan accordingly.

f. If a match is defaulted, it will not be rescheduled.

12. Grievances

a. Captains are responsible for the overall match play of their team. Any score or fault disputes should be resolved while all players are present.

b. If any difficulties are encountered, Captains should contact the League Coordinator. If a grievance is to be filed, Captains should not sign off to the score online and notify the League Coordinator.

c. GHP officials may not rule on controversies involving the teams they play on.

d. Challenges in the League Championship Final must be made immediately and resolved before the next match.

e. Challenges may be escalated from League Coordinators to Director of Competition to GHP President of GHP Board.

13. Weather

a. If it is raining: Home Captain must contact Visiting Captain no later than 8:00 a.m. A rainout should be called if, in the reasonable opinion of the Home Captain, the courts will not be playable by 9:30 AM

b. If it looks like rain: In questionable weather, teams scheduled for first round matches must be at the Playing Site. Cancellation of matches by Captains should not be made until 30 minutes have passed. If rain occurs after matches have begun, be prepared to wait for 30 minutes to determine if courts become playable. Second round matches will be considered rained out if first round matches cannot begin within 30 minutes of the scheduled start time.

c. If match was defaulted by either captain PRIOR to a rain out being called, then the default will stand and no reschedule will occur.

d. Rained out matches: must be rescheduled at the discretion of both Captains. If mutual agreement cannot be reached, the League Coordinator may select a date. Once a rain makeup is mutually agreed upon and filed with the League Coordinator, teams are committed to play on that scheduled date and time (barring further rain).

i. Rained out matches must be completed by the last date to report scores. In the event of a rainout, the Home Team will advise the League Coordinator on the day of the rain-out.

ii. If some lines have finished: completed matches will stand as played.

iii. If a match was started and is considered an incomplete, the match must be resumed by the same four players at the same score.

14. Rescheduling/ Make up of matches

a. Captains are encouraged to schedule rained out lines as soon as possible.

b. All rescheduled matches must be played at courts furnished by the Home Team unless a change of location is agreed upon by captains.

c. Captains are encouraged to work cooperatively to get all scheduled matches for the season played by the deadline. The deadline will be posted on the GHP League website. The proposed deadline will be the last scheduled Open date listed on the calendar.

d. If matches cannot be completed by the last open date posted then the match will not be scored for either team.

15. Cold Policy A match play may be rescheduled if the actual temperature (without consideration of the wind chill factor) at the home team’s courts is less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit at 9:00 a.m. on the day of a scheduled match. If a match is postponed due to cold weather, a make-up match must be scheduled in accordance with the rain make-up rules, above.

16. Sportsmanship is essential. Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated. The League Coordinator under the advisement of the Board may penalize a player or team that displays unsportsmanlike conduct. All protests of any breach of the Code of Conduct must be submitted in writing within 2 days of the scheduled match being protested. The League Coordinator will investigate all allegations made with the full cooperation of all involved. The league wishes to encourage a competitive spirit among the teams, the league wants to ensure that competition between teams is fair.

17. League Championship Finals TBD

a. Eligibility players must be on the roster from the date that rosters close as stated above. Players who participate in the championship finals must have played one match during the regular season.

b. Format of championship finals Spring 2024. After the last day of competition, the top two teams will be announced based on total matches won, games won and if needed total points won as tracked in TopDog.

I. The two teams will meet at a designated location TBD by Director of Competition. There will be a total of four matches played.

II. Each team captain will seed their teammates 1-4. Each seeded team will play one match best two out of three games. Games are first to 11 win by two.

III. USA Pickleball rules apply.

IV. Score sheets will be provided for each match. Scores are to be recorded and turned into the League Coordinator or designated GHP official upon completion of each match.

V. After the four matches are played, IF a tie occurs, (matches won, games won, and points won are equal per team after four matches played) Then a tiebreak match will be played. Captains will select two players and play one game, first to 15 and win by two.

VI. The Championship winning team will be decided after tiebreaker match.

Simplified Format Summary

4-Player Team format

· Total number of players needed for match day is 4

· Total number of matches scored is 6

· Each player will play a total of 3 matches (best 2-3 games 11pt lead by 2pt)

· Each player will play 1 match with every player on the team

· No repeat pairings allowed

8-Player Team Format

· Total number of players needed for match day is 8

· Total number of matches scored is 8

· Each player will play a total of 2 matches (best 2-3 game 11pt lead by 2pt)

· Players are paired by lines 1-4. Captain plays their best 2 available players on line 1, next 2 on line 2 and so forth

· First round is played based on lines

· Partner swap at second round. Lines 1, 2 will swap partners and lines 3,4 will swap partners

· Players may not play more than one line

GENERAL RULES FRIDAY DOUBLES FOR SPRING 2024

1. Greater Houston Pickleball (GHP) is happy to coordinate Friday Morning Doubles league. League categories for Spring 2024 will be: Four Player Format

a. Womens Only

b. Mens Only

c. Co-Ed

d. Minimum of two teams must register to create a league per category and rating.

e. Teams will be formed with players who are all the same skill/rating.

f. If there are not enough players to form women only or men only or Mixed Doubles teams, the default will be Co-Ed. The category of Co-Ed is NOT Mixed Doubles. Teams may be formed with both men and women and compete against each other.

g. Team ratings for Fall 2024 season will be 2.5 (2.5-2.9), 3.0 (3.0-3.4), 3.5 (3.5-3.9), and 4.0 and above levels. Each category will be separated by rating level.

h. Team members must be 18 years of age and older.

i. As the GHP league grows, category/rating level divisions will be established based on geographical locations of the playing sites.

j. Player’s skill level is based on their prior league performance, DUPR ratings, and/or any information found on pickleballbrackets.com/pickleballtournaments.com, and USAPA website on a player’s level. The league coordinator will average all ratings of a player to make a determination of skill level the player should play. All players will work with their team captains to determine their correct rating based on their skills. The League Coordinator in conjunction with the Director of Competition reserves the right to adjust player and team level. The league will have ZERO tolerance of sandbagging on any team in the league.

k. Players may play up from their designated rating level. They may not play down.

l. All players will agree to adhere to GHP Code of Conduct as a condition to playing in league.

m. Each year there are two seasons, Spring and Fall. The exact start date for each season will be determined by the Director of Competition and will be published on the Website (www.greaterhoustonpickleball.com). All dates related to Leagues will be posted to GHP Website.

i. League Coordinator shall provide the following dates per season

1. Registration Open

2. Last Day to register and finalize team rosters

3. First day of matches

4. Open Dates (days listed on calendar that matches are not scheduled) to be used for rescheduled matches

5. The last day and time of day to submit match scores before the matches are considered forfeit

6. The day that league results are posted

2. Each player on a league team must be a paid member of Greater Houston Pickleball. GHP considers each regular and substitute player to be equals on the team. A team is formed when there is a roster with a minimum of 4. The designated team captain will register each team member online (www.topdog.com) by the registration deadline.

a. Each team member must pay non-refundable dues to GHP to be named on a team roster.

b. A date designated as the roster submission deadline will be set by GHP League Coordinator for each season. This will be the last day the captains may amend their rosters.

c. Additions and deletions to the roster may be made after this date (provided the total roster does not drop below 4 players) by notifying the League Coordinator. Changes will be reviewed by League Coordinator and approved by Director of Competition.

d. After the Roster Submission Deadline, a player may only be removed from a team if the player has not yet played a match.

e. A player must get approval from the League Coordinator to switch teams.

f. Any player who plays on a team without being a paid member of GHP and the team forfeits any wins.

g. There is no roster cap. Each captain is responsible for setting their teammates expectations regarding playing and scheduling players for matches.

The league coordinators will be working with captains to assess optimization of team roster sizes. The goal of the league is to get more teams formed, and more matches played during a season. The league reserves the right to establish caps to team rosters as the league continues to grow.

3. Each team must have a Captain and Co-Captain who is responsible for securing courts for home matches, scheduling team players for weekly matches, coordinating with other team captains on team line ups, logistics of designated courts, and uploading their team scores on a weekly basis. All Captains and Co-Captains must have at least one phone number listed on the Top Dog website. Those that agree to captain have a responsibility to monitor their emails throughout the league season and to promptly respond to other team captains and league coordinator emails.

4. The Home Team will furnish new or lightly used pickleballs for the matches. GHP recommends the USAPA approved Franklin X-40 or Dura Fast 40 for matches played on concrete whether this surface is played indoors or outdoors or Franklin 26, Onix Pure 2, Onix Fuse for indoor wood surfaces.

5. Playing Site Requirements

The League Coordinator has the right to approve playing sites.

a. Sites must have a minimum of two playable courts to allow two matches to be played simultaneously.

b. Courts and nets should meet standards set per USA Pickleball.

c. It is the responsibility of the Home Team Captain to ensure that minimum of two courts are reserved for league matches for stated times for each week they host matches during the season.

d. It is the responsibility of the Home Team Captain to ensure there are no scheduling conflicts with their Club’s pickleball coordinator or Head Pro. This should be done as soon as schedule is released.

e. Playing sites must have a restroom and water available or provide bottled water. Captains are responsible to communicate the location of nearest public restroom if restrooms are not available on site.

f. Court fee/guest fee/parking fee must be paid by the Home Team.

6. Schedule 4-Player Format

a. Matches are scheduled for Friday mornings to begin at at 9AM.

b. If Home Captain can secure more than two courts, they need to communicate with the Visiting Team Captain. If the visiting team captain can accommodate for allowing additional players to proceed with designated matches, this is allowed.

c. Captain communication between teams should be done via email for written record of all communications between teams. Cell phones are a secondary choice of communication. Cell phones should be used on day of match if there is an urgency to communicate with the other team.

d. Home Team Captain must contact Visiting Team Captain at least 4 days prior to match (No Later than Monday Noon) to confirm player availability.

e. The designated Home Team captain will have the discretion to determine their own team line ups.

f. The address for where the match will take place will be provided to the Visiting Team Captain as well as stating if the courts are indoor or outdoors.

g. Home Team Captain must inform the Visiting Team Captain of any Home Team club dress codes or other protocols, if any.

h. Each team must have a Captain, Co-Captain, or a designated point person present at every scheduled match.

i. Captains must verify the line-ups before players are sent to their courts. A substitute (a player who was not scheduled to play on the original line-up email) may be used on any line that has not begun play. Any player on a team’s roster may be called up to play as a substitute to fill each of the lines for the match. It shall be the Home Team’s responsibility to ensure that all lines are playing on the proper court.

7. Matches 4-Player Format

Match play begins at 9AM. All players should arrive 15 minutes prior to the beginning of their scheduled match. Check in with their team captains.

a. The first 15 minutes of the designated start time will be allocated to warmup for all scheduled players for that time. Warm up should consist of dinks, baseline hitting and practice services.

b. A player arriving on the court fifteen minutes after the scheduled time shall not be entitled to any warm-up.

c. Late player or players shall be given up to twenty minutes after the scheduled start time to arrive on the court before a default is called. Assumes no communication happening with captains ahead of match.

d. The WINNING TEAM CAPTAIN should report the scores online (TopDog) the day of the match. The losing team Captain should confirm reported scores online.

e. If a match is to be played as a rain make-up or for any another valid reason, rescheduling is mandatory.

7. Team matches will consist of 6 doubles matches. Each player will play one match partnering with each player on their team for a total of three matches played. Captains will designate their pairings per match on score sheet. Each player must play one round with each player on their team. No repeat pairings of partners permitted.

a. Each match will begin with determining who wins first serve and playing side via coin toss, paddle spin, or calling of 1/2 hand signal as agreed by the team captains.

b. Individual matches will be best two out of three games. Games are first to 11 ponts win by two. USA Pickleball rules apply.

c. Team winner is determined first by matches won, if necessary, games won, if necessary, points won. Match and games are tracked in TopDog.

9. Scoring

a. The Server shall announce the game score before the first point of a game and the point score before each subsequent point of the game.

b. Disputes over score shall be resolved by the following:

i. Count all points of the game agreed upon by the players and replay only disputed points.

ii. Play from a score mutually agreeable to all players.

iii. Spin a paddle or toss a coin.

c. Scores should be recorded right after each match concludes. On the score sheet make sure scores are recorded correctly per visitor and home teams. Circle the winning team player names per match.

d. The WINNING TEAM CAPTAIN shall enter all scores for the matches into TopDog website. Please have scores entered by end of day that the matches were played. Losing team captain should verify scores and click acceptance of recorded scores.

e. The team with the most matches and or total games won will be designated the winner. Matches and games are tracked in TopDog.

10. Line Calls/Foot Faults

a. The league will adhere to USA Pickleball Rules for Non-Officiated match play. Here is a link to USA Pickleball rules: https://usapickleball.org/docs/ifp/USA-Pickleball-Rulebook.pdf

b. Non-Officiated Play (USA Pickleball Rules page 56)

b.1. Players call all lines on their side of the court, including NVZ and service foot faults.

b.2. Players may call NVZ faults and service foot faults on the opponent’s side of the court. If there is any disagreement among players about the called fault, a replay shall occur.

b.3 In the spirit of good sportsmanship, players are expected to call faults on themselves as soon as the fault is committed or detected. The fault call must happen before the next serve occurs. For non-officiated matches, if a player believes a player has committed a fault, they may mention the specific fault to the player(s) but have no authority to enforce the fault. The final decision on fault resolution belongs to the player that allegedly committed the fault. A replay shall occur.

11. Default

a. There will be a 20-minute default rule in effect for all scheduled matches.

b. Players are urged to report for their matches at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time.

c. Default time for second round matches will be immediately following completion of first round matches but not before 20 minutes after the scheduled time. For example, default time for a 10:30 a.m. scheduled match would be 10:50 a.m. This rule must be strictly followed. A default should not be played and is credited to the team having both players present on time.

d. A defaulted match will be scored 11-0, 11-0 to the winning team for each match that was defaulted on league match day.

e. Matches will be defaulted if called late, no shows, and didn’t complete make ups by designated deadline. If a captain cannot fill a line due to player availability, then they must communicate a default with the other captain BEFORE match day so other team can plan accordingly.

f. If a match is defaulted, it will not be rescheduled.

12. Grievances

a. Captains are responsible for the overall match play of their team. Any score or fault disputes should be resolved while all players are present.

b. If any difficulties are encountered, Captains should contact the League Coordinator. If a grievance is to be filed, Captains should not sign off to the score online and notify the League Coordinator.

c. GHP officials may not rule on controversies involving the teams they play on.

d. Challenges in the League Championship Final must be made immediately and resolved before the next match.

e. Challenges may be escalated from League Coordinators to Director of Competition to GHP President of GHP Board.

13. Weather

a. If it is raining: Home Captain must contact Visiting Captain no later than 8:00 a.m. A rainout should be called if, in the reasonable opinion of the Home Captain, the courts will not be playable by 9:30 AM

b. If it looks like rain: In questionable weather, teams scheduled for first round matches must be at the Playing Site. Cancellation of matches by Captains should not be made until 30 minutes have passed. If rain occurs after matches have begun, be prepared to wait for 30 minutes to determine if courts become playable. Second round matches will be considered rained out if first round matches cannot begin within 30 minutes of the scheduled start time.

c. If match was defaulted by either captain PRIOR to a rain out being called, then the default will stand and no reschedule will occur.

d. Rained out matches: must be rescheduled at the discretion of both Captains. If mutual agreement cannot be reached, the League Coordinator may select a date. Once a rain makeup is mutually agreed upon and filed with the League Coordinator, teams are committed to play on that scheduled date and time (barring further rain).

i. Rained out matches must be completed by the last date to report scores. In the event of a rainout, the Home Team will advise the League Coordinator on the day of the rain-out.

ii. If some lines have finished: completed matches will stand as played.

iii. If a match was started and is considered an incomplete, the match must be resumed by the same four players at the same score.

14. Rescheduling/ Make up of matches

a. Captains are encouraged to schedule rained out lines as soon as possible.

b. All rescheduled matches must be played at courts furnished by the Home Team unless a change of location is agreed upon by captains.

c. Captains are encouraged to work cooperatively to get all scheduled matches for the season played by the deadline. The deadline will be posted on the GHP League website. The proposed deadline will be the last scheduled Open date listed on the calendar.

d. If matches cannot be completed by the last open date posted then the match will not be scored for either team.

15. Cold Policy A match play may be rescheduled if the actual temperature (without consideration of the wind chill factor) at the home team’s courts is less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit at 9:00 a.m. on the day of a scheduled match. If a match is postponed due to cold weather, a make-up match must be scheduled in accordance with the rain make-up rules, above.

16. Sportsmanship is essential. Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated. The League Coordinator under the advisement of the Board may penalize a player or team that displays unsportsmanlike conduct. All protests of any breach of the Code of Conduct must be submitted in writing within 2 days of the scheduled match being protested. The League Coordinator will investigate all allegations made with the full cooperation of all involved. The league wishes to encourage a competitive spirit among the teams, the league wants to ensure that competition between teams is fair.

17. League Championship Finals TBD

a. Eligibility players must be on the roster from the date that rosters close as stated above. Players who participate in the championship finals must have played one match during the regular season.

b. Format of championship finals Spring 2024. After the last day of competition, the top two teams will be announced based on total matches won, games won and if needed total points won as tracked in TopDog.

I. The two teams will meet at a designated location TBD by Director of Competition. There will be a total of four matches played.

II. Each team captain will seed their teammates 1-4. Each seeded team will play one match best two out of three games. Games are first to 11 win by two.

III. USA Pickleball rules apply.

IV. Score sheets will be provided for each match. Scores are to be recorded and turned into the League Coordinator or designated GHP official upon completion of each match.

V. After the four matches are played, IF a tie occurs, (matches won, games won, and points won are equal per team after four matches played) Then a tiebreak match will be played. Captains will select two players and play one game, first to 15 and win by two.

VI. The Championship winning team will be decided after tiebreaker match.

GENERAL RULES SUNDAY MIXED DOUBLES LEAGUE

1.Greater Houston Pickleball Sunday Mixed Doubles is a league made up of 3.0 and above, 3.5 and above and, 4.0 and above levels. Each level is divided into divisions based on geographical location of the playing sites. Teams must be made up of both men and women, with enough of each to fulfill weekly Mixed Doubles Matches.

a.Minimum of three teams must register to create a league per rating.

b.Teams will be formed with players who are all the same skill/rating.

c.Team ratings for Fall 2023 season will be 3.0 to 3.5, 3.5 to 4.0, and 4.0 levels. Each division will be separated by rating level.

d.Team members must be 18 years of age and older.

e.As the GHP league grows, divisions will be established based on geographical locations of the playing sites.

f.Player’s skill level is based on their prior league performance, DUPR ratings, and/or any information found on pickleballbrackets.com/pickleballtournaments.com, and USAPA website on a player’s level. All players will work with their team captains to determine their correct rating based on their skills. The League Coordinator in conjunction with the Director of Competition reserves the right to adjust player and team level. The league will have ZERO tolerance of sandbagging on any team in the league.

Player’s level is based on their prior league performance, DUPR ratings, and/or any information found on pickleballbrackets.com on a player’s level. All players will work with their team captains to determine their correct rating based on their skills. The League Coordinator in conjunction with the Director of Competition reserves the right to adjust player and team level. The league will have ZERO tolerance of sandbagging on any team in the league.

g.Players may play up from their designated rating level. They may not play down.

h. All players will agree to adhere to GHP Code of Conduct as a condition to playing in league.

i.Each year there are two seasons, Spring and Fall. The exact start date for each season will be determined by the Director of Competition and will be published on the Website (www.greaterhoustonpickleball.com). All dates related to Leagues will be posted to GHP Website.

i.League Coordinator shall provide the following dates per season

1.Registration Open

2.Last Day to register and finalize team rosters

3.First day of matches

4.Open Dates (days listed on calendar that matches are not scheduled) to be used for rescheduled matches

5.The last day and time of day to submit match scores before the matches are considered forfeit

6.The day that league results are posted

2.Each player on a league team must be a paid member of Greater Houston Pickleball. GHP considers each regular and substitute player to be equals on the team. Players may play in multiple matches on day of match. A team is formed when there is a roster with a minimum of 4 (2 women, 2 men). The designated team captain will register each team member online (www.topdog.com) by the registration deadline listed on the GHP League Website.

a.Each team member must pay non-refundable dues to GHP to be named on a team roster.

b.A date designated as the roster submission deadline will be set by GHP League Coordinator for each season. This will be the last day the captains may amend their rosters.

c.Additions and deletions to the roster may be made after this date (provided the total roster does not drop below 4 players) by notifying their League Coordinator. Changes will be reviewed by League Coordinator and approved by Director of Competition.

d.After the Roster Submission Deadline, a player may only be removed from a team if the player has not yet played a match.

e.A player must get approval from the League Coordinator to switch teams.

f.Any player who plays on a team without being a paid member of GHP and the team forfeits any wins.

g.There is no roster cap. Each captain is responsible for setting their teammates expectations regarding playing and scheduling players for matches.

The league coordinators will be working with captains to assess optimization of team roster sizes. The goal of the league is to get more teams formed, and more matches played during a season. The league reserves the right to establish caps to team rosters as the league continues to grow.

3. Each team must have a Captain and Co-Captain who is responsible for scheduling team players for weekly matches, coordinating with other team captains on team line ups, logistics of designated courts, and uploading their team scores on a weekly basis. All Captains and Co-Captains must have at least one phone number listed on the Top Dog website. Those that agree to captain have a responsibility to monitor their emails throughout the league season and to promptly respond to other team captains and league coordinator emails.

4. The Home Team will furnish new or lightly used pickleballs for the matches. GHP recommends the USAPA approved Franklin X-40 or Dura Fast 40 for matches played on concrete whether this surface is played indoors or outdoors or Franklin 26, Onix Pure 2, Onix Fuse for indoor wood surfaces.

5. Playing Site Requirements

The League Coordinator has the right to approve playing sites.

a.Sites must have a minimum of two playable courts to allow two matches to be played simultaneously.

b.Courts and nets should meet standards set per USA Pickleball.

c.It is the responsibility of the Home Team Captain to ensure that two courts are reserved for league matches for stated times for each week during the season.

d.It is the responsibility of the Home Team Captain to ensure there are no scheduling conflicts with their Club’s pickleball coordinator or Head Pro. This should be done as soon as schedule is released.

e.Sites must have a restroom and water available or provide bottled water. Captains are responsible to communicate location of nearest public restroom if restrooms are not available on site.

f.Court fee/guest fee/parking fee must be paid by the Home Team.

6. Schedule

a.Matches are scheduled for Sunday late afternoon, early evenings. The hour set should be mutually agreed by both captains. If not, the time shall be 6PM start.

b.If Home Captain can secure more than two courts, they need to communicate with the Visiting Team Captain. If the visiting team captain can accommodate for allowing additional players to proceed with designated matches, this is allowed.

c.Captain communication between teams should be done via email for written record of all communications between teams. Cell phones are a secondary choice of communication. Cell phones should be used on day of match if there is an urgency to communicate with the other team.

d.Home Team Captain must contact Visiting Team Captain at least 4 days prior to match (No Later than THURSDAY Noon) to provide line up order for the match. Designated Home Team captain will have the discretion to determine their own team line ups. This means that the Home Team Captain will determine which match will be designated line Men’s, Women’s, Mixed Doubles A and Mixed Doubles B. This flexibility is required to allow Captains to work with their team members availability to play per week. Once line-ups have been exchanged no more changes are allowed. This means all teams show up for the agreed start time.

e.Captains of both teams can work together and agree on another day of the week to play that will work best for their teammates. The agreement must be mutual to both teams.

f.The address for the dedicated courts where the match will take place will be provided to the Visiting Team Captain as well as stating if the courts are indoor or outdoors.

g.Home Team Captain must inform the Visiting Team Captain of any Home Team club dress codes or other protocols, if any.

h.Each team must have a Captain or Co-Captain or designated point player present at every scheduled match.

i.Captains must verify the line-ups are in sync with what was previously communicated before players are sent to their courts. A substitute (a player who is not scheduled to play on the original line-up email) may be used on any line that has not begun play. Any player on a team’s roster may be called up to play as a substitute to fill each of the lines for the match. It shall be the Home Team’s responsibility to ensure that all lines are playing on the proper court.

7. Matches

All teams will show up at the agreed start time for the team match.

a.All players should arrive 15 minutes prior to the beginning of their scheduled match. Check in with their team captains.

b.The first 15 minutes of the designated start time will be allocated to warmup for all scheduled players for that time. Warm up should consist of dinks, baseline hitting and practice services.

c.A player arriving on the court fifteen minutes after the scheduled time shall not be entitled to any warm-up.

d.Late player or players shall be given up to twenty minutes after the scheduled start time to arrive on the court before a default is called.

e.A later or staggered start time is permissible, and all four lines may play at one time (pending court availability) if agreed upon in advance by both Captains. No team will be penalized if they cannot play all four matches at same time.

f.The WINNING TEAM CAPTAIN should report the scores online (TopDog) the day of the match. The losing team Captain should confirm reported scores online.

g.If a match is to be played as a rain make-up or for another valid reason, rescheduling is mandatory.

8. Team matches will consist of four doubles matches. Each team will consist of men and women to fill the matches. The matches will be

i. Men’s Doubles

ii. Women’s Doubles

iii. Mix Doubles A

iv. Mix Doubles B

a. Each match will begin with determining who wins first serve and playing side via coin toss, paddle spin, or calling of 1/2 hand signal as agreed by the team captains.

b. Individual matches will be best 2 out of three games. Games are first to 11 win by 2. USA Pickleball rules apply.

c. Match winner is determined first by matches won, if necessary, games won, if necessary, points won. Matches and scores are tracked in TopDog.

d. In the event there is a tie then a tiebreaker set will be played. Captains will pick two players and they will play one game to 15 leads by two.

9. Scoring

a. The Server shall announce the game score before the first point of a game and the point score before each subsequent point of the game.

b.Disputes over score shall be resolved by the following:

i.Count all points of the game agreed upon by the players and replay only disputed points.

ii.Play from a score mutually agreeable to all players.

iii.Spin a paddle or toss a coin.

c.Scores should be recorded right after each match concludes. On the score sheet make sure scores are recorded correctly per visitor and home teams. Circle the winning team player names per match.

d.The WINNING TEAM CAPTAIN shall enter all scores for the matches into TopDog website. Please have scores entered by end of day that the matches were played. Losing team captain should verify scores and click acceptance of recorded scores

e.The team with the most matches and or total games won will be designated the winner. Matches and games are tracked in TopDog.

10. Line Calls/Foot Faults

a. The league will adhere to USA Pickleball Rules for Non-Officiated match play. Here is a link to USA Pickleball rules: https://usapickleball.org/docs/ifp/USA-Pickleball-Rulebook.pdf

b. Non-Officiated Play (USA Pickleball Rules page 56)

b.1. Players call all lines on their side of the court, including NVZ and service foot faults.

b.2. Players may call NVZ faults and service foot faults on the opponent’s side of the court. If there is any disagreement among players about the called fault, a replay shall occur.

b.3 In the spirit of good sportsmanship, players are expected to call faults on themselves as soon as the fault is committed or detected. The fault call must happen before the next serve occurs. For non-officiated matches, if a player believes a player has committed a fault, they may mention the specific fault to the player(s) but have no authority to enforce the fault. The final decision on fault resolution belongs to the player that allegedly committed the fault. A replay shall occur.

11. Default

a.There will be a 20-minute default rule in effect for all scheduled matches.

b.Players are urged to report for their matches at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time.

c.Default time for second round matches will be immediately following completion of first round matches but not before 20 minutes after the scheduled time. For example, default time for a 6 P.M. scheduled match would be 6:20 P.M. This rule must be strictly followed. A default should not be played and is credited to the team having both players present on time.

d.A defaulted match will be scored 11-0, 11-0 to the winning team for each match that was defaulted on league match day.

e.Matches will be defaulted if called late, no shows, and didn’t complete make ups by designated deadline. If a captain cannot fill a line due to player availability, then they must communicate a default with the other captain BEFORE match day so other team can plan accordingly.

f.If a match is defaulted, it will not be rescheduled.

12. Grievances

a.Captains are responsible for the overall match play of their team. Any score or fault disputes should be resolved while all players are present.

b.If any difficulties are encountered, Captains should contact the League Coordinator. If a grievance is to be filed, Captains should not sign off to the score online and notify the League Coordinator.

c.GHP officials may not rule on controversies involving the team they play on.

d.Challenges in the League Championship Final must be made immediately and resolved before the next match.

e.Challenges may be escalated from League Coordinators to Director of Competition to GHP President of Board.

13. Weather.

a. If it is raining: Home Captain must contact Visiting Captain no later than 4:00 P.M. A rainout should be called if, in the reasonable opinion of the Home Captain, the courts will not be playable by 5:30 P.M.

b. If it looks like rain: In questionable weather, teams scheduled for first round matches must be at the Playing Site. Cancellation of matches by Captains should not be made until 30 minutes have passed. If rain occurs after matches have begun, be prepared to wait for 30 minutes to determine if courts become playable. Second round matches will be considered rained out if first round matches cannot begin within 30 minutes of the scheduled start time.

c. If match was defaulted by either captain PRIOR to a rain out being called, then the default will stand and no reschedule will occur.

d. Rained out matches: must be rescheduled at the discretion of both Captains. If mutual agreement cannot be reached, the League Coordinator may select a date. Once a rain makeup is mutually agreed upon and filed with the League Coordinator, teams are committed to play on that scheduled date and time (barring further rain).

i. Rained out matches must be completed by the last date to report scores. In the event of a rainout, the Home Team will advise the League Coordinator on the day of the rain-out.

ii. If some lines have finished: completed matches will stand as played.

iii. If a match was started and is considered an incomplete, the match must be resumed by the same four players at the same score.

14. Rescheduling/ Make up of matches

a. Captains are encouraged to work cooperatively to get all scheduled rained matches played as soon as possible.

b. All rescheduled matches must be played at courts furnished by the Home Team unless a change of location is agreed upon by captains.

c. Captains are encouraged to work cooperatively to get all scheduled matches for the season played by the deadline. The deadline will be posted on the GHP League website. The proposed deadline will be the last scheduled Open date listed on the calendar.

d. If matches cannot be completed by the last open date posted then the match is defaulted by the designated Away team.

15. Cold Policy Match play may be rescheduled if the actual temperature (without consideration of the wind chill factor) at the home team’s courts is less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit at NOON on the day of a scheduled match. If a match is postponed due to cold weather, a make-up match must be scheduled in accordance with the rain make-up rules, above.

16. Sportsmanship is essential. Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated. The League Coordinator under the advisement of the Board may penalize a player or team that displays unsportsmanlike conduct. All protests of any breach of the Code of Conduct must be submitted in writing within 2 days of the scheduled match being protested. The League Coordinator will investigate all allegations made with the full cooperation of all involved. The league wishes to encourage a competitive spirit among the teams, the league wants to ensure that competition between teams is fair.

17. League Championship Finals

a. Eligibility players must be on the roster from the date that rosters close as stated above. Players who participate in the championship finals must have played one match during the regular season.

b. Format of championship finals Spring 2023. After the last day of competition, the top two teams will be announced based on total matches won, games won as tracked in TopDog.

I.The two teams will meet at a designated location TBD by Director of Competition. There will be a total of four matches played.

II.Each team captain will fill the following matches:

a.Men’s Doubles

b.Women’s Doubles

c.Mixed Doubles (A)

d.Mixed Doubles (B)

III.Each team will play one match best two out of three games. Games are first to 11 win by two.

IV.USA Pickleball rules apply.

V.Score sheets will be provide for each match. Scores are to be recorded and turned into the League Coordinator or designated GHP official upon completion of each match.

VI.After the four matches are played, IF a tie occurs, (matches won, games won and points won are equal per team after four matches played) Then a tiebreak match will be played. Captains will select two players and play one game, first to 15 and win by two.

VII.The Championship winning team will be decided after tiebreaker match.

GENERAL RULES MLP STYLE LEAGUE

1.Greater Houston Pickleball MLP is a league made up of 3.0 and above, 3.5 and above and, 4.0 and above levels. Each level is divided into divisions based on geographical location of the playing sites. Teams must be made up of both men and women, with enough of each to fulfill weekly Mixed Doubles Matches.

a.Minimum of TWO teams must register to create a league per rating division.

b.Teams will be formed with players who are all the same skill/rating.

c.Team ratings for Fall 2023 season will be 4.0 level.

d.Team members must be 18 years of age and older.

e.As the GHP league grows, further divisions will be established based on geographical locations of the playing sites.

f.Player’s skill level is based on their prior league performance, DUPR ratings, and/or any information found on pickleballbrackets.com/pickleballtournaments.com, and USAPA website on a player’s level. All players will work with their team captains to determine their correct rating based on their skills. The League Coordinator in conjunction with the Director of Competition reserves the right to adjust player and team level. The league will have ZERO tolerance of sandbagging on any team in the league.

g.Players may play up from their designated rating level.They may not play down.

h.Each year there are two seasons, Spring and Fall. The exact start date for each season will be determined by the Director of Competition and will be published on the Website (www.greaterhoustonpickleball.com).All dates related to Leagues will be posted to GHP Website.

i.League Coordinator shall provide the following dates per season

1.Registration Open

2.Last Day to register and finalize team rosters

3.First day of matches

4.Open Dates (days listed on calendar that matches are not scheduled) to be used for rescheduled matches

5.The last day and time of day to submit match scores before the matches are considered forfeit

6.The day that league results are posted

2.Each player on a league team must be a paid member of Greater Houston Pickleball.GHP considers each regular and substitute player to be equals on the team. A team fee may be accessed by GHP to offset costs associated with running the league. The fee will be announced by registration. A team is formed when there is a roster with a minimum of 4 (2 women, 2 men).The designated team captain will register each team member online (www.topdog.com) by the registration deadline listed on the GHP League Website.

a.Each team member must pay non-refundable dues to GHP to be named on a team roster.

b.Team captain will collect team fee and pay directly to GHP

c.A date designated as the roster submission deadline will be set by GHP League Coordinator for each season.This will be the last day the captains may amend their rosters.

d.Additions and deletions to the roster may be made after this date (provided the total roster does not drop below 4 players) by notifying their League Coordinator. Changes will be reviewed by League Coordinator and approved by Director of Competition.

e.After the Roster Submission Deadline, a player may only be removed from a team if the player has not yet played a match.

f.A player must get approval from the League Coordinator to switch teams.

g.Any player who plays on a team without being a paid member of GHP and the team forfeits any wins.

h.There is no roster cap.Each captain is responsible for setting their teammates expectations regarding playing and scheduling players for matches.

The league coordinators will be working with captains to assess optimization of team roster sizes.The goal of the league is to get more teams formed, and more matches played during a season.The league reserves the right to establish caps to team rosters as the league continues to grow.

3. Each team must have a Captain and Co-Captain who is responsible for scheduling team players for weekly matches, coordinating with other team captains on team line ups, logistics of designated courts, and uploading their team scores on a weekly basis. All Captains and Co-Captains must have at least one phone number listed on the Top Dog website. Those that agree to captain have a responsibility to monitor their emails throughout the league season and to promptly respond to other team captains and league coordinator emails.

4. The Home Team will furnish new or lightly used pickleballs for the matches. GHP recommends the USAPA approved Franklin X-40 or Dura Fast 40 for matches played on concrete whether this surface is played indoors or outdoors or Franklin 26, Onix Pure 2, Onix Fuse for indoor wood surfaces.

5. Playing Site Requirements

The League Coordinator has the right to approve playing sites.

a.Sites must have a minimum of two playable courts to allow two matches to be played simultaneously.

b.Courts and nets should meet standards set per USA Pickleball.

c.It is the responsibility of the Home Team Captain to ensure that two courts are reserved for league matches for stated times for each week during the season.

d.It is the responsibility of the Home Team Captain to ensure there are no scheduling conflicts with their Club’s pickleball coordinator or Head Pro.This should be done as soon as schedule is released.

e.Sites must have a restroom and water available or provide bottled water.Captains are responsible to communicate location of nearest public restroom if restrooms are not available on site.

f.Court fee/guest fee/parking fee must be paid by the Home Team.

6. Schedule

a.Matches are scheduled for Friday mornings at 9AM and 10:30AM.Two designated lines and four matches will be played per each time slot.

b.Captain communication between teams should be done via email for written record of all communications between teams.Cell phones are a secondary choice of communication. Cell phones should be used on day of match if there is an urgency to communicate with the other team.

c.Home Team Captain must contact Visiting Team Captain at least 4 days prior to match (No Later than Monday Noon) to provide line up order per 9AM and 10:30AM.

d.Captains of both teams can work together and agree on another day of the week to play that will work best for their teammates.The agreement must be mutual to both teams.

e.The address for the dedicated courts where the match will take place will be provided to the Visiting Team Captain as well as stating if the courts are indoor or outdoors.

f.Home Team Captain must inform the Visiting Team Captain of any Home Team club dress codes, guest rules or other protocols, if any. Be specific about what is outside food is allowed or spectators.

g.Each team must have a Captain or Co-Captain or designated point player present at every scheduled match.

h.A substitute (a player who is not scheduled to play on the original line-up email) may be used on any match that has not begun play. Any player on a team’s roster may be called up to play as a substitute to fill each of the lines for the match. It shall be the Home Team’s responsibility to ensure that all matches are playing on the proper court.

7. Matches

All teams will show up at the agreed start time for the team match.

a.All players should arrive 15 minutes prior to the beginning of their scheduled match. Check in with their team captains.

b.The first 15 minutes of the designated start time will be allocated to warmup for all scheduled players for that time. Warm up should consist of dinks, baseline hitting and practice services.

c.A player arriving on the court fifteen minutes after the scheduled time shall not be entitled to any warm-up.

d.Late player or players shall be given up to twenty minutes after the scheduled start time to arrive on the court before a default is called.

e.A later or staggered start time is permissible, and all four lines may play at one time (pending court availability) if agreed upon in advance by both Captains. No team will be penalized if they cannot play all four matches at same time.

f.The WINNING TEAM CAPTAIN should report the scores online (TopDog) the day of the match. The losing team Captain should confirm reported scores online.

g.If a match is to be played as a rain make-up or for another valid reason, rescheduling is mandatory.

8. Team Matches will consist of four doubles matches. Each team will consist of men and women to fill the matches.The matches will be

i. Men’s Doubles

ii. Women’s Doubles

iii. Mix Doubles A

iv. Mix Doubles B

a)Each match will begin with determining who wins the first serve and playing side via coin toss, paddle spin, or calling of 1/2 hand signal as agreed by the team captains.

b)Individual matches will be played with rally scoring to 21 points (win by 2).

c)Players will change ends when one team reaches the score of 11 points.

d)Rally scoring will be played until a team reaches 20, at which time the team reaching 20 is subject to a freeze on rally scoring and must score ALL FUTURE POINTS WHILE SERVING.

e)If the trailing team reaches 18, that team too will be subject to a freeze on rally scoring and must score ALL FUTURE POINTS WHILE SERVING.

f)IF both teams are tied 19-19, then both teams are immediately frozen when it becomes 20-19.

g)Winners are determined first by games won. In event there is a tie then a tiebreaker (DreamBreaker™) will be played.

h)Each team is allotted 1 timeout per game up to one minute.

i)Player Change of Side/Serve

a.During the rally scoring, players do not switch sides after winning points.Player A for each team serves and receives on the right side when the score is even, and Player B serves and receives on the left side when the score is odd.

b.A team may choose to switch player sides during a tie-out or end change (at 11 pts).They must inform the opposing team prior to play resuming. A team can only change court position when THEY initiated the timeout.

j)DreamBreaker™ will use the same rally scoring used in games as described above.

a.Immediately following the completion of the last doubles game, and there is a tie, the Home Team will have 1 minute to designate their player rotation and disclose it to the Away Team Captain FIRST.

b.The Away Team will then have 1 minute to create their own player rotation and disclose it to the Home Team Captain.

c.Game is played to 21 with rally scoring and each team must rotate its 4 players for 4 singles rallies in a set order until the DreamBreaker™ is completed.

d.Singles players will serve from the side (left/right) of the court, based on their team score. The player will serve on the right side when the team score is even, and when the team score is odd, the player shall serve from the left side of the court.

e.Teams will change ends when first team reaches the score of 11.

f.Each team is allowed one timeout.

g.No changes to rotation are allowed.

9. Scoring

a. The Server shall announce the game score before the first point of a game and the point score before each subsequent point of the game.

b.Disputes over score shall be resolved by the following:

i.Count all points of the game agreed upon by the players and replay only disputed points.

ii.Play from a score mutually agreeable to all players.

iii.Spin a paddle or toss a coin.

c.Scores should be recorded right after each match concludes. On the score sheet make sure scores are recorded correctly per visitor and home teams.Circle the winning team player names per match.

d.The WINNING TEAM CAPTAIN shall enter all scores for the matches into TopDog website.Please have scores entered by end of day that the matches were played. Losing team captain should verify scores and click acceptance of recorded scores

10. Line Calls/Foot Faults

a. The league will adhere to USA Pickleball Rules for Non-Officiated match play.Here is a link to USA Pickleball rules:https://usapickleball.org/docs/ifp/USA-Pickleball-Rulebook.pdf

b. Non-Officiated Play (USA Pickleball Rules page 56)

b.1. Players call all lines on their side of the court, including NVZ and service foot faults.

b.2. Players may call NVZ faults and service foot faults on the opponent’s side of the court. If there is any disagreement among players about the called fault, a replay shall occur.

b.3 In the spirit of good sportsmanship, players are expected to call faults on themselves as soon as the fault is committed or detected. The fault call must happen before the next serve occurs. For non-officiated matches, if a player believes a player has committed a fault, they may mention the specific fault to the player(s) but have no authority to enforce the fault. The final decision on fault resolution belongs to the player that allegedly committed the fault. A replay shall occur.

11. Default

a.There will be a 20-minute default rule in effect for all scheduled matches.

b.Players are urged to report for their matches at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time.

c.Default time for second round matches will be immediately following completion of first round matches but not before 20 minutes after the scheduled time. For example, default time for a 6 P.M. scheduled match would be 6:20 P.M. This rule must be strictly followed. A default should not be played and is credited to the team having both players present on time.

d.A defaulted match will be scored 11-0, 11-0 to the winning team for each match that was defaulted on league match day.

e.Matches will be defaulted if called late, no shows, and didn’t complete make ups by designated deadline. If a captain cannot fill a line due to player availability, then they must communicate a default with the other captain BEFORE match day so other team can plan accordingly.

f.If a match is defaulted, it will not be rescheduled.

12. Grievances

a.Captains are responsible for the overall match play of their team.Any score or fault disputes should be resolved while all players are present.

b.If any difficulties are encountered, Captains should contact the League Coordinator. If a grievance is to be filed, Captains should not sign off to the score online and notify the League Coordinator.

c.GHP officials may not rule on controversies involving the team they play on.

d.Challenges in the League Championship Final must be made immediately and resolved before the next match.

e.Challenges may be escalated from League Coordinators to Director of Competition to GHP President of Board.

13.Weather.

a. If it is raining: Home Captain must contact Visiting Captain no later than 4:00 P.M. A rainout should be called if, in the reasonable opinion of the Home Captain, the courts will not be playable by 5:30 P.M.

b. If it looks like rain: In questionable weather, teams scheduled for first round matches must be at the Playing Site. Cancellation of matches by Captains should not be made until 30 minutes have passed. If rain occurs after matches have begun, be prepared to wait for 30 minutes to determine if courts become playable. Second round matches will be considered rained out if first round matches cannot begin within 30 minutes of the scheduled start time.

c. If match was defaulted by either captain PRIOR to a rain out being called, then the default will stand and no reschedule will occur.

d. Rained out matches: must be rescheduled at the discretion of both Captains. If mutual agreement cannot be reached, the League Coordinator may select a date. Once a rain makeup is mutually agreed upon and filed with the League Coordinator, teams are committed to play on that scheduled date and time (barring further rain).

i. Rained out matches must be completed by the last date to report scores. In the event of a rainout, the Home Team will advise the League Coordinator on the day of the rain-out.

ii. If some lines have finished: completed matches will stand as played.

iii. If a match was started and is considered an incomplete, the match must be resumed by the same four players at the same score.

14. Rescheduling/ Make up of matches

a. Captains are encouraged to work cooperatively to get all scheduled rained matches played as soon as possible.

b. All rescheduled matches must be played at courts furnished by the Home Team unless a change of location is agreed upon by captains.

c. Captains are encouraged to work cooperatively to get all scheduled matches for the season played by the deadline.The deadline will be posted on the GHP League website.The proposed deadline will be the last scheduled Open date listed on the calendar.

d. If matches cannot be completed by the last open date posted then the match is defaulted by the designated Away team.

15. Cold Policy Match play may be rescheduled if the actual temperature (without consideration of the wind chill factor) at the home team’s courts is less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit at NOON on the day of a scheduled match.If a match is postponed due to cold weather, a make-up match must be scheduled in accordance with the rain make-up rules, above.

16. Sportsmanship is essential.Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated. The League Coordinator under the advisement of the Board may penalize a player or team that displays unsportsmanlike conduct. All protests of any breach of the Code of Conduct must be submitted in writing within 2 days of the scheduled match being protested. The League Coordinator will investigate all allegations made with the full cooperation of all involved. The league wishes to encourage a competitive spirit among the teams, the league wants to ensure that competition between teams is fair.

17. League Championship Finals

a. Eligibility players must be on the roster from the date that rosters close as stated above.Players who participate in the championship finals must have played one match during the regular season.

b. Format of championship finals Fall 2023.After the last day of competition, the top two teams will be announced based on total matches won, games won as tracked in TopDog.

I.The two teams will meet at a designated location TBD by Director of Competition. There will be a total of four matches played.

II.Each team captain will fill the following matches:

a.Men’s Doubles

b.Women’s Doubles

c.Mixed Doubles (A)

d.Mixed Doubles (B)

e.If needed DreamBreaker™

III.Games will be rally scoring and first to 21 win by two.

IV.USA Pickleball rules apply.

V.Score sheets will be provide for each match. Scores are to be recorded and turned into the League Coordinator or designated GHP official upon completion of each match.

VI.After the four matches are played, IF a tie occurs will play DreamBreaker™

VII.The Championship winning team will be decided after tiebreaker match.

MPL Style Cheat Sheet

Format is 4 games played:

1 Womens Doubles

1 Mens Doubles

2 Mixed Doubles

Rally Scoring

EVERY RALLY RESULTS IN A SCORE until a freeze is reached.

-Each Game played to 21pts lead by 2

-Players stay on same side of court for duration of game

-Players can change side of court only during :

-Their team initiates time out

-at the end change (when first team reaches 11pt)

-Must announce to other team they are changing player court position.

-Change ends when first team reaches 11

-Each team has 1 one minute timeout per game

-First team to reach 20 will freeze rally scoring and have to win point on their serve

-Trailing team reaches 18 then they will freeze rally scoring and have to win points on their serve

DreamBreaker™

After 4 games played and there is a tie then a DreamBreaker™ played

-Captains designate their player rotation lineup they will play the tiebreaker.

-Home captains share their lineup to visiting team captain FIRST.

-Play game to 21pt lead by 2 (same rally scoring) and each player plays their position in the rotation for 4 singles points at a time until game is won

-Server position is based on the score.

-EVEN score serves on Right Side

-ODD score serves on Left Side