Game Format
- All Pickleball Leagues are doubles format; teams will play with two players on the court.
- All Pickleball Leagues are double opponent; teams will play two matches per night against different opponents.
- All Pickleball Leagues use an Event Coordinator (EC).
- All Pickleball Leagues are self-officiated.
- Pickleball leagues use a weekly time slot that ranges from 1.5 to 2.0 hours.
- Each match consists of a best-of-three game format;
- Game 1 - first team to 15 points (must win by two to a max of 21)
- Game 2 - first team to 15 points (must win by two to a max of 21)
- Game 3 (if necessary) - first team to 11 points (must win by two to a max of 15)
Season Length
- All 9 Week Pickleball Leagues use the following structure:
- 8 weeks of seeding / regular season games (16 total matches).
- Seeding round is dependent on the number of teams registered.
- 1 week of playoff games (2 total matches).
- 8 weeks of seeding / regular season games (16 total matches).
- All 8 Week Pickleball Leagues use the following structure:
- 7 weeks of seeding / regular season games (14 total matches).
- Seeding round is dependent on the number of teams registered.
- 1 week of playoff games (2 total matches).
- 7 weeks of seeding / regular season games (14 total matches).
- There may be instances where byes are scheduled due to facility availability, meaning the season may be played over 9-12 total weeks.
- In rare cases, games may be played on Long Weekends or Holidays.
Playoffs
- Playoff Format:
- All teams are guaranteed 2 playoff matches.
- Only the Top 4 teams will compete for the League Championship.
- League champs will receive t-shirts that can be picked up from the Season-end Party.
- There are no ties in the Playoffs:
- If time is called, the team who has won the most games wins the match.
- A minimum of 5 total points must be played in any game for it to count.
- If both teams have won the same number of games:
- The team with the higher point differential wins the match.
- If teams are tied in point-differential, one additional tie-breaker point must be played.
Rosters
Format | Ideal Roster Size (F) = Female |
Total # of Players Required on the Court |
Min # of Females Required on the Court |
Max # of M/X Allowed on the Court |
---|---|---|---|---|
Co-Ed | 2 (1 F) | 2 | 1 | 1 |
- Legends 35+ Pickleball Leagues require that all players be at least 35 years of age prior to the start of the current season.
- When registering a full team, there is no limit to the maximum number of players teams can have on their roster.
- Prior to the first game of the season, teams must have 2 players confirmed on the roster in MyESSC. This number is equal to the total number of players required on the court in the above chart.
- If the minimum amount of confirmed roster players is not met, the team will receive a loss for every game played until the requirement is met.
- Prior to the first playoff game, teams must have all players who are playing in the playoff game(s) displayed as part of the confirmed roster in MyESSC.
- If this requirement is not met, teams will receive an automatic loss and will not be eligible for the championship.
- A team may bring in subs that are not listed on the roster. To learn more about the sub policies, click here.