pickleball 'LADDER' rules

general league rules:

LEAGUE FORMAT:

90 MINUTES EVERY WEEK FOR TEAMS TO PLAY TWO MATCHES (45-MINUTE TIME LIMIT EACH MATCH).
- 2-MATCHES IN BEST-OF-3 GAME FORMAT.
  - GAME #1 = FIRST TO 11 POINTS (WIN BY TWO).
  - GAME #2 = FIRST TO 11 POINTS (WIN BY TWO).
  - GAME #3 = FIRST TO 7 POINTS (WIN BY TWO).
winning teams are awarded one point toward overall standings.
forfeits and subs:
- a forfeit is a week where a FULL TEAM does not show up OR does not have substitutes show up for them.
  - forfeits will play a huge part in standing as it is the #2 tie-breaker.
- it is strongly encouraged that any TEAM THAT cannot make a match or an entire day to find subS or let staff know so we can TRY TO find a replacement for you
THERE ARE 6 REGULAR SEASONS WEEKS; 12 TOTAL REGULAR SEASON MATCHES.
THE FINAL WEEK (WEEK 7) IS RESERVED FOR PLAYOFFS.

GAME PLAY

Serving

Stance: You must serve from behind the baseline.
Method: The serve must be hit underhand, and the contact point must be below the server's waist.
Placement: The serve must be hit diagonally across the court into the opponent's service box, clearing the non-volley zone.
Attempts: Only one serve attempt is allowed.

The two-bounce rule

Initial serve: The receiving team must let the serve bounce once before returning it.
Second bounce: The serving team must also let the return shot bounce once before they hit it.
After the bounces: After the ball has bounced once on each side, players can either hit the ball out of the air (volley) or let it bounce again

The non-volley zone ("the kitchen")

The non-volley zone is the area on both sides of the net.
No volleying: You cannot hit the ball out of the air while standing in the non-volley zone or on the non-volley line.
Groundstrokes are okay: It is permissible to hit the ball after it bounces while you are in the non-volley zone.

Scoring and faults

Scoring: Only the serving team can score points.
Winning a point: A point is scored when the opponent fails to return the ball legally (e.g., hits it out of bounds, into the net, or commits a fault).
Winning the game: The first team to reach 11 points, with a two-point lead, wins the game.
Faults: A fault is a violation of the rules, such as stepping into the kitchen to volley or hitting the ball out of bounds. A fault ends the rally.

PLAYOFFS:

All TEAMS make the playoffs.
Teams are seeded according to standings and play in their similar skill bracket.
THE FINAL WEEK (WEEK 7) IS RESERVED FOR PLAYOFFS.

MISCELLANEOUS RULES:

Subs/replacements are allowed during the regular season; make sure they create a website account.
Any dishonest behavior will not be tolerated and could lead to expulsion from the league as well as forfeiture.
If any rule(s) needs updating, insertion, or clarification throughout the season gr rec sports reserves the right to do so. If you notice any of this, please contact the GR Rec Sports staff and they will make a judgement call and inform the league of these updates.

FORFEITS:

IF A TEAM OR SINGLE PLAYER FROM A TEAM IS NOT PRESENT FOR 10-MINUTES AT THE START OF ANY GAME, THEY FORFEIT THAT GAME.

STANDINGS:

The updated standings will be posted weekly by the staff within 24 hours after the last game.

WAIVERS:

In order to participate in the league, each participant must agree to the online waiver.

SPORTSMANSHIP:

The idea of GR Rec Sports is to have fun, stay active, and meet new friends. We hope that all participants keep that in mind when becoming involved. Although some games may become more intense, you still can be competitive while maintaining good sportsmanship. With this said, any behavior deemed unacceptable by staff may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or the league itself - without refund.
Sportsmanship goes beyond how you act on the field/court. any disruptions at our sponsored bars will also not be tolerated and can be subject to suspension and/or ejection from the league without refund.
Any team that consistently misses games and/or 'no-call no-show' games are subject to ejection from the league without refund. We value our league and its players’ time; we consider this unacceptable.

LEAGUE CANCELLATION/RAINOUT:

Gr rec sports seasons normally run 7-weeks long. We also include a one-week buffer in-between seasons in case there is severe weather, and any rescheduling needs to take place.
in the case that any games are missed, those games will be added to the end of the schedule.
League games may be cancelled due to many reasons, flooded fields, dangerous weather conditions, facility constraints, etc.
GR Rec Sports and its staff always make our best effort to play all scheduled games - we won’t cancel games until absolutely necessary.
If games are cancelled, gr rec sports staff will reach out immediately to inform all team captains via text. (in some cases, if staff isn’t already at the fields and away from the computer, we can email the entire league).
if any game is over halfway completed (30-min+) and the game must abruptly end (due to lightning or other dangerous acts of God) the final score will be recorded as the score of the last full inning. (Excluding championship, if there is time left, we will try and make up the remainder of the game on a later date.)
IF THE GAME ENDS BEFORE THE 30-MIN MARK, THE GAME DOES NOT COUNT IN W/L STANDINGS, BUT we will record the "POINTS for" (Pf) and "points against" (PA) to the standings. (These scores will be taken from the last full inning, making it fair so both teams had the same number of at-bats.
If a regular season game (weeks 1-5) is cancelled, we will move that week to the end of the season and utilize week-8 (the buffer week). However, if a playoff week is cancelled, week-8 will be used to make up those games instead and the previously rescheduled regular season week, resulting in a shortened schedule. We will always do our best to give the players all 7 games, but in extreme circumstances, when there are 2+ weeks of cancellations we may not be able to fit all games into our season window.

PRIZES and end-of-year awards:

League Champs and players that podium will receive:

1. some swag (either championship t-shirts, water bottles, individual trophies, hats, hoodies, etc.)
2. a pair of grand rapids gold basketball tickets (good for any reg. season game).
3. A gold, silver, or bronze pickleball trophy badge on your profile.
4. pride - who doesn’t love that feeling.
special awards and prizes that other league members/teams may receive:
1. Badges – we award badges for: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, social champions (5th place), Most Social Team & Player, & biggest 'bar star'.

Lastly

IF you are expecting to miss the day, PLEASE LET A STAFF MEMBER, umpire, or photographer KNOW, OR CONTACT THE LEAGUE before the day starts so we can find you a fill in or sub:

EMAIL: contact@grrecsports.com

call or text (616) 485-9046.

Nobody likes wasting their time and money; this simple gesture will go a long way!

IF ALL PLAYERS ON THE ABSENT TEAM FAIL TO INFORM THE LEAGUE; A “NO-CALL NO-SHOW” BADGE may BE GIVEN TO ALL PLAYERS ON THAT TEAM.