Part of being in any community is a shared sense of the rules and what’s right. On the court, we are all governed by a set of rules that make pickleball fun and engaging. Yet off the court, many of the places where pickleball is played is more similar to being part of anarchy where everyone is left to define their own rules with the hope that everyone shares the same perspective. The more people that are involved, the more varied and nuanced those perspectives are.
What would you do?
When a game is over and there are 3 people waiting, what is the right way to bring in those new players? Winners stay and split? 3 off, 1 stays on? Pistols at 10 paces? Something else?
What about when 4 people are waiting? While it may make sense to do a total switch, this does nothing to switch up play and make it so groups are intermingling.
What about when 2 groups break simultaneously?
Because there is a lack of shared understanding of what should be done, it often creates bad feelings. There are also times when people try to take charge of the situation and enforce their perspective even if it may not be the majority view.
A much better approach would be to agree on the appropriate guidelines outside of the context of play so that we can develop a shared understanding of how to act in almost any situation. (there will always be the 1-off that you just can’t plan for)
What is the acceptable protocol for the following?
- 1 person waiting
- 2 people waiting
- 3 people waiting
- 4 people waiting
- 5 or more people waiting
Now answer those questions if 2 courts break at the same time.
I’ll bet with almost certainty that your view of the protocol differs from mine or someone else’s.
Let’s start the discussion
Lining up paddles can be a thing, but I see so many shenanigans going on with this that without an armed guard, that I often think this creates more bad feelings than solved problems.
Additionally, how do you deal with the group that feels that the rules don’t apply to them?
The purpose of this post is not to define the rules, but to start a conversation that helps the area mature and grow as a community. Please discuss this amongst your friends and fellow players and feel free to post ideas here. I think together we can start to establish a shared etiquette that most of us align on which will make the playing experience far less dramatic and stressful.
I’m sure that these aren’t new challenges that haven’t been thought through by folks in other communities. But, communities are dynamic and highly nuanced, so it’s up to us to either agree that this isn’t an issue or to agree on what we can do to make it less of an issue for our community.
Are there other situations we need to address? If so, let me know via a comment below.
I’m very interested to hear your thoughts on this since in my opinion, it’s one of the biggest challenges we face as a community.
Thanks for starting this conversation. Most of the time we do winners split and 2 people come in but yesterday w e found everyone had played with or against everyone else then it turned into who would get stuck with the rank beginner in a supposedly intermediate open play session A couple of unhappy people at the end. So you are correct about the proverbial monkey wrench ? I also witnessed the paddle switch at a different open play twice by the same person. This is just unacceptable
This is a great discussion to have. It is always unclear what to do. I did notice recently that when 4 on and off was only getting the same 4 to play and not mixing it up. Then if 2 courts opened , it was a scramble to remix with not many people sure of what to do. Then their is the “only want to play with certain people” that goes on so when you walk on , the eye roll or energy leaves you to turn around. Even with the whiteboard people were putting “favorites “!together. So what’s the solution?
Depending on how many courts we have and how many levels are present, we try to do the following.
Open play for the first hour. All levels play together. This way players have a chance to “play up”. Then we dedicate 1 or more courts for 3.5 and up depending on how many fit that level. We may also have a beginners court. Sometimes we ask them to divide themselves. To be realistic and decide if they are in the top half or lower half and have separate paddle lineups. Games are best if all 4 players are close in level. No one gets picked on and the games stay competitive. But, some days everyone is so close they can play every game together. If we have a lot waiting (10 or more) we play games to 9 points or maybe 7. We used to do winners stay and can stay together or split and non winners sit. 2 players come in off the bench. We noticed the same players were always sitting after one game. So we changed to winners stay only for the first game and then everyone gets to play 2 games in a row regardless of a win. If you are waiting and want to play on a different court than the one that opens you can wait and let the paddle behind you go first. So you can go backwards but not jump ahead. Games generally take about 15 minutes and if you have more than 1 court our players wait for the next game weather we have 1, 2, 3, or 10 waiting. No system is perfect and you will never make everyone happy. I’m not nearby but I get this newsletter and this is just how we do things and I thought I’d share. ? Paddle up!
Thanks, Denise. For those that don’t know, Denise is the District USAPA Ambassador for NJ & Eastern PA out of Cherry Hill.
Three wishes for the New Year:
Wish One: To have the advanced players, or “gunslingers” as we affectionately refer to them at Harrison Avenue, accept that “Open Play” means just that and that there is value in playing with less capable players.
Wish Two: To remind some beginners that, although they certainly have as much right to court time as anyone else, they are also obligated to put in the time on their own to improve their skills. It is fairly easy to find a tennis court and practice putting a serve into the proper cross-court section.
Wish Three: To the club owners … don’t get greedy. Five dollars per person per court hour is fair. Colts Neck Racquet Club really has it together. They announce their pickleball sessions in advance, encourage folks to call in and sign up and provide as many lined courts as needed for the session. They will call those who registered before the session if not enough players sign up and (at this Sunday’s session) had a young man keep track of paddles for an orderly “winner/loser” system of play for the 24 attending.
Wish Four: Pickleball should be a way to de-stress, not cause stress. Exercise, enjoyment of the sport and socialization are positive and therapeutic goals.
Some great recommendations in the discussion about how to make it fair. I like the idea of splitting the winners and lowering the scoring to 9 or 7 so the games go quicker. Another thing I don’t get is the idea of just sitting and waiting. I’m out to be active and have fun so I never just sit. There are a lot of warm-ups, dynamic stretching and simple drills you can do without hitting a ball- while you are waiting (you may have to walk off the court area a few paces so you’re not distracting the players). The time goes by much quicker and you are still warmed up when it’s your turn again.
Personally I enjoy the opportunity to play “down” as it gives me and opportunity to practice dinks and third shots. Sometimes reverse discrimination happens and I am told to go over to my own group🤣I would love if my club would initiate the first hour as open. I think the advanced players would benefit as much as the beginner intermediate as the emphasis would be less on winning and more on finesse and placement.
I recently had the opportunity to play with a club pro who never hit the ball hard and crushed us with dinks and third shot drops that broke my back. It was my aha moment for sure!