Welcome to Garden State Pickleball!

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The goal of the Garden State Pickleball League is to facilitate fun, competitive play across all levels. 

Captains: Captains will be responsible for putting together the line-up each week. For each week, the top ranked players will play on the first two courts and the bottom level players will play on the bottom two courts. Captains or co-captains will be responsible for entering scores into pickleballscores.com. Scores will not be reported to DUPR. Please arrive 10 minutes before the match begins to share line-ups with the opposing team.

Match Play: Matches will begin at the the designated time and last for 90 minutes. Each match will consist of 2 rounds of play. Each match will be best 2 of 3 games. Each match will have a 15 minute set-up/warm-up period with game playing beginning promptly at 15 minutes after the designated start time. 

Clock: Prior to match start, all four players will agree on a time clock that they will follow for their match.

Late Players: If a player arrives after the 15 minute warm-up period, they will not be allowed to have a warm-up. After 20 minutes (and 1 second)of being late, they will forfeit the first game of their first match. After 30 minutes (and 1 second) they will forfeit the first match. At that time, please continue friendly play until it is time to switch.

Serving Order: The Home team will serve the first game of the the match while the visitors will choose the side they would like to begin playing on. Visiting team will serve the second game of the match. If there is a need for a third game, the Home team will begin serve for the third game. Switch sides after each game.

Scoring: Games will be played to 11 points and must be won by two points. In the event of a tie when time runs out, a sudden death rally scoring point will be played. The winner of that point will win the game, regardless of who served the ball.

Match One: Match one will consist of the best of 3 games. Courts 1 & 2 of the Home team will play Courts 1 & 2 of the Away team. Courts 3 & 4 of the Home team will play against Courts 3 & 4 of the Away team. If your match finishes early, please continue friendly play until time to switch.

Break: Match 1 will end at 45 minutes past the designated start time. At this time, all play will stop and players will switch. Players are responsible for watching the clock and knowing when it it is time to switch. The team ahead when time runs out will be the winner of that game. There is 5 minutes allowed for switching and bathroom breaks.  Please record first round scores at this time.

Match Two: Match 2 two will consist of the best of 3 games. Court 1 of the Home team will play Court 2 of the Away team. Court 3 of the Home team will play Court 4 of the Away team and vice versa. If your match finishes early, please continue friendly play until time to switch.

Time-Outs: There will be one :30 second time-out allowed per team, per game.

Forfeits: Our goal is for everyone to play as much as possible during their designated matches. Here are the 3 steps to dealing with forfeits: 1) Check your subs, 2) Contact Kim and Kelley by text so that we may check the universal sub list, ) Contact opposing captains and see if any of their players/subs are available to play for fun. If a fourth court cannot be filled, then the two teams that played in round 1 will play each other again in round 2. The team that did NOT forfeit will be awarded points for both rounds on that forfeited court. Please reach out as soon as possible when you know you are going to be short a player. 

Score Disputes: You must go back to the last score that both teams agree on.   

Please refer to the USA Pickleball Rule Book for all other pickleball rules and regulations at https://usapickleball.org/what-is-pickleball/official-rules/

1. To not engage in unsportsmanlike conduct or encourage others to do so.

2. To not engage in any behavior that would endanger the health, safety, or well-being of self or others.

3. To not engage in any behavior that would result in damage to property used for GSPL leagues or events.

4. To not engage in the use of malicious profanity, offensive language, or ethnic slurs.

5. To treat others with respect and compassion and abstain from conduct intended to humiliate, threaten, or intimidate others.

6. To exhibit fairness and honesty in dealing with situations and others.

7. To not use the GSPL logo, documents, records, or materials for personal gain or in any situation or manner that is not authorized by the owners of the GSPL.

8. To uphold a policy of zero tolerance for convictions involving fraud, sexual abuse, discrimination, or harassment.

9. Provide a drug and alcohol-free environment.

10. To act in an ethical manner so that good emerges from the organization.

The GSPL will take prompt and appropriate action in response to potential violations of the Code of Conduct. Once a complaint has been placed, the GSPL will initially analyze it and may meet privately with the complainant to understand the complaint in more detail. Following a fact-finding phase, the GSPL will review the complaint and propose a response. If the complaint is well-founded, any of the following corrective actions may be imposed in writing to the offender(s).

• Warning

• Letter of reprimand

• Removal from league activities