YOUR
CLUB’S
ORGANIZED
PLAY
BY AJ FRATIES
W
hile increasing member participation and engagement
with your club can also be improved through
social venues, special events, clinics, other club training
and tournaments, probably the greatest way to improve
participation is to “simply” provide more organized
opportunities for members to play, both recreationally and
competitively. Thus providing more and varied opportunities
for organized play can be very important to your club.
What kinds of organized play are there? Truly there are many,
but here are a few we like.
1. Round-Robins (RRs) are the backbone of most clubs,
taking sometimes more than 50% of the time slots available.
They give players a chance to play against many others in
a predictable time frame. One typical variation is played
across six games in a two-hour block. To start, each player
is assigned a number and a posted sheet then assigns the
player, each game, to a different court, a particular side and
a partner. Over six games you will play with and against
(typically) 12-15 different players. Benefits to this are
near‑constant play, opportunities to play against/with many
different folks, and predictability of knowing you will have
a solid two-hour block of play at a designated time. RRs are
often segmented by skill levels, either separated by gender
or mixed, and can be competitive (club or USAPA ratings
required) or more recreational (self-rated). Another great
use of a RR is to ensure that newly trained players have an
appropriate venue to play and hook up with other newer
players. We often provide mentors at those RRs to help the
new kids learn the game quickly and focus on fundamentals.
RRs can also be used, with varying success, as “feeds” into
your rating system...e.g. In the Bend Pickleball Club, on
specific competitive RRs, scores are kept and those who
have point tallies that are at 92% of points available across
50
multiple RRs over time are offered the opportunity to play
at the club’s next highest level.
2. Shootouts and Ladder Play are competitive in design. A
Shootout is a form of RR (see above) in which points are
tracked during the event, people are assigned to a court
based on past performance, people play against each other
on a given court over three games, and afterwards the three
the players shift up a court or down a court. Scores are
tracked and each event players may shift up or down. Ladder
Play is designed to have people play against each other
within a skill group, rankings are kept and the objective is to
win matches and move up the ladder if possible.
3. Team Pickleball and Speed Pickleball (Thanks to Dave
and Linda Scott, USAPA Ambassadors for Chesterfield
County, VA, for their detailed explanation!) These variations
are what their names imply...ways to organize and run team
play and also a venue for rapid play against lots of folks in a
controlled block of time.
4. Challenge-Court Play is designed to allow people to
self-select who they are going to play against next. Often a
team format, two people will pick a court that has a likely
game where they could compete, challenge in, and play the
winners. Rules are established dictating how long winners
can stay on a court; during busy times perhaps they come off
after two games but this varies. This is often one of the most
popular venues for those looking to increase their skills.
There are certainly many other forms of organized play,
and they all have lots of upside. What are the downsides? The
organization time needed to schedule and provide all of these
venues, the volunteers necessary to host (captain) the various
events, and so on. All of these are different subjects and will be
covered later. Good luck and Play On! •
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