RULES
GURU
We’d Like to Hear From You!
Send your questions to [email protected].
By Bob Unetich
USA PICKLEBALL-CERTIFIED REFEREE
Q: Dear Guru,
Why do some round robin brackets end
after each team has played every other team in
the bracket while in other age or skill brackets,
the winners of a round robin must then play
in single or double elimination matches to win
a medal?
A: In regular round robins, all teams play each
other. This works fine when there aren’t too
many teams, but in large brackets—such as
those with more than five or six teams—every
team must play more matches than they might
prefer, or more than the event can schedule
on the available courts. In those cases, the
teams that register can be divided up into
smaller groups or “pools” that play each other
in round robins. The winners of each “pool”
then play each other in a fairly quick nonround
robin competition.
Q: Dear Guru,
According to Rule 4.A.8., a “server must
serve to the correct service court,” but the
next rule (4.A.9.) says that it is a point “if a
serve clears the net and then touches the
receiver or the receiver’s partner.” Does the
server get a point even if the receiver’s partner
is standing outside of the service court?
A: Yes. It’s not possible to say definitely
where a ball in flight might land, so if it hits
the receiver or a receiver’s partner, it was
prevented from hitting the playing surface,
regardless of where the player’s feet happened
to be at that moment and the server earns
a point.
Hey Guru,
Q: What is the difference between a non-sanctioned,
MMO, MMP and a fully sanctioned tournament?
A: While many tournaments may have no affiliation with
the USA Pickleball Association, players and tournament
directors benefit from having an event “sanctioned” by
the organization since players get more accurate bracketing
and seeding in sanctioned tournaments. This is because
Tournament Player Ratings (UTPR) are used and the results of
a tournament are used to adjust player ratings with heavier
weighting than non-sanctioned events.
Also, tournament directors of sanctioned tournaments
are covered by USA Pickleball insurance and they are able to
get support from the organization’s tournament sanctioning
staff. The different types of sanctioning relate to which
matches require referees. Those requirements changed
in early 2020, so I asked Karen Parrish, the USA Pickleball
Director of Competition, to help me understand the
differences. Here is Karen’s explanation:
“Fully sanctioned tournaments must have referees for all
matches. MMP stands for Medal Match Plus, meaning medal
matches and select other matches must be officiated for
the event to be sanctioned. The original name was MMO—
Medal Match Only. The MMP option allows USA Pickleball
sanctioning for tournaments that are new or previously nonsanctioned
and these tournaments can be National Qualifiers
or non-National Qualifier events.
In any MMP tournament, all medal matches in a single or
double elimination bracket, plus the two matches leading up
to the medal matches, must have referees. In the single or
double elimination format, this means that the final match in
the winners bracket and the match leading up to the bronze
medal match in the consolation bracket must have refs.
National Qualifier MMP tournaments must also include
referees for all main draw matches at the 4.0 level and
above. After the second year, the Tournament Director of an
MMP National Qualifier must apply for full sanctioning for
the tournament for it to continue to be considered a USA
Pickleball National Qualifying tournament.”
Tournament players have asked tournament directors
and USA Pickleball for ratings that are accurate, and
the organization has responded by instituting the UTPR and
by enabling different types of sanctioning.
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