GENERAL

WAIVER OF LIABILITY

• All participants must agree to the waiver of liability. 
• The waiver can be accepted on each participant player’s dashboard. 
• A waiver must be signed for each league that is participated in.
• All participants in the league assume the risk of injury. The PSL, its volunteers, and employees shall not be liable for injury to person, loss or damage to personal property arising from or in any way resulting from participation in the league.

SPORTSMANSHIP

• Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated.
• Any behavior that is deemed violent, harassing, and/or inappropriate in any way, as witnessed by the umpire, referee, or PUMP/PSL staff, will result in the actions outlined in our Sportsmanship Policy.
• A player who is ejected from a match must leave the premises immediately. Play will not resume until the ejected player has left.
• Officials reserve the right to end a match at any point if the overall sportsmanship is out of line.
• Captains are to be the team liaison to discuss any call or rule with an official during match play.

TEAMS

SUBMITTING A ROSTER

• Each team must submit a roster with a minimum of 2 and maximum of 4 players.
• No player may register for more than 1 team within the same league.
• Rosters must be submitted and a waiver form must be signed before any player may take the court.
• Rosters must be finalized and no changes are allowed after the third week of play.
• A player who is not on your roster and/or has not signed a waiver form may not play in the league.
• Only rostered players will be eligible for playoffs.

PLAYERS

• A team consists of 2 players.
  • Teams may use any combination of genders to make up their team.
• A team may pick up 1 player from another PSL team in the league to avoid forfeit.
  • If rostered players arrive late, they must be immediately inserted into the game for the substitute players.
  • You cannot pick up substitute players for playoffs.

FORFEITS

• Teams must submit a forfeit form when they are unable to play.
  • A score of 11-0 will be given to the opposing team.
  • Teams forfeiting 2 or more times during the regular season will be ineligible for playoffs.

MATCH SCHEDULE

START TIME

• All matches will start at their scheduled time.
• If a team does not have enough players to start the first game of the match by 10 minutes after the match’s scheduled start time, they will forfeit the first game.
• If a second player arrives between 11 and 15 minutes after the scheduled start time, the second and third games of the match will be played as scheduled.
• Once 15 minutes after the scheduled start time has passed, the match is recorded as a forfeit and the teams are allowed to use the remaining time to practice or organize a pickup game.

MATCH LENGTH

• Regulation match play will consist of 3 games, each played to 11 points, win by 2.
• Scores should be submitted immediately after the game.
  • If a team cannot remember the scores of the specific games of the match a 11-7 score will be given
• Each team gets 1 timeout per game.
  • Each timeout is 30 seconds.

RULES

PLAYING FIELD

• The field of play is rectangular, 44 feet long by 20 feet wide, divided into 2 halves by a center dividing net. 
• Each half has a line that is 7 feet away and parallel with the net.
• This indicates a no-volley zone, also known as the Kitchen.

MATCH PLAY

• Before the start of the match, the home team will choose whether they’d like to serve first, or which side of the court they prefer.
  • The home team is the team listed on the bottom of the match schedule, and each team will have four (4) home matches during the regular season.
• All serves must be made underhand, below the waist, and diagonally toward the opponent’s service court
• Drop serves are legal.
• Serves must cross the non-volley line on the opponent's side.
• If the serve lands in the non-volley zone or on the non-volley line, it is considered a fault and the other team gets the ball.
• The server must be positioned behind the baseline and on their quadrant of the court.
• Only one serve attempt is allowed.
• Let serves are legal and should be played.
• When the ball is served, the receiving team must let it bounce before returning, and then the serving team must let it bounce before returning – this is called the double bounce rule.
• After the ball has bounced once in each team’s court, both teams may either hit the ball before it bounces or play it off a bounce.
• A ball contacting any line, except the non-volley zone line on a serve, is considered in.
  • A serve contacting the non-volley zone line is short and a fault.
• A point is scored if the returning team fails to return the ball or if the returning team commits a fault.
  • Points are only scored by the serving team.
• A fault by the receiving team results in a point for the serving team.
• A fault by the serving team results in the server’s loss of serve or side out.
• A fault is any action that stops play because of a rule violation.
  • The ball is hit into the net on the serve or any return.
  • The ball is volleyed before a bounce has occurred on each side.
  • The ball is hit out of bounds.
  • A ball is volleyed from the non-volley zone.
  • A ball bounces twice before being struck by the receiver.
  • A player, player’s clothing, or any part of a player’s paddle touches the net or the net post when the ball is in play.
  • There is a violation of a service rule.
  • A ball in play strikes a player or anything the player is wearing or carrying.
  • A ball in play strikes any permanent object before bouncing on the court.
• The non-volley zone is the court area within 10ft on both sides of the net.
• Volleying is prohibited within the non-volley zone.
  • This rule prevents players from executing smashes from a position within the zone.
• It is a fault if, after volleying, a player is carried by momentum into or touches the non-volley zone, even if the volleyed ball is declared dead before this happens.
• It is a fault if, when volleying a ball, the player steps on the non-volley zone, including the line and/or when the player’s momentum causes them or anything they are wearing or carrying to touch the non-volley zone including the associated lines.
• A player may legally be in the non-volley zone any time other than when volleying a ball.

EQUIPMENT

• Athletic shoes suitable for court play are required.
• PSL will provide nets and pickleballs for teams.
  • Only pickleballs provided by PSL (thanks, GAMMA!) may be used for PSL match play.
• Players must provide their own pickleball paddles.

PLAYOFFS

SEEDINGS

• Playoff matches will consist of a best-of-three set series.
• The first team to win 2 sets will win the match.
• Playoff seeds are based on win/loss record on total games won, not matches won.
• The number of teams to qualify for playoffs will vary from season to season based on the number of teams registered.
• Teams forfeiting 2 or more times during the regular season will be ineligible for playoffs.
•  

TIEBREAKERS

• All teams tied in the standings will use the following tiebreakers, in order, to determine seeding:
  • Most regular season games won
  • Head to head record
  • Least points allowed
  • Most points scored
  • Coin toss

3-way tiebreakers: When 3 or more teams are tied all teams involved must be able to be seeded using the same tiebreaker, as opposed to knocking a team out and then returning to the top of the tiebreaker list. Tiebreakers will be applied until all teams that are tied can be seeded using the same tiebreaker. If the teams involved in the tie did not play one another in an even number of matches during the regular season, then head-to-head record will be skipped and we will move to determine seeds using least points allowed.