1. Advancing Your Pickleball Program
Shane Wampler, CPRP
City of Omaha

2. Learning Objectives Strategies for growing your program
Number of players
Number/Variety of offerings
Skill of individual players
Strategies for organizing and implementing tournaments
Strategies for identifying and correcting common problem behaviors with open Pickleball play.

3. My Pickleball Story

4. Disclaimers Not a formula Not one size fits all Not a magic bullet
For organizations already offering Pickleball

5. Growing Your Program

6. Growing Your Program Number of Players
Advertise
Back to basics
Senior centers
School districts
Colleges/Universities

7. Growing Your Program Number of Players

8. Growing Your Program Number of Players

9. Growing Your Program Number of Players

10. Growing Your Program Number of Players

11. Growing Your Program Number of Players
Back to basics
Re-launch your program
Create new flyers/advertisements
Press release, local TV
Free hands-on demo/practice session(s)

12. Growing Your Program Number of Players
Look in Unlikely Places
Senior Centers
Seniors are looking for involvement and activity
Run a clinic/how-to-play classes
School districts
Talk with P.E. teachers
Offer to teach a clinic or connect with an ambassador
Colleges/Universities
Work/Connect with Campus Recreation professionals
Intramural leagues
Tournaments

13. Growing Your Program Number/Variety of Offerings
Ask yourself these questions:
Are there days/times that Pickleballers want to play, but aren’t able to?
Are there days/times in my current facility that are under-utilized?
Do I have access to a facility that is being under-utilized?
Can I partner with another organization/facility in my area that could host Pickleball?
If facility is fully booked:
Is there a program that hasn’t being performing well?

14. Growing Your Program Number/Variety of Offerings
Change/Add new times
League play formats
Traditional leagues
Ladder leagues
Shootouts/Round Robins
King/Queen of the court
Team/Travel Pickleball

15. League Play Formats Traditional Leagues
Sign up with a partner
Play a set schedule for a certain number of weeks
Overall W/L records or post-season tournament decides winner
Men’s, women’s and/or mixed doubles
Pros:
Can generate revenue
Illustrates demand for more formal play options
Provides more competitive environment for players
Cons:
Requires commitment
Scheduling can be problematic
Can run on specific days/times each week or individuals can be responsible for completing match up and then reporting scores each week

16. League Play Formats Ladder League
Designate days/times
Players play with/against all others in a 4-5 person group
Individual points scored are recorded
Scores over time and ratings are used to rank and group players for each session
Pros: Matches players by skill more accurately; Good for more competitive groups
Cons: New players will undergo big swings

17. League Play Formats Shootouts/Round Robins
Similar to ladder play
Players play with/against all others in a 4-5 person group (3 or 4 matches)
Top players will move “up” a court, bottom players will move “down a court
2nd round of 3-4 matches
Scores are recorded for future play
Pros:
More matches
Get to play with more/different people
Groups players by skill
Cons:
Takes longer
Difficult for facilities with few courts
Difficult for smaller clubs

18. League Play Formats King/Queen of the Court
Variation of ladder/shootout play
Courts are initially seeded by previous results
Each person plays with/against all others on court
Top 2 players move up a court and split
Bottom 2 players move down a court and split
Repeat process for length of play session
Scores can be recorded for future sessions

19. League Formats Team Pickleball
Teams of 12 – 6 men and 6 women
3 matches of men’s and women’s doubles
6 mixed doubles matches
Each match 2 out of 3
Overall match wins decides team winner
Group of 16 players
Best 4 players draft their teams among other 12
#1 pairs play 3 other #1’s
#2 pairs play 3 other #2’s
Captains create new lineups and repeat matchups
Overall team W/L decides winner

20. Growing Your Program Skill of Players
Skills clinics
Drill days
Know your ambassador
Engage with higher-level players in your Club/area

21. Tournament Primer

22. Tournament Primer First Things First
Indoor vs outdoor
Number of courts available
Number of available days
How much time available?
Number of players
Budget (if any)
Divisions – men’s, women’s, mixed, singles?
Age – open or age group?
Skill levels – open or grouped by ratings?
Play format – full round-robin, double elimination, etc.?

23. Tournament Primer Formats of Play
Round Robin with single-elimination playoff
Participants are placed in groups of 4-8 (or more) teams
Each team plays all other teams in their group
Top teams are then seeded into a single-elimination playoff

24. Example – Round Robin w/Playoff
Total Matches Played – 6

25. Example – Round Robin w/Playoff
Total Matches Played – 28

26. Pool Round Robin w/Playoff
Total Matches Played – 20

27. Tournament Primer Formats of Play
Full Round Robin
Every team plays all others
No playoffs
Once all matches are complete, teams are ranked by W-L records
Ties are broken by criteria
Set up criteria before event and distribute to players
Wins, head-to-head, PF/PA

28. Tournament Primer Formats of Play
Team #
Wins
Losses 1 9 2 7 3 4 5 6 8 10

29. Tournament Primer Breaking Ties
Break tie between 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
Team 2 would get 2nd place based on scoring the most points (87)
Who gets 3rd place?
Option 1: Team 3 because scored more points than Team 4 (84>81)
Option 2: Team 4 because of win head-to-head vs. Team 3
Team 2
Team 3
Team 4
W-L
7-2
Lost to*
Points For 87 84 81
Points Against 57 60 63
*All lost to Team 1

30. Tournament Primer Formats of Play
Total Matches Played – 20
Total Matches Played – 45

31. Tournament Primer Formats of Play
Double-Elimination Tournament
All teams seeded into a tournament bracket
Winner’s bracket – best 2 out of 3 games
Consolation bracket – one game only
US Open, Nationals, etc.
Popular with higher level/more competitive players
Logistically, can be more difficult to organize

32. Example – Double Elimination
Total Matches Played – 14

33. Tournament Primer Next Steps
Create flyer/registration form
Distribute flyers and advertise tournament
Create waiver form
Recruit volunteers
Purchase supplies
Purchase player gift bags (if budgeted/desired)
Solicit sponsors (if wanted)

34. Tournament Primer Supplies
Necessities
Court tape
Tape Measure
Net systems
Pens, pencils, markers
Clipboards, brackets
Tape, posters, signage
First aid kit/supplies
Tournament balls
Expected Supplies
Water
Coffee
Fruit
Snacks
Medals/Prizes
Optional Supplies
Event t-shirt
Wrist bands for 1st server
Player meal

35. Tournament Primer Volunteers
Registration/Check in
Scorekeepers
1 per bracket or division
Food/Concession tables
Set up and tear down
Court taping
Medical
Photos/videography

36. Tournament Primer Before Your Tournament
Market your event!
Registration deadline
Create and fill brackets
Communicate with players
Confirm registrations
Finalize brackets
Instructions for event
Press release

37. Tournament Primer Tournament Day
Before Play
Set up courts – taping, nets, dividers, etc.
Set up registration and hospitality tables
Post signage/directions
Post brackets
Player check-in
Announcements and rules meeting
Start on time!
During Play
Record scores and update brackets
Keep play moving – no open courts
Be a presence
Answer questions and solicit feedback
Take pictures

38. Tournament Primer Tournament Day
After Play
Award medals/prizes
Take pictures
Clean up area
Continue to solicit feedback
Thank participants
Thank any vendors or sponsors
Thank volunteers
The Days After
Publish any photos/videos of event
Social media, s, press releases, website, etc.
Evaluate what went well
Evaluate what didn’t
Write a summary
Budget report

39. Common Open Play Issues

40. Common Open Play Issues
Players refusing to play with players of differing (lesser) skill
Players refusing to play outside of their friend group
Players not rotating or sitting out when courts are full
Methods of rotating
Working with difficult participants
Poor sportsmanship
Over-involved participants