Table of Contents
- Age Determination
- Event Eligibility
- List of Approved Events
- Rated Events
- Tournament Requirements for Sanctioning
Age Determination
- There are three major age groupings, Juniors (18 and under), Adults (19 & over) and Seniors (50+).
- A Player's age for the entire tournament year shall be determined by his/her age on December 31st of the tournament year in question. An exception will be made if the National or State Senior Games organizations mandate a different date in their tournaments.
Event Eligibility
- In the Junior Age Divisions, players may play up in the junior age divisions or participate in the 19+ only adult division.
For Junior competitive divisions please use the following approved format- Three age divisions: 12U, 14U, 18U
- Round Robin Non-Elimination Draws
Comment: They may NOT enter into any other older age events, however, if brackets have to be combined:
- The 19+ bracket can only be combined with a 35+ bracket if there is a junior team in the 19+ bracket
- If there are not enough teams in the 19+ and 35+ bracket the junior team would need to play up in skill to the next 19+ bracket. i.e. 3.0 19+ to 3.5 19+
- In the event that there is one player who is a junior and one who is not, they can play in the 19+ bracket and the next age bracket that needs to be combined. i.e. Team A 14yrs old & 54yrs old / Teams B, C and D, 52yrs old and 52yrs old combine the brackets 19+ and 50+. You have one player who is eligible to play in the 50+ bracket, but is playing down in the 19+ bracket with a younger player which allows them to play 19+.
- If there is a juniors team playing in the 19+ age group then 50+ and up age brackets cannot be combined down to play with the 19+ bracket.
- Juniors may not play in both junior and adult divisions in the same tournament.
**Juniors Tournaments will not utilize a system of player ratings for category/skill differentiation.
***Players that participate in a junior division will NOT receive UTPR credit.
- In the Adult and Senior Age Division, players may enter any event for which they are not too young.
- A RATED event is open to players of any age, including Juniors, Adults, and Seniors. A Senior Rated event is open only to players who are 50+.
Comment: If a Tournament Director wants to allow players under 50 to play in a Senior Rated event, it then becomes simply a Rated event and must be open to players of all ages. - An OPEN event is one that is open to any player with no restriction on age or rating.
- In any USA Pickleball Rated event, players are asked to rate themselves if they do not already have a USA Pickleball rating. However, the Tournament Director has the final decision on where self-rated or unrated players are placed. Rated players may only be placed in a different division by the Tournament Director with the player's permission or if events have to be combined.
- In Rated events, a player may NOT play in an event rated lower but may play in one rated higher.
List of USA Pickleball Approved Events
- Girl's 12 & Under ---- Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- Girl's 14 & Under ---- Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- Girl's 18 & Under ---- Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- Boy's 12 & Under ---- Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- Boy's 14 & Under ---- Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- Boy's 18 & Under ---- Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
*Junior events may be structured at the Tournament Director's discretion to best fit the needs of Junior participation
- 19 & Over (19+)-----Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- May also be labeled "Under 35" to encourage Junior participation
- 35 & Over (35+)------ Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- 50 & Over (50+)------ Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- 55 & Over (55+)------ Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- 60 & Over (60+)------ Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- 65 & Over (65+)------ Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- 70 & Over (70+)------ Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- 75 & Over (75+)------ Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- 80 & Over (80+)------ Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
Comment: 55+, for example, means that anyone over 55 could enter that division of play in singles, doubles, or mixed doubles. "Masters" and "Legends" have been removed from the list of events. A tournament director can still achieve the same thing by designating events as 50+ and 65+ as well as designating other age divisions, for example in 10-year increments.
List of USA Pickleball Approved Skill Events
- Senior 5.0 ------------ Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- Senior 4.5 ------------ Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- Senior 4.0 ------------ Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- Senior 3.5 ------------ Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- Senior 3.0 ------------ Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- Senior 2.5 ------------ Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- 5.0 (OPEN)---------- Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- 4.5 ------------------- Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- 4.0 ------------------- Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- 3.5 ------------------- Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- 3.0 ------------------- Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
- 2.5 ------------------- Men's & Women's Singles, Doubles, and Mixed Doubles
Changes for 2010: 4.5+ was deleted. 4.5 and 5.0 were added.
List of USA Pickleball Approved Combined Skill/Age Events
Combined Skill/Age Events consist of Approved Skill Levels broken down into Approved Age Groups. It is age groups within skill levels. Examples:
- 2.5/19+, 35+, 50+, 55+, 60+, 65+, 70+, 75+, 80+
- 4.0/19+, 35+, 50+, 60+, 70+, 80+
- 5.0/50+, 65+
Comments:
- Age levels within each skill group can be merged by the Tournament Director as needed. As an example, 2.5 19+ may be combined with 2.5 35+. This would be a 2.5/19+ event. When possible, we recommend that TD’s combine 19+ and 35+; 50+ and 60+; 70+ on up. Note: If there are not enough registrations for this to be possible they may combine as needed.
- Any player or team in a skill/age tournament requesting to play up in a skill level higher than their rating must be allowed to do so.
- Any player or team in a skill/age tournament requesting to play down in age group must be allowed to do so. For example, a player or team with the youngest player 64 years old and a 3.5 rating may enter any age bracket that is lower than 65+. and/or any skill level above 3.5.
List of USA Pickleball Approved Combined Age/Skill Events
- Combined Age/Skill Events consist of Approved Age Groups divided by Approved Skill Levels. It is skill level within age groups. Examples:
- 19+/ 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0
- 35+/ 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0
- 50+/ 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0
- 55+/ 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0
- 75+/ 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0
Comments:
- Skill Levels within each Age Group can be merged by the Tournament Director as needed. As an example, 19+ 3.5 may be combined with 19+ 4.0. This would be a 19+/4.0 event. When possible, we recommend that TD's combine 3.0/3.5 and 4.0/4.5/5.0, but if there are not enough registrations for this to be possible they may combine as needed.
- 50 and over events may be in 5, 10 or 15 year age increments as needed (50+, 60+, 70+, 80+ or 55+,60+,65+,70+,75+,80+ etc).
- Any player or team in an age/skill tournament requesting to play up in a skill level higher than their rating must be allowed to do so.
- Any player or team in an age/skill tournament requesting to play down in age group must be allowed to do so. For example, a player or team with a 3.5 rating and with the youngest player 64 years old may enter any skill level above 3.5 and any age bracket that is lower than 65+.
Tournament Requirements for Sanctioning
See Requirements For USA Pickleball Sanctioned Tournaments to determine requirements for having a tournament sanctioned by the USA Pickleball. When designing tournament entry blanks, be sure and include spaces for player information that is listed as required in the Sanctioning Document.