SUSSEX PICKLEBALL LEAGUE REGULATIONS FOR ALL SENIOR COMPETITIONS (Amended 2025/2026 Season)

1) These competitions shall comprise such league competitions as the committee shall determine, and shall be confined to clubs within the Sussex area.

2) The competitions shall be managed by one, or more, sub-committees of not more than four Association officials, to be appointed by the committee. The sub-committee(s) shall have the power to decide all questions relating to competitions. Any club being dissatisfied with any decision shall have the right of appeal to the committee, whose decision shall be final and binding.

3) Entry fees shall be fixed by the committee. Clubs wishing to compete must apply to the League Secretary by the 31st of August each year or any alternative date specifically announced by the League Secretary, giving information about the playing strength of the team(s) they wish to enter, as will assist the sub-committee(s).

4) The arrangement of divisions in any of the league competitions shall be made by the sub-committee(s), on or before the first of October in each season, and copies shall be circulated to clubs as soon as possible thereafter. Current League scores and positions will be available on the Sussex Pickleball League Website for all competitions as soon as the first matches are played.

5) All matches need to be agreed and submitted to the league by close of play on 14th October 2025.

6) The Match Secretaries shall pay their clubs’ affiliation and entry fees before 14th October each year.

7) Each club shall play home and away matches with each of the other clubs in the same division. Divisions with 5 or less teams will play home and away twice. Divisions with 6 or more teams will play home and away once. 

8) In all matches, each team shall score 5 points for each match won, 3 points for each match drawn and 1 point for each match lost (A match is made up of six games, best of three). If two, or more, clubs have the same number of points at the end of the season, final positions will be decided in favour of the club winning the highest number of matches, then games and finally, points won.

9) Qualification to play for a club shall be bona-fide membership of that club, including payment of the usual subscription for playing members for the current season. Any players brought in from another club will concede all games.

A player should not represent more than one club in any of our competitions and leagues.

10) All players taking part in a league must have been registered with the league at least 24 hours prior to their first match, along with their nominated team.

1. a) When two teams from the same club are playing in the same division, a player nominated for one team cannot play for the other.
2. b) A player who has played more than 2 matches in any division will no longer be eligible to play in any matches in a lower division in that league

Data Privacy Notice

By registering for the league, players give consent for their name, DUPR ranking (as recorded at the time of registration), and their nominated team to be published on the league website for the purposes of competition administration and transparency.

No additional personal data will be shared publicly. All data will be processed in line with UK GDPR and data protection laws.

11)     Scoring System – For the 2025/2026 season:
‘Badminton style’ rally scoring will apply.  

Players are almost certainly familiar with rally scoring and points being scored on every rally. However ‘badminton style’ rally scoring varies by having servers change side after each rally just as in regular scoring:  

 

• The team who won the coin toss must start serving from the right-hand side of the court. 
• With the score starting at 0-0, the team who chose to serve will start serving from the right (team A).    
• Throughout the game if the serving team’s score is an even number, then the serve will be from the right hand side. 
• Throughout the game if the serving team’s score is an odd number, then the serve will be from the left hand side. 
• If the first point is won by the serving team (team A), the score will now be 1-0. The serving player remains the same and switches side with their partner (as in normal scoring) and now serves from the left-hand side of the court (as the score is an odd number)
• As long as the serving team (team A) keep winning the rally the server will remain the same and will simply switch sides from which to serve – serving from the right when their score is an even number and the left when it is an odd number.
• Throughout this the receiving team (team B) do not change sides (as in normal scoring)
• When the serving team (team A) are leading 1-0, then the serve will be from the left-hand side of the court.  If they lose that rally, the score will now be 1-1, and it is the turn of the opposing team (team B) to serve from the left-hand side (as the score is an odd number). 
• If team B lose the next rally the serve switches back to team A and the score will be 2-1.  As team A’s score is an even number the serve will be from the right-hand side of the court and will be served by the player in team A who has not yet served.
• If team A lose the next rally then it is side-out, the score is now 2-2 and so team B will serve from the right-hand side of the court (as their score is an even number).   The server will be the team B player standing on the right-hand side who has not yet served.

 

• Badminton style rally scoring ensures that the serve passes between each player in turn after a side-out.   Players just need to remember:
  
  

• even score = serve from the right
• odd score = serve from the left

• The first team who reaches 20 points, their scores will freeze. This means that the team can only win the game on their serve. For example, if the score for the serving team reaches 20-15, then the serving team who has 20 must win the final point on their serve to make it 21 points and win the game. If they fail to score a point, it will now be the opposition’s serve (16-20).
• The score will go through a 2nd freeze if the other team reach 18 points. Now both teams can only score on their serve. For example, if the score is 18-20, the serving team with 18 must win the point on their serve to make it 19-20. If this is the case, then the serve will be from the left-hand side (as it is an odd score) and the server will move to that side. The winner is the team who reach 21 points first and winning by 1 point.
• The winning point will always be served from the right hand side, but the server will not always be the player who started the same on the right-hand side. 

 

If players choose to “stack” they must know what they are doing and be very careful of their court positions as they cannot rely on the score telling them where they should be.  Incorrect positioning could lead to a serve violation and loss of a point.

All scores will be submitted to DUPR by the league secretaries upon receiving the signed scorecard, at the earliest convenience of the committee.

11) The first pairs shall be ready to play within five minutes of the start time and the other pairs shall be ready to play within thirty minutes of the start time. Teams failing to comply shall forfeit two games in each case, unless the captains mutually agree otherwise. Teams failing to arrive after an hour will be regarded as absent and a walkover awarded.

1. a) If a match is adjourned, it may, at the discretion of the sub-committee, be replayed and the composition of the teams be changed.

12) Postponement of a match shall be made at least 7 clear days before the date arranged. If a postponed match cannot be rearranged, points will be allocated by the league sub-committee. Postponement of a match within 7 days of the date arranged may result in a walkover for the opposing club. The home team must send an e-mail to the League Secretary explaining the reason for the postponement or cancellation. In every case, costs incurred by a postponement or cancellation are to be paid by the cancelling club, unless shared by mutual agreement.

13) The home team must offer their opponents at least two dates. Offers to begin before 6.45pm on weekdays shall not be regarded as an offer unless agreed in advance by the league committee. The home team shall provide and bear the cost of the court and balls. League matches shall be played with court appropriate balls. All matches shall be played according to the Laws of Pickleball.

14) Secretaries, or match secretaries, of home teams are responsible for ensuring that all match results are shared with the leagues committee as early as possible. Failure to do so may result in the loss of league points.

15) Secretaries, or Match Secretaries, of the home team shall confirm matches at least three days prior to playing.

16) Insurance
All clubs must hold sufficient and valid sports club insurance for the duration of the league season.