Welcome to Minnesota Pickleball State Sanctioned Leagues!
Overview
This is a structured, state sanctioned, ladder league. Players compete as individuals and pair up with multiple partners session. Players will move up and down the 'ladder' based on their performance each week. Players are placed in pools based on their league rating and play same or similar skilled players each session.
Results are calculated and posted on the Swish app, minnesotastatepickleball.com, and uploaded to the state of Minnesota.
Each week, players arrive and check in with the league coordinator. Once they are checked in, the Swish application will order them by league rating. There is no need to contact anyone if you cannot make it, only the players that show up and check in will be added to that week's ladder. In the first week, players will be ordered by DUPR, and if players do not have a DUPR, they will be ordered randomly. After the first week, all players are ordered by their league rating. LEague coordinators may adjust the order of the ladder from time to time to ensure cometitive play.
Participants will need to set up a free DUPR account if they do not already have one, and download the Swish Sports app prior to the first session of play. Coordinators will be on site to help participants load the app if they are having difficulty. All information, and instructioned on how to do this will be sent out a week prior to the league starting.
Players are then separated into pools of 4 or 5 and play one game with each person in their pool.
Once that round is complete, the application will reconstruct the pools based on that nights results, and the players will play one more round with every player in their new pool.
Once that is over, the application takes all the results for the night, reconstructs the ladder, and posts it online for the next week, and in 24 hours, the app will post the up-to-date cumulative results.
Each session will take approximately 2-3 hours.
No substitutions allowed for any reason. No exceptions.
Sanctioned Leagues
State Sanctioned
All state ladder leagues are governed and monitored by the state of Minnesota Parks and Recreation. All leagues, in all cities, are managed the same way with all the same processes, guidelines, and software. In a 3-team partnership between Minnesota Pickleball, Minnesota Parks and Recreation, and each city's Parks and Recreation departments, all leagues operate identically regardless of city or municipality.
Ladder
All ladders are constructed in the same way, using the Swish league management system.
Each week, players arrive and check in on their phones. The ladder is ordered by rank/performance from the weeks prior (the first week is ordered by DUPR or director discretion). Once all players are checked in and the ladder is constructed (10 minutes), the software will break off the ladder into groups of 4 or 5 and assign each group a court. The players will play one game with each player in the pool and enter the scores into the software via their phone. At the end of the round of play, top performers in that round move up to a higher pool, and lower players in that round move down to a lower pool; and the ladder plays a second round that night. At the end of the session, the software calculates all of the results, and a new ladder for the next week is constructed. The following week, the players show up again, and the same process will begin with the newly updated ladder. If a player cannot make the session, no calls or emails are required, they will simply not be added to the ladder that night, and can resume the following week. Onsite coordinators reserve the right to make minor adjustments to the ladder to keep play competitive and fair.
No Partner Needed
All state sanctioned leagues are 'laddered', players never need a partner, nor do they register with a partner. All players in a ladder are placed in the ladder by their performance, and split off into pools of 4-5 each session, players could play with multiple different partners each night.
Attendance
The ladder is populated and ordered at the beginning of each session. When players arrive, they check in and are populated in the ladder. If players do not attend on any occasion, they simply are not placed in the ladder for that specific session and the next time they attend, they are placed in the ladder according to their performance on the weeks they did attend. Onsite coordinators reserve the right to make minor adjustments to the ladder to keep play competitive and fair.
Results
Results are calculated at the end of each session. The app displays the results in 'real-time' immediately after each game/session. After a complete session, cumulative results are calculated. Typically league cumulative results are available within 24 hours after the last session. Results are also uploaded to the state and displayed on www.minnesotapickleball.com at the end of each season.
Hosting
All state sanctioned leagues are hosted in the public domain by park and recreation departments of cities and municipalities. In a partnership with Minnesota Parks and Recreation, cities make official reservations for league time per their individual policies and procedures. League times are officially reserved and guaranteed for all sanctioned leagues.
Duration
All sanctioned leagues are one session a week, for 10 weeks. Each session, are 2-3 hours in length, and players will play multiple games with multiple different partners. There are NO makeup days for rain, heat, or air quality. Leagues have historically been 8 weeks in duration, but to account for possible weather and other conditions that could results in cancellations, they have been extended to 10 weeks. If any league has 5 or more official cancellations, for any reason, partial refunds will be issued. League directors will make the final call on whether a league needs to be cancelled for the safety of our players. More information about how that is processed will be thoroughly explained by each league director prior to the onset of all league play.
Age
All sanctioned leagues are laddered and players are grouped by same or similar skill levels. Minnesota Pickleball and Minnesota Parks and Recreation have no official rule on a minimum age. Cities have different policies in regards to age limits in certain recreational sports. For specific age limitations, please see specific league registration page. If a hosting city has no age requirement, Minnesota Pickleball and Minnesota Parks and Recreation will allow players 15 years of age or older for sanctioned play. Any player under the age of 18 IS REQUIRED to have a parent or guardian present during all league play.
Gender
All sanctioned leagues are laddered and players are grouped by same or similar skill levels. Minnesota Pickleball and Minnesota Parks and Recreation have no official rule or requirement on gender for sanctioned leagues. Gender will not be addressed at any time for state sanctioned league play.
Skill Levels
All sanctioned leagues are laddered and players are grouped by same or similar skill levels. All skill levels are welcome and can play in any given ladder in any given session. The ladders are populated based upon performance, so newer players are almost never placed on a court with higher level players. As players perform, they can move up and down the ladder, but higher level players will typically settle in the top of the ladder, and newer players toward the middle or bottom. The top player in a league, and the least experienced player in a league would most likely never be on the same court together.
Fair, Fun, and Friendly
Minnesota Pickleball and Minnesota Parks and Recreation believe and encourage fair, fun, and friendly pickleball play. State sanctioned league play is unique in that it can be very competitive, it can be very social, and it is always a lot of fun. Some players come to compete and improve, to learn the game, to get exercise and socialize, or just to have some fun. There is room in a state ladder for every pickleball enthusiast!