League Guidelines

1. LEAGUE PLAY

San Diego's Padel Leagues consists of teams with 3 players per fixture.

A) All participants play at their own risk.

B) All match play is scheduled at facilities in San Diego County. No deviation from these assigned locations is permitted unless both Captains agree to play elsewhere.

C) Play is offered at the following levels:

Men’s Division 1 & 2 (Division 1 Playtomic level 3+, Division 2 Playtomic level between 1.5-3.0)

Women’s Division 1 & 2 (Division 1 Playtomic level 2+, Division 2 Playtomic level between 0.5-2.0)

D) A Club may enter more than one team at a given level of play, provided it has sufficient courts to host matches if its teams are scheduled simultaneously at home. Every effort will be made to avoid scheduling conflicts.

2. DIVISIONS AND DAYS OF PLAY

A) Divisional play is scheduled on the following days:

• Men’s Division 1/2- Tuesdays

• Women’s Division 1/2– Thursdays

B) The League Commissioner and/or Division Representatives will decide upon an appropriate schedule according to the number of teams registered in each Division. Schedules will be designed to maximize the number of matches per season and allow for a reasonable period for weather-related make-up days before the close of the season.

C) Divisions may be sub-divided into two or more groupings if the number of teams registered in a Division is too large for each team to play every other team during the season.

3. THE BOARD

A) Each Club shall have a Team Representative from both the Men’s and Women’s League.

B) The Team Representatives and The League Commissioner shall constitute The Board.

C) All questions and problems should be directed to the appropriate Team Representative.

D) A Team Representative may call for a vote by The Board on problem areas.

E) The League Commissioner or Team Representatives have the right to approve or reject rosters, suspend players, remove points, or remove an entire team for any infraction of League Rules.

F) An Annual General Meeting will be held at the end of the season, which all Team Representatives must attend.

4. ROSTER REQUIREMENTS

A) Each team shall have a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 12 players.

B) Rosters must be submitted online, must designate a Captain and a Co-Captain, and must contain the following information for each player:

• Legal name (A nickname may follow in parentheses, if the player is generally known by that name.)

• E-mail address

• Rating (either computer rating or self-rating)

C) No player may play on two teams at the same level.

D) No player may play in a Division 1.0 below their rating level.

E) A player with a rating above 5.5 may not play in the League without prior approval and, if approved, may play no lower than the 4.5+ Division. For approval of a 5.5+ player, Captains should contact their Division Representative, who will take a vote of all the other Captains in the 4.5+ Division.

F) Self-ratings are subject to challenge.

5. CAPTAINS

Each team shall have a registered team Captain and Co-Captain. A Captain’s duties are as follows:

A) To submit rosters and fees by the deadline set by the Commissioner for registration.

B) To verify the ratings (computer ratings or self-ratings) of all players on the roster.

C) To ensure their team follows the league rules. Each Captain is asked to remind their players that they are responsible for knowing the Rules. The Rules and The Code are available on the website under RULES.

D) To present their team lineup sheet and to check the eligibility of players listed on the opposing team’s lineup sheet before the match begins each week.

E) To make sure that the first two positions start play promptly at 5pm.

F) To enter or confirm the scores online as soon as possible but not later than 48 hours after the match has been played each week. Either Captain may enter the scores, and the other Captain must confirm or dispute their accuracy within 48 hours of scores having been entered. Either Captain may email the Division Representative (and copy the opposing Captain) to request a correction to the score.

G) To keep a copy of the score sheet for each match played for the duration of the season.

6. LINEUPS

A) Each lineup must show first and last names of the players in all five positions

B) Each team Captain (or a designated representative) must submit the lineup to the opposing Captain (or a designated representative) at the start of the match. Whenever possible, lineups should be exchanged simultaneously in person.

C) A team that does not submit its lineup by 6:10 pm will be penalized 10 points. Any Captain who has not received the opposing team’s lineup by 6:10 pm must email or text the League Commissioner by 6.30 pm on the day of the match to report that the lineup is late. The League Commissioner will make the 10-point deduction after all scores for the match have been recorded. The 10-point penalty will not be enforced if notice of a late lineup is received after 6:30 pm on the day of the match.

D) Failure to submit a lineup by 6:30 pm shall result in a default of all 3 players and a score of 0 for the day. In this case, no additional penalty will be assessed.

E) Once the lineups have been exchanged, any team that changes its lineup will receive a default in the position(s) to which any change is made, except as follows:

F) A team that is not notified that it is receiving a default until the exchange of lineups shall have five minutes to change its lineup.

G) A Captain who receives the opposing team’s lineup by phone, text or email and thereupon changes their own lineup in response shall not be subject to any penalty. While such behavior is unsportsmanlike and therefore strongly discouraged, it is a risk that must be assumed by the Captain who is not at the facility in time to submit their team's lineup in person.

H) Lineups should take playing ability into account in order to maintain an appropriate level of competition.

7. TEAM OBLIGATIONS

A) The home club shall provide 2 tubes of new padel balls for the match and keep them after play is completed.

B) No snacks will be provided, but the home team MUST provide water. Players are requested to bring their own refillable water bottles.

8. RULES OF PLAY

A) All team play shall be in accordance with the official USPA rules.

B) Matches are best of 3 sets, golden points are played at 40/40, tie-break in sets 1 & 2 are to 7 at 6-6 and set 3 is a tie break to 10.

C) Play shall occur in the following sequence:
Positions 3 and 1 start at 6 pm, position 2 will follow on the next free court

• Start of warm-up 6 pm (or as soon as a court is available)

• Default time 6:30 pm even if no courts are available for play

D) Each team must have one official representative, i.e., a Captain, a Co-Captain or a designated representative, for each starting time. These players are responsible for all check-in and line-up procedures.

9. RECORDING SCORES FOR MATCHES
A. Points shall be awarded to the winning pairs as follows:

· 1 point awarded per set won

· 5 bonus points awarded to the winning team

· Home Team must fill out the scorecard and submit the scores online. The scorecard must be retained until the league is completed.

Both Captain or Co-Captain must sign the scorecard before the score is submitted online.

10. DEFAULTS

A) If a player fails to show up 10 minutes after the the court is free to play then the match will be awarded to the opposing team.

B) Without exception, use of an ineligible player will result in a default of that position.

C) Should both teams present ineligible players for the same position, neither team shall receive points for that match.

D) Any team that on two or more occasions does not field two or more positions for any match may be prohibited from entering a team in that Division the following season.

E) As a courtesy, should a team be unable to field a position, the opposing Captain should be notified, preferably at least 24 hours in advance. It is the responsibility of the defaulting Captain to make sure the opposing team’s Captain has received and acknowledged receipt of the default information.

11. POSTPONEMENTS

A) An incomplete match or matches not played because of inclement weather shall be continued or rescheduled as follows:

1. For full rainouts (i.e., no matches were started), the match is to be rescheduled on a date and at a time mutually agreed-upon by the Captains. If the Captains cannot agree on a date/time, team line-ups must be exchanged and the individual lines may be played on different dates, just as in the case of a partial rainout.

2. For partial rainouts, (i.e., some lines were able to start), lines that were not able to finish are to be made up individually, and the matches are to be played on a date and at a time mutually agreed-upon by the players in the match and reported to their respective Captains.

3. Once a rainout is rescheduled, the date/time of the match cannot be changed. Failure to show up and play on the rescheduled date/time is a default.

4. In order to avoid any misunderstanding, the Captains should email the League Commissioner with the mutually-agreed-upon date(s)/time(s) as soon as any rainout is rescheduled. Either Captain may send the email, provided the opposing Captain is CC'ed.

5. Any match defaulted at the exchange of line-ups may submit new players for the make-up match.

6. Any match not started may submit new players for the make-up match.

7. Any default, forfeit or retirement that occurs after the first serve and before suspension of a match will stand.

8. Any match suspended after the first serve is taken must be resumed at the point of suspended play with the same players.

9. If any player deems the court to be unsafe due to inclement weather, that match will be rescheduled with the same players.

B) When inclement weather or wet courts on the morning of the match delay the start of the first matches by 30 minutes or more, all matches will be cancelled for that day and rescheduled.

C) When there is rain in the forecast for the day of the match, or overnight before the match.

1. The home Captain shall call the away Captain the day before the match to decide by mutual agreement about rescheduling. Except as explained in (2) below, the Captains may agree either to make the decision that evening or to wait until the next morning.

2. If the time by which the home Captain would be able to check the courts in the evening and notify the away Captain is later than the time by which the away players would need to leave home in order to arrive at the match on time, the match shall be cancelled the evening before. For example, if the home Captain cannot check the condition of the courts until 4.30 p.m., but the away players would need to leave home by 4pm in order to arrive at the match on time, then the match shall be cancelled the evening before and rescheduled.