Pickleball is a court sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis
The game is played on a surface one-third the size of a regulation tennis court or the same dimensions as a badminton court: 20’ x 44’. The net is 36“ high at the sidelines and 34“ high at the center of the court. The game can be played as singles or doubles, both outdoors and indoors.
Players use a solid faced paddle made of fibreglass or graphite measuring 8“ wide by 15¾“ long and a plastic polymer ball, similar to a whiffle ball.
The ball is served diagonally (starting with the right-hand service-square), and points can only be scored by the side that serves. Players on each side must let the ball bounce once before volleys are allowed, and there is a seven-foot no-volley zone on each side of the net, to prevent “spiking.” The server continues to serve, alternating service courts, until he or she faults. The first side scoring eleven points and leading by at least two points wins. It’s fast pace and strategic nature appeals to a wide range of ages and abilities.
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Don’t overplay your current physical condition. (“Just one more game” has caused way too many accidents!)
Hydrate. This means “drink water” BEFORE you are thirsty; otherwise it’s too late.
Stretch before and AFTER playing.
If you hit a ball into another court, immediately YELL “Ball”. Do NOT chase it onto the other court where play is ongoing. Put your hand up if you are the server so the other court knows who to return the ball to.
If a ball comes onto your court from another court, STOP PLAY AT ONCE. Same if you hear “Ball” yelled from another court. Don’t just swat the ball back. Pick it up and toss it to the player on the other court unless the nets are tied high enough above the ground to allow the ball to go underneath. Then swat it courteously in the direction of the opponent.
If you are going behind an active court to get to a vacant court or to leave a court, wait until their current point is over and move quickly as a group to clear the court.
If you see someone who displays signs of dizziness, weakness, or lack of concentration, keep an eye on them. Recommend a time-out if you think it necessary for their sake.
If you see someone playing with “bad” shoes…sandals, non-court-shoes, leather soles of any kind, strongly encourage them to change their shoes from a safety perspective. Ultimately it is their choice as they signed the Waiver of Liability.
Be conscious of where your partner is. Don’t hit balls when your partner is in your way (e.g. post swing ball flight, paddle swing path or your approach to the ball).
Agree in advance that you will cover lobs if your partner’s mobility is limited and you can go back safely; otherwise, let the lobs go. Do not risk injury for a point.
When covering a lob, do not back step. Turn and run backwards or sidestep backwards if it can be done safely.
Don’t dive for balls; it’s just a game.
If someone falls on the court, all play STOPS until their needs are addressed. Most, if not all, locations have a DeFib unit as well as a first-aid kit. The Host should know who at each site is First Aid trained.
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The service is either underhand or a drop serve. When serving underhand, you must hit the ball below your waist, the paddle must be lower than your wrist and the paddle must be moving in an upwards direction, not sidearm. When serving with a drop serve, the player releases the ball and then strikes it after it bounces. The ball shall not be propelled downward or tossed before dropping the ball. With a drop serve, the rules pertaining to underhand serves no longer apply, such as hitting the ball below the waist, having the paddle lower than the wrist or moving the paddle in an upwards direction.
The serve must clear the no-volley (kitchen) line. If the serve touches the kitchen line the ball is considered “out” and is a lost point. Note: if the serve touches any other line it is considered “in” (such as side line, back court line, mid court line). After the serve, if the ball touches the kitchen (or any other line), it is considered “in”.
Players are responsible for calling the lines on their end of the court. Players shall not call a ball "out" unless they can clearly see a space between the line and the ball as it hits the ground. Any ball that cannot be definitively called "out" shall be considered "in".
A two-bounce rule is in effect. The ball must bounce once on each side of the net before it can be volleyed.
No volleying is allowed in the kitchen (properly called the no-volley zone). (Note: volley means to hit the ball before it touches the ground.) You lose the point if your momentum carries you into the kitchen after volleying. You can enter the kitchen to play a ball that has hit the ground. You can enter the kitchen before the ball hits the ground. You can reach and volley overtop of the kitchen, so long as your feet don’t enter the kitchen or touch the line.
If you serve the ball and it hits the non-receiving opponent or that player catches it before the ball hits the ground, you win the point! It may seem obvious that the ball was going to the wrong court, but because it didn’t hit the ground, it cannot be called a service fault.
Similarly, if a ball is going out of bounds and you catch it before it hits the ground (even with the good intention of preventing it from going into the next court), you lose the point.
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Pickleball is only a game. Drop in and Open Play are “Social Play” so keep in mind that you are only playing a game!
Arrive in time to help set up the nets. When you are the last players on the court, take down the net.
Begin each game by acknowledging the other players, introducing yourself if you don’t know them or personally recognizing them if you do.
During Open Play (mixed skill-levels), players play with all skill levels without complaints. Good sportsmanship is the rule. If you are a significantly stronger player, if you have limited time available to you, and if there is an “advanced court” option, go wait there for a stronger game. Regardless, can the whining.
If you are playing against a team where there is a significantly stronger player, play against the stronger player. You will forget about who wins a given game tomorrow, but if you play against the stronger player you may learn something.
If you are the strongest player of the four, either:
play to each of the opponents in a way they can handle the shot and learn from the play. Sometimes you can even ask people what they are working on (e.g. drop shots, lobs, returning balls hit to their backhands, whatever) and if they tell you, hit the ball to them so they can work on those shots; or
work on a shot that has been causing you difficulty; what a great time to practice the third shot drop!
Call the score out loudly and wait until everyone is ready before serving.
NEVER smash a ball that is returned too high by the weaker player in social play; make a challenging return for the stronger opponent or give the weaker player another shot to try to get it down lower.
Don’t hit the ball hard at weaker player – they will not appreciate it nor respect you for it. Smashers and bangers seldom succeed at the 3.5 level so learn to play the game properly early on.
At the end of each game, tap the bottom of your paddles and find something positive to say to the other team at the net. “Nice game” isn’t always appropriate if in spite of your efforts at sportsmanship you have won 11-0. But “you made some great shots!”, or “much closer than the score”, or “Wow, we were lucky today!” would be just fine. At least, “Thanks for playing with us!” is nice. NEVER leave a game without acknowledging the other team.
If the ball is out, and it’s on your side, call it out loudly and raise your arm to indicate it is out. If it’s close, give the benefit to your opponent. Put your arm down with palm flat or finger extended to show it is in. This is hard to do when the game is close but do it anyway. If you are unsure, it is IN! If your opponent does not do it, suck it up and do the right thing when it’s your turn!!!
If you step into the kitchen on a volley, or if your partner does, call it on yourself. Be very cautious about calling kitchen or serving faults on others – you should be watching the ball and not your opponent’s feet.
Never ask for, or accept, line calls from spectators.
If spectators continuously comment on the play itself, politely ask them to keep their comments to the spectators.
NEVER yell at, swear at, or say a hostile or sarcastic word to your partner or your opponent in anger.
Since we are playing a social game, please apologize if you break wind, belch loudly or swear (even when it is directed at yourself).
Trash-talking, which is teasing your opponents in a fun and lighthearted way, is part of pickleball. But be careful – don’t trash-talk someone who is sensitive, who you don’t know, who is a weaker player or can’t for any reason trash-talk back. Don’t trash-talk someone’s physical or mental limitations, use racial or other politically incorrect statements. Just be careful.
ALWAYS compliment people on outstanding “hero” shots or on a really great point during the game.
Play a strong game against better players but work on stuff you need practice on with the weaker players. Tell your partner “I’m working on (say) deep backhand returns today” and they know that will mean that you’re not trying to put every shot away. Saying this beforehand gives you a chance to gauge what your partner wants out of the game.
Do not take advantage of a person’s physical limitations during social play. If someone cannot go back for a lob, why lob over their head? Use the chance to learn something by hitting shots to their strength and trying to make good shots out of their returns.
Don’t give lessons on the court (unless they were agreed to by all beforehand). Unless it is a teaching session, any observations should be one or two liners in order not to detract from the play (e.g. remember to hit the return of serve deep enough that you can get to the NVZ line before the opponents hit the ball).
At the end of a game, if you believe another player would benefit from an observation about their play, DON’T OFFER IT. Who made YOU court-captain today? Most people don’t want observations about their play and will not take it well. Even if they ask, be very cautious. Give no more than ONE piece of advice at a time. Let them work on that. Then, some other day, go on to the next thing.
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Shoes
Most important is proper court shoes. For optimum performance and safety, proper court shoes are a necessity.Paddles
If you're attending an introductory clinic, we have paddles available for loan.Thereafter, while you're still getting started, we suggest trying as many paddles as you can before purchasing one.
And if you intend to play pickleball more than once or twice, do not purchase a wooden paddle. Quality composite paddles are available locally for well under $100.
Eye Protection
The Board of the Calgary Pickleball Club enthusiastically endorses the use of eye protection while playing pickleball. -
CPC has adopted DUPR as a club rating system. As of Thursday, December 1st, 2022, new DUPR rating guidelines took effect for some CPC pickleball sessions.
In order to play in level play session, you must have a DUPR rating equal to or greater than the level you are playing in, and have played at least 25 DUPR recorded games.
As of 2024, CPC is also honouring a Calgary Pickleball Center Club Rating.
Members who are signing up for level sessions must have achieved one of the following ratings: A DUPR rating in the skill level; a tournament rating at the skill level; a UTPR rating at that skill level; a Pickleball Brackets rating, a Calgary Pickleball Club rating. Signing up for these sessions assumes players have increased skills and strategy to be a competitive group member.
CPC encourages members to use DUPR so all players can establish a consistent and current DUPR skill level rating.
The Calgary Pickleball Club adopted the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating System (DUPR) to allow all members to enjoy playing pickleball with partners and other players who have similar skills and experience. Registering with DUPR and recording game scores on a regular basis will allow all members to have a fair and accurate skill level rating.
If have proof of any of above and have not been invited to our level play, pls email from our contact form.
The Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating system (DUPR) is being adopted as the official and exclusive rating system for Pickleball.com, and all its subsidiaries - the PPA Tour, PickleballTournaments.com, and PickleballBrackets.com.
What is DUPR?
DUPR is the “Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating.” As DUPR is evolving we encourage you to read about DUPR here.
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All participants in a sanctioned tournament must have a Canadian Tournament Player Rating (CTPR). Read updated information here.
PCO policy on the use of CTPR must be followed for all Sanctioned Tournaments. Should both players choose to, they may play up ONLY a 0.5 rating level from their current CTPR. The only exception is for 4.5+ or Open events, where all players must have a minimum 4.5 CTPR rating to play in that event. Tournament Directors will ensure this policy is adhered to.
If a tournament has a 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0(Open) event, a 4.0 player can play up into the 4.5 event but not into the 5.0/Open event. 5.0/Open events are for 4.5 and above skill level players only.
If a tournament has a 4.0 and 4.5+ event without a 5.0/Open event, a 4.0 player cannot play up into the 4.5+ event as it is for 4.5 and higher skill players only. In this case, the 4.5+ event acts in the same way as the Open.
Open Category – is only open to advanced players with a minimum skill level of 4.5. It is acceptable to substitute “5.0” terminology instead of “Open” if tournament directors choose to.
FAQs
Playing when there are clear differences in level
Everyone seems to think the best way to improve your game is to play with better players. CPC maintains that this is not the case unless the stronger player wants to play with you. We strongly believe that four equally matched opponents will improve their game faster, as everyone will typically bring a special shot/skill to the game that will force you to focus harder and result in a highly competitive game.
CPC offers formal lessons for those wishing to move to a higher skill level. Everyone will take away new skills from a lesson (typically different) which will again enhance the experience of level play.
As for playing with stronger players, this is only enjoyable for a stronger player that is interested in developing others, otherwise it is a great distraction to their game and they will start developing bad habits. They need a proper mindset to help you practice shots that are important to improving your game. Playing with you keeps them from having to play at the top of their ability, keeps them from paying for their mistakes and keeps them from improving their skill level.
The culture of pickleball has always been very welcoming and inclusive of new players but, as you become more intent on improving your game, you DON’T normally want to play with less-experienced players. Recognizing everyone has to start somewhere:
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Ask Politely and Give Them an Out. For example, “Do you all mind if I get a game in with you, or would you rather play on your own?”
Ask at the Beginning or End of the Day. Approach when they are warming up or cooling down. DON’T go when they are in the midst of a streak of higher-level play.
Accommodate Their Flow. If you do approach them in the midst of higher-level play, accommodate their flow. Ask, “Hey, do you mind if I get a game in with you all before you quit today?” so that they can continue playing, but will hopefully commit to playing with you later.
Be Conscientious. If they do play a few games with you at the beginning of the day, make it easy for them to bow out and play with other higher-level players so that they will be more likely to want to play with you again in the future. You might say, “Hey, I see you can get a good game in against those guys, I’ll sit this one out and maybe we can play again later if you have a chance.”
Hit to Them! No one likes to watch their partner hit all the balls during recreational play. The higher-level player is doing you a favour by playing with you, so hit the ball to them at least half the time. It will make you a better player, make it more fun for them, and make it more likely that they will play with you again next time.
Don’t Be Obnoxious. Remember the stronger players may not be playing at the top of their game or they may be focusing on improving their own shots, rather than on winning. Don’t assume that because you did well that you are stronger than you thought!
Show Your Appreciation. If they give you feedback on your game, have an open mind and be appreciative of them taking the time to play and help you.
Don’t Take It Personally. Some people just aren’t going to be very friendly about it. Don’t let them get to you. Remember, it’s only pickleball!ext goes here
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Remember Where You Came From. Who took you under their wing when you first started playing? Chances are you’ve improved your game since then by getting to play with better players, so pay it forward and make a point to regularly play with players who are weaker than you. You could regularly play a warm-up game with them, or once a week decide to dedicate the last 30-45 minutes of your play to playing with them, it’s up to you. Just find a way to pay it forward.
If Now’s Not Good, Say When. If someone asks to play with you and you opt to play a higher-level game instead, let them know when you WOULD be willing to play, perhaps later in the day, or later in the week.
Give Them a Head’s Up On How Long You’ll Stay. When you do play, let them know in advance how long you’re planning to play, you might say, “I’d love to play with you all for a game or two, but then I’d like to get in with those other players.”
Don’t Be Patronizing — Or, Overly Aggressive. Instead of focusing on who wins or loses, find a way to make it challenging for yourself. Pick a shot you want to improve upon and focus on hitting that shot. Or, try to reduce your number of unforced errors. Focus on consistency and keeping the ball in play rather than slamming every put-away shot you get.
Limit Your Feedback. If you notice something they could be doing better, limit your feedback to one aspect of their game during play. Giving them too many pointers can overwhelm them. Plus, they’re probably already a little nervous about being on the court with you, so don’t be too critical. Afterwards, if you want to give them more background info on your pointer, or give them one additional pointer, go ahead, but start out by asking permission first, “Would you like to hear more about what I noticed about your game?”