Cape Fear Intercommunity Pickleball League

Guidelines and Procedures
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HYcAxS9KDUt5_sWF9qhPhixhXucpzH_BaiSPzRjzwu4/edit?usp=sharing

League Goal:  Provide an opportunity for 55+ year olds to play in a friendly, safe, social, and competitive environment and to grow the sport in the Cape Fear Region.

Board of Directors (BOD):

The BOD is made up of two groups; the executive board and the Community Representatives (CR).The executive board consists of the president, vice president, league directors, treasurer, and DUPR program director. To maintain continuity, it is recommended executive board members hold their position for at least one year. The president, treasurer, social and intermediate directors commitments are over at the end of the fall season. Vice president, DUPR program director, upper intermediate and advanced directors commitments are over at the end of the spring season. 

Individuals can self-nominate for an executive board position and must be approved by the majority of the board of directors. Direct appointments will also require majority of the board of directors’ approval. Term limit for any executive board position will not exceed 3 years.

Community Representatives are appointed by their community and serve at the discretion of their community or club. Each community will determine their own CRs term limits. A community is limited to one vote per issue; regardless of how many CRs they have on the board.

Divisions:

• Instructional Social Division (3.0 or less). This division is made up of beginner/novice players that will play in a social environment. Team composition and formats will vary depending on community participation. The league will schedule matches every 2 weeks. Scores are not reported to the league director. A DUPR account is mandatory; uploading scores in DUPR is required after each game.  The host community will provide experienced players for each court to provide 30 minutes of instruction/drills. The LD will provide a master lesson plan. The play will be a round robin for the remaining 1.5 hours.  No fee is associated with this league.

• Intermediate Division is considered competitive with players having a minimum of 30 DUPR games and a skill level consistent with a rating of 3.0-3.59 to participate. An intermediate player can substitute as needed in the Upper Intermediate Division. All team scores are reported to the League Director and individual game scores are uploaded to the DUPR program.  A $40 entrance fee for each team is required.

• Upper Intermediate Division is considered competitive with players having a minimum of 30 DUPR games and a skill level consistent with a rating of 3.6 – 4.1 to participate. An upper intermediate player can substitute as needed in the Advanced Open Division; but not the Intermediate Division. All team scores are reported to the League Director and individual game scores are uploaded to the DUPR program. A $40 entrance fee for each team is required.

• Advanced Open Division. A social division with matches every 2 weeks. Four players per team will play a round robin tournament style against multiple community teams during each event. As a minimum, each team will consist of one woman player. Players must have advanced skills (4.0+) and mastered multiple shot selections such as drop shots, resets, advanced dinking techniques, team strategy, spin shots, etc. Scores are not reported to a League Director. The minimum DUPR rating is 3.75 to participate; uploading game scores in DUPR is required. No fee is associated with this league.

Definitions:

• Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR) system is used to determine which level team each player is assigned. See Appendix 1 for expanded DUPR procedures.

• A pickleball game is a single event that is played to 11 points. 

• A match is the collective games (28 games) played over the course of 2+ hours. Be advised; in the DUPR program, a match is actually a single game, which is not consistent with common terminology.

Code of Conduct:

• All players will be respectful of team mates and opposing team players. Poor sportsmanship or hostile/aggressive behavior is not tolerated and can result in ejection from current match to removal from league. Players that have grievances will not confront opposing team captains or players; instead they will consult their team captain to take appropriate action on their behalf. 

• During games, coaching is not allowed by anyone; including teammates or fans.

Team Composition:

• All players, including substitutes will have a DUPR account and be placed on the appropriate team. A player will have a minimum of 30 verified games recorded in DUPR before being allowed to play on an intermediate or upper intermediate team. All players must join the DUPR Cape Fear Intercommunity League club page. In addition, team captains or Community Representatives will submit a team roster to the respective league director by 26 Feb 2024. 

• Mix (men and women) team with all players age 55+ by 31 December 2024.

• A League Director can authorize a waiver for up to 2 players per team age 50-54.

• A player will only be rostered in one division at a time. But a player can play up a division as a substitute, if needed. A player can never play down as a substitute.

Format:

• The spring 2024 season begins 11 Mar 2024  and concludes with the finals, no later than 22 May (Int) and 23 May (UI). The week of 1 April is a bye week and the week of 06 May is a makeup week; if necessary.

• Each match will consist of 7 rounds of play; approximately 2 hours of play.

• The intermediate division will consist of 1 men’s and 1 women’s doubles, and 2 mixed doubles for each round.  

• The upper intermediate division will consist of 1 men’s and 1 women’s doubles, and  2 mixed doubles for each round. 

• In total, 28 games are played in each match.

• First to 11; win by 1 point.

• Players are allowed 10 minutes prior to the start of the match to warm-up.

• Each team gets one timeout (60 seconds) per game.

• A random method, coin toss or guessing number (1 or 2) determines first serve or side. 

• At 6 points if any player requests to change sides, teams will switch.

• All games are played with Franklin X40 or Selkirk Pro S1 balls. Home team provides balls.

Weather:

• Courts must be dry for all matches/games.

• Matches that are cancelled because of weather must be made up prior to 20 May 2024.  It is up to both captains to coordinate on a makeup date.

• Home team captain is the final decision maker and must notify the visiting team captain 90 minutes prior to start time if cancelling for current or forecasted poor weather conditions.

• Team captains should make every effort to make up matches or games prior to the end of the regular season.  If necessary, the week 06-10 May will be open for completing any outstanding games or matches.  The same players are not required for make-up matches/games.  Only games that are not complete must be made up. 

Home Team Responsibilities:

• Reserve 4 courts for a minimum of 2.5 hours (allows warm up and extra time if games go long).

• Coordinate with any community security to allow visiting team access to courts.

• If required, provide visiting team any liability forms to sign.

• Both teams will record game scores and agree to match result. Home team captain or home team scorekeeper (organizer) is responsible for inputting each game result into DUPR.

• The home team captain or home team scorekeeper will also email the excel spreadsheet with scores to their league director and cc the visiting captain, within 24 hours of match completion.

Team Captain Responsibilities:

• Ensure all players meet the league requirements and are registered on the Cape Fear Intercommunity League DUPR page.

• Schedule players for each match.

• The day before (24hrs) the match, team captains will exchange a printed copy of their line up to each other.

• Contact your league director with match cancellation and reschedule date.  Forfeits are very disruptive to the league process, teams must make every effort to field a team even if you use players from the lower rated teams. More than one forfeit may result in the team not being invited back for future seasons.

• Contact your league director for any team player discrepancies or issues.

• For any game issues or challenges, both team captains will refer to the USPA 2024 rulebook to settle disputes.

• Coordinates with the DUPR Program and League Directors for any additions or deletions to player roster once the season has begun. 

Miscellaneous:

• Although each team may have unlimited players (substitutes are part of the team roster); bringing too many players to a match will result in less play time and may lead to player boredom. For the intermediate league, having 10 players (5M/5W) is optimum for scheduling. That gives each player 5-6 games per match and also a team will have a built in spare in case of injuries or fatigue. For upper intermediates, having 10 players (5M/5W) is optimum for scheduling.

• If a player becomes fatigued or injured during a game, a substitute is allowed to finish the game. The final score counts for the team but will not be inputted to DUPR.

•  An injured player may not return for the remaining match. A fatigued player must sit out an additional round of games before returning to the court.

• A team may use 2 women to play a mix doubles or in the men’s doubles. Under no circumstance can 2 men play in mix or women’s doubles.

• A player must play in one regular season match to qualify to play in the playoffs.

• Players should refrain from wearing shirt colors similar to the ball color.

• The top two teams of each conference will advance to the semifinals. The #1 seed team in each conference has the first option to host. If they cannot reserve courts for the scheduled day, the opposing team will host. Weather cancellations will be scheduled the following day. 

• The number #1 seed of each conference will play the #2 seed of the opposite conference.

• The highest remaining seeded team will have the first option to host the championship match in their community. If they cannot reserve courts for the scheduled day, the opposing team will host. Weather cancellations will be scheduled the following day.

• League Directors can waive a player that is close to the required DUPR rating but that player will be closely monitored and may be required to move divisions.

Point of Contacts:

• President Susan Cunningham/301-266-9868/scunning8@icloud.com

• Vice President Deb Chiarello/214-641-9970/debchiarello@gmail.com

• Director/3.0 League Max Kipfer/703-395-2070/maxkipfer@gmail.com

• Director/3.5 League Gordon Driver/410-991-9683/waterwiz2651@msn.com

• Director/2.5 Social Jayne Donohoe/443-286-4999/laxwomen@aol.com

• Director/4.0 Social Kevin Svenconis/603-560-3200/rytay@comcast.net

• DUPR Program Director Bill Johnson/301-401-0085/pjandbj@comcast.net

• Treasurer Charles Garufi/203-904-3184/charlesgarufi@hotmail.com

• Porters Neck CR Amy Berman/914-329-7645/armb6553@gmail.com

• Compass Pointe CR Jayne Donohoe/443-286-4999/laxwomen@aol.com

• Landfall CR Doris Chew/201-424-8976/kingdragonlady@yahoo.com

• Del Webb CR Wanda Jenkins/703-415-6460/wajfirefly1@aol.com

• BF CO-CR Joanne Emery/508-577-4755/joanneemery@verizon.net

• BF CO-CR Mary Ball/518-421-8403/maryrisch@verizon.net

• St. James CR Cathy Rollins/703-901-3217/ crollins@comtex.com

• Winding River CR David Clevenger/304-552-4153/dclevenger@trccompanies.com

• Waterford CR Charles Garufi/203-904-3184/charlesgarufi@hotmail.com

• Cape Fear CR Marcia Easton/908-415-0888/marcia.easton@gmail.com
  
  

Court Addresses:

• Dell Webb. 624 Lyrebird Avenue, Wilmington

• Porters Neck. 8403 Vintage Club Drive, Wilmington

• Landfall. 1750 Drysdale Drive, Wilmington 

• Brunswick Forest. 1281 Cape Fear National Drive, Leland, NC

• St. James. 3911 St James Dr. SE, Southport, NC 28461

• Waterford. 1081 Olde Village Circle, Leland

• Winding River. 1640 Goley Hewett Rd SE, Bolivia,  NC 28422

• Compass Pointe. Grand Lanai (courts behind)/2300 E. Oak Bridge Way NE, Leland

• Cape Fear – Beau Rivage, 649 Rivage PromenadeWilmington, NC  28412

Schedule