VENUE:
• The tournament will be held at the Warrnambool Stadium (ARC): 71-77 Caramut Rd, Warrnambool, VIC, 3280.
• The stadium is an indoor venue housing 22 pickleball courts.
• Showers and change rooms available.
• The venue has three separate arenas (two with tiered seating and the third with surround seating).
• Full canteen facility and coffee vendor available within the stadium.
• Players are welcome to bring their own food and drinks into the stadium if they prefer.
• Multi-purpose room/lounge available within the stadium to be able to relax away from the courts.
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FORMAT OF PLAY:
• All events begin with round robin qualification matches, followed by play off matches and then medal matches.
• Round Robin Matches Scoring: pools of up to 5 teams/players (games to 15, win by 2); pools of 6 or more teams/players (games to 11, win by 2).
• Play Off Matches Scoring: 1 game to 15, win by 2.
• Medal Matches Scoring: best of 3 games to 11, win by 2.
• All players are guaranteed a minimum of three games per event.
• Head-To-Head Tie Breaker Logic (in the event of a tie in win-losses following the completion of the round robin qualification matches): (1) head-to-head matches won (matches won between the tied teams); (2) point differential of all games played (total points scored minus total points allowed across all pool matches); (3) head-to-head point differential (total points scored minus total points allowed in games between the tied teams); and (4) point differential against next-highest team.
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MEDIA & PHOTOGRAPHY:
By entering the tournament, all attendees consent to being photographed or filmed.
Images may be used by Warrnambool City Pickleball, Pickleball Australia, Pickleball Victoria, and event sponsors for promotional purposes, including websites and social media.
No additional permissions or payments apply.
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PLAYER CONDUCT:
The tournament will operate under Pickleball Australia's Participant Code of Behaviour Policy (Events and Tournaments) which details clear expectations for conduct both on and off the court, ensuring that all participants can compete, officiate, volunteer, work and spectate in a safe, respectful and welcoming environment.
Expected behaviours include:
• Play fairly, understand and follow the rules of the game (the Global Pickleball Federation Rulebook).
• Be respectful of the rights, dignity, and worth of others.
• Treat all other participants fairly without harassment or discrimination.
• Behave appropriately when not on the court at a pickleball Event or Venue and when training or touring with a PA selected representative team.
Unacceptable behaviours include (but are not limited to):
• Unsporting conduct or general misconduct.
• Audible obscenity.
• Visible obscenity.
• Paddle abuse.
• Ball and other equipment abuse.
• Verbal and physical abuse.
• Disruptive or inappropriate behaviour by non-playing participants or entourages.
The full policy can be found at: https://cdn.revolutionise.com.au/site/85zqijidwryklfgz.pdf
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TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR'S DISCRETION:
• The tournament director reserves the right to move players and teams between skill level brackets if on verification the wrong event has been entered.
• The tournament director reserves the right to review, and possibly alter a players entry who self-rate below or above their actual ability.
• The tournament director reserves the right to change start times to facilitate smooth running of the tournament
• The tournament director reserves the right to modify the events and/or schedule as needed pending influences beyond their control.
• The tournament director reserves the right to merge or split events based on event registration; events with less than 4 players/teams will be merged with another event; the merging of events could be either (1) merge within age group or (2) merge within skill level; all players affected by a merge, will be notified.
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WAITLIST:
• Singles: players will automatically be allocated a position in the main draw, UNLESS an event is at capacity.
• Doubles: players will automatically be allocated a position in the main draw, UNLESS the event is at capacity. If the player registers before the event is at capacity, the player will have 14 days to secure a partner and have the partner also enter the tournament. After 14 days if the partner fails to enter or you do not secure a partner, the players will be moved to the waitlist.
• Teams who have both players registered to the event, will be prioritised over a player who fails to secure a partner and these teams will be moved to the main draw first.
• It is the responsibility of the player to source a partner and have them enter to secure the teams position.
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DIGITAL SCORING & ALLOCATIONS:
• The tournament will be using a text messaging service for match allocation, court allocation, and for digital scoresheets.
• Players will be entering their own match scores at the completion of each match.
• Prior to the tournament, via pickleball.com, players are required to check their profile ensuring the Mobile Number (including Country code) is correct, and Text Messages is ticked (miss this step and you may miss court allocations, scorecard links and key updates).
• Players, please remember to bring your phone, charger, and reading glasses (if required).
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TOURNAMENT T-SHIRTS:
Exciting news!
Our awesome naming rights sponsor, HUSTL Pickleball, will be offering tournament t-shirts for sale.
Customisable tourney t-shirts delivered directly to the players home address, what more can we ask for?
How to order? - look out for further instructions via our socials and email.
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FURTHER NOTES:
• DUPR connection is required for participation: players must register at the appropriate skill bracket (or above) based on DUPR's rating system. Due to a number of Australian Ranking (AR) events occurring after the HUSTL Warrnambool Pickleball Open 2026's registration close-off date (Friday 8th May 2026) and prior to the start of the tournament (Friday 5th June 2026), Pickleball Australia has endorsed that event entries will be based on DUPR ratings as of the 24 May 2026. The Tournament Director will review Player's DUPR ratings on this date (24 May 2026) and has the authority to move players to the appropriate event should their DUPR rating sit above their current event entry. Doubles pairs MUST enter into the event based on the highest DUPR rated player in the pair.
• The latest indoor Franklin balls (Franklin FS Pro - Optic) will be used for our our indoor tournament.
• The tournament will use the current Global Pickleball Federation Rulebook (can be found at https://globalpickleballfederation.org/pickleball-rulebook).
• The ever-popular annual tournament dinner will once again take place on the Saturday night at the City Bowls Club (50-58 Cramer Street, Warrnambool). Further details to come.
