FORMAT
There will be (minimum of )4 teams in each division. Teams compete against each other in matches. A match consists of four games. Teams will play a round robin format. No playoff bracket. The first two games are one women’s doubles game and one men’s doubles game, and then two mixed doubles games. The winning team of each game will receive 1 point. If two teams tied, after these four games, NO DreamBreaker“ is played during Round Robin play, however during playoffs it is and with a rotational system involving all four players.
Regardless of outcome, all four games will be played in a match during round robin play.
DUPR DIVISIONS:
DUPR 18+ (No max aggregate) *No max individual player DUPR
DUPR 18 (max aggregate 18.200) *max individual player DUPR cannot exceed 4.80 to play DUPR 18
DUPR 16 (max aggregate 16.300) *max individual player DUPR cannot exceed 4.3 to play DUPR 16
DUPR 14 (max aggregate 14.300) *max individual player DUPR cannot exceed 3.8 to play DUPR 14
*Please note, if a division does not meet minimum team requirements (4 teams), the event director has the right to merge divisions.
Once a team registered for the RTP event, the ratings are “locked” and their DUPR increasing or decreasing will not impact the team’s aggregate or division placement for the event they registered.
NR-Not Rated Players: if you are an NR player, your rating will be set to the average rating of the division you sign up for.
Example A : if you sign up for DUPR 16 you are assigned a 4.0 rating. The appointed rating will impact the team aggregate and said aggregate must fit within the maximum team total. The remaining players’ total aggregate must be a total of 12.0 or less
Example B: player A signs up for DUPR 18. The assigned rating is 4.5. The remaining 3 players’ total aggregate must be a total of 13.5 or less)
NR Assignments:
DUPR 14: 3.5
DUPR 16: 4.0
DUPR 18: 4.5
DUPR 18+: 4.75
The assigned NR ratings can only be altered with proper information submitted to the event organizer. The event organizer reserves the right to make the final decision on a NR’s assigned rating.
Players: teams must have 2 women and 2 men on each team. The player's combined average DUPR rating may not exceed the assigned DUPR rating for the division the team is playing. Ex: Female 1 = 4.0 DUPR, Female 2 = 3.3 DUPR, Male 1 = 4.4 DUPR, Male 2 = 3.75 DUPR. Combined DUPR total = 15.45 divided by 4 players = 3.86 average DUPR. This sample team may play in the DUPR 16 division. Teams may play up a division but may not play lower than their average DUPR.
MATCHES
Each match will consist of four (4) games to 21 (win by 1) with Rally scoring. Players will change ends when the team reaches a score of eleven (11). The four games will be played in this order. Women’s Doubles, Men’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles 1, and Mixed Doubles 2. A DreamBreaker ™ will be played to determine the winner of the match if teams are tied at 2-2 after the gender and mixed doubles games for playoff games only!. Players will be allowed to compete in only one mixed doubles game (for example, player A cannot compete in both Mixed 1 and Mixed 2 games).
Teams will play all four (4) games even if the score is 3-0 after the first mixed doubles game.
In pickleball rally scoring with freezing, a point is awarded after every rally, regardless of which team served. The “freeze” rule changes how the final points can be earned so the game cannot end too easily on a receiving rally.
Example: Rally scoring to 21
Every rally = 1 point
Either the serving or receiving team can score
First team to 21 wins
Usually win by 1 unless your event says otherwise
How the freeze works
A common MLP-style format is:
At 20 points, the leading team becomes frozen.
Once frozen, that team can only score the winning point while serving.
For example:
Team A leads 20–16
Team A serves and wins → 21–16, game over
Team A receives and wins the rally → Team A stays at 20
They gain the serve but do not receive a point.
If Team B starts catching up, Team B may also eventually become frozen depending on the tournament rules.
Double-freeze example
Score reaches 20–19.
Both teams are now essentially playing under the freeze:
Team A needs to serve and win to reach 21.
Team B must first serve and win to reach 20.
Once Team B reaches 20, they must serve and win again to reach 21.
So a team cannot win the match simply by winning a rally while receiving once it reaches the frozen score.
Simple way to explain it to players
Rally scoring applies throughout the match, but at match point you are frozen. Once frozen, you can only score the winning point when your team is serving. If you win a rally while receiving, you gain the serve but do not gain a point.
This format keeps rally scoring fast while still requiring the winning team to earn the final point on serve.
A modified DREAMBREAKER ™ (DOUBLES TIEBREAKER)
A DreamBreaker ™ is a game to 21 (win by 2) with rally scoring. Each team must rotate four (4) Doubles (Womens Doubles/Mens Doubles/Mix 1 / Mix 2) rallies in a set order. If a tiebreaker is needed during a match, teams will submit player lineups to the manager after the second mixed doubles game. Two (2) men and two (2) women will be selected to play in five (5) rally rotations, or points awarded, until the DreamBreaker is concluded.
Point Freeze/frozen applies to same as mentioned above
Prizes -
1st place members of each Event (Dupr 14/16/18/18+) will win a 6 month Signature tier membership (non transferrable)
2nd place members of each Event (Dupr 14/16/18/18+) will win a 3 month Classic tier membership (non transferrable)
3rd place members of each Event (Dupr 14/16/18/18+) will win a 2 month Classic tier membership (non transferrable)
