Welcome to the 2025 Rocket City Labor Day Classic Pickleball Tournament! Proudly sponsored by the Huntsville Sports Commission and the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The tournament will take place at the newly opened Rocket City Pickleball Club in Huntsville, Alabama, featuring 10 dedicated indoor pickleball courts with CushionX hardcourt surfaces and permanent nets. Each court is individually fenced, and a Championship Court with courtside seating offers a premier spectator experience.

Tournament Schedule

Saturday, August 30 – Men’s Doubles and Women’s Singles

Sunday, August 31 – Mixed Doubles

Monday, September 1 – Men’s Singles and Women’s Doubles

Tournament start Times and Location:

Matches will begin as early as 8am each day. Specific start times will be posted and emailed to players one week prior to tournament start.

LOCATION: 3228 Leeman Ferry Road, SW, Huntsville, AL 35801.

REGISTRATION:

Opens: May 29th - August 26th, 2025

Entry Fee: $45 through August 9th, then increases to $55.

Registration includes 1 event. Additional events are $15 each.

IMPORTANT: Registration is not complete until both partners have registered. Players must find their own partner. NO REFUNDS will be issued after the refund deadline if you are unable to find a partner.

All open divisions will offer prize money of $500 per division awarded as follows: $250 for 1st place, $150 for 2nd place and $100 for third.

Official USA Pickleball rules apply. Referees will be used throughout the tournament but with emphasis on medal rounds and lead-in matches.

Only paddles listed on the USA Pickleball Approved List as of the tournament start date, may be used.

Player amenities include heavy snacks each day, lunch on Saturday, player gift and custom medals. Locker rooms with showers will be available for players as well as practice time prior to the start of the tournament from 3pm -7pm Friday, August 29th. Practice courts will be available in a "open play, 1 game on/off" during this time.

As registration proceeds, tournament management reserves the option to combine brackets as needed if brackets do not fill. If brackets are combined, awards will be based on the original division and not the combined bracket. Brackets will be combined by age if possible to avoid combining skills.

Format

Format is Round Robin with single elimination medal rounds for brackets having 4 or more teams. Round robin play will be one game to 15, win by 2, except brackets with 8 or more teams where it will be one game to 11, win by 2. Medal rounds will be a mix of single games to 15 and best of three games to 11.

Bracket configurations:

3 teams – Double Round Robin, all teams advance to medal rounds.

4-9 teams – Single Round Robin, top 4 teams advance to medal rounds.

10-14 teams – Two pools of Single Round Robin, top 2 from each pool advance to medal rounds.

15-18 teams – Three pools of Single Round Robin, top 2 from each pool advance to medal rounds.

The Tournament Director reserves the right to change the format based on registration and other factors.

Skill levels are 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, and Open. Age groups ( 2.5 through 4.5) are 14+, 35+, 50+, 60+, 70+. Medals will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place finishers in each bracket.

The five Open divisions (MD, WD, XD, MS, WS) will offer prize money of $500 per division awarded as follows: $250 for 1st place, $150 for 2nd place and $100 for 3rd place.

Players may register “Down in Age” or “Up in Skill”.

Registration criteria are based upon DUPR ratings or "Self-Rating" if no DUPR exists at the time of registration.

If you withdraw 2 weeks or more before the tournament date you will receive a full refund. If you withdraw within 2 weeks of the tournament start date you will receive a 50% refund.

ALL REFUNDS WILL BE ISSUED AFTER THE TOURNAMENT HAS ENDED.

Each OPEN division will have awarded $500 in prize money. The breakdown will be: $250 - 1st place, $150 - 2nd place, $100 - 3rd place.

This is an indoor tournament with no impact due to weather.