This is the Second Annual Juneteenth Pickleball Tournament to be held at the beautiful Wyomia Tyus Olympic Park in Griffin, Georgia. Ms. Tyus, born in Griffin, is the first person to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the 100 meters.
All start times are subject to change, and events might be merged, or split based on event registration.
The following is intended to acquaint you with the format, rules, and other particulars of this tournament:
SCHEDULE
Matches may start as early as 8:00 a.m.
Thursday, June 19th:
Men's and Women's Doubles in the Morning
Please check-in at least 30 minutes before your scheduled start time. In addition, if courts are available and everyone has checked in, we may begin subsequent events earlier than scheduled. Court assignments will be sent out via text messaging on the day of each event.
PLEASE UPDATE YOUR PICKLEBALL.COM PROFILE TO ALLOW TEXT MESSAGING.
Prior to the tournament, the brackets and playing schedules for all events will be available by clicking on the “Events/Brackets” button on Pickleball.com. Brackets and possibly playing times are subject to change up until playing time, so check back often.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The format will be round robin. As registration proceeds, tournament management reserves the option to combine brackets as needed if brackets do not fill. If brackets are combined to create playable brackets, 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.
MEDAL AWARDS
Gold, Silver and Bronze medals will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers respectively in each bracket, regardless of whether ages and/or skills were combined. Winners will be determined in accordance with USAPA rules as follows:
• Primary Criterion: the player/team that had the most wins in the bracket.
• First Tiebreaker: the player/team that won the most head-to-head match(s).
• Second Tiebreaker: the player/team with the highest point differential of all matches played in the bracket.
FOOD, BEVERAGES AND MORE
A variety of food and beverage items including soft drinks, water, sports drinks, energy bars, candy, chips, etc. will be available for purchase at the on-site concession area provided by the Spalding County Pickleball Association.
RULES
In an effort to move matches along quickly and efficiently the following instructions are provided to tournament players.
It is your responsibility to read and understand the following instructions and rules of the tournament before reporting for play.
1. The USA Pickleball 2025 Official Rule Book will govern play.
2. Start of Matches
a) When your bracket is started, you must proceed to the Tournament Ops desk to receive your scoresheet and game balls. Your assigned courts will be text messaged to you.
b) Failure to report within 10 minutes of when your match is assigned will result in forfeit the first game and any subsequent game for which you fail to appear.
3. The only items players are allowed to take onto the courts are their paddle, a towel, and a drink container. Chairs, bags, soft drinks, food, etc. are not permitted on the courts.
4. You will have 5 minutes to warm up for your first match of the day, unless you are scheduled for the very first round of matches, in which case you must be ready to begin play at the scheduled start time.
5. It is the responsibility of all players to read and understood the following:
a) The serving player/team MUST call the score prior to each point.
b) Players are responsible for calling all the lines on their side of the court.
i. The player/team on whose side the ball landed is responsible for making the call.
ii. Once the call is made, the call stands, and the opposing team may NOT question or dispute the call.
iii. Exception: if the player/team on whose side the ball landed asks their opponent for their opinion, they are allowing them to make the call.
iv. If there is no agreement on the call, replay the point.
c) Each team has two 1-minute time outs per match.
d) After the completion of each match, a representative from each doubles team will record the final score, initial the scoresheet, and turn the scoresheet into the Tournament Ops desk.
e) Players will be allowed to hydrate after any point as long, as the flow of the game is not adversely impacted.
f) Unsportsmanlike behavior will not be tolerated. Any action deemed by the Court Monitor or any Event Staff official to be unsportsmanlike will result in a technical warning (technical foul if a warning has already been issued) (Rule 13.G). Repeated behavior may result in a match forfeit or expulsion from the event.
g) Any action that results in the presence of blood is an automatic time out requiring medical attention.
