GMU Fall Invitational
November 14, 2026 | Village Pickle
Hosted by GMU Club Pickleball
The tournament will feature 16 MLP teams and 20 Challenger doubles teams. Each MLP team is guaranteed four matchups, and each Challenger pair is guaranteed four matches.
MLP Division
Each team fields two men and two women. Matchups consist of women’s doubles, men’s doubles, and two mixed doubles games.
Teams will compete in four pools of four. The top two teams from each pool advance to an eight-team single-elimination bracket. Teams that do not advance will play a consolation matchup.
Pool matchups may end in a 2–2 tie. DreamBreakers will resolve tied bracket and consolation matchups.
Challenger Division
The Challenger division is open doubles, with no gender restriction on pairings.
Teams will compete in five pools of four. The five pool winners and three best runners-up advance to an eight-team single-elimination bracket. Teams that do not advance will play a consolation match.
Scoring
Planned scoring is rally scoring to 15, win by two, with each team freezing at 14 and scoring only on its serve thereafter. MLP DreamBreakers are planned to 21, win by two. Final scoring and pool tiebreak rules will be published before registration opens.
Tentative Schedule
Time
MLP check-in: 8:00–8:30 a.m.
MLP pool play: 8:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m.
MLP quarterfinals and consolation: 1:00–2 :30 p.m.
Challenger check-in: Pools A-C: 2:00 p.m.
Challenger check-in: Pools D-E: 2:25 p.m.
Challenger play begins: Pools A-C: 2:30 p.m.
MLP Semi-finals: 2:45–4:15 p.m.
Challenger play begins: Pools D–E: 2:55 p.m.
MLP championship: 4:30–6:00 p.m.
Challenger playoffs and consolation begin: 4:45 p.m.
Challenger championship: 5:55–6:20 p.m.
Awards and event conclusion: 6:20–6:30 p.m.
Match times are subject to adjustment.
Registration
Registration must be completed through pickleball.com before check-in. Players may enter only one division due to overlapping match schedules.
<b>Points and Bids</b>
This is a 100 point tournament on the College Pickleball Tour. Here is how points will be awarded:
<ul>
<li>Each group play win: +10 points</li>
<li>Make the semifinals: +10 points</li>
<li>Semifinals win: +20 points</li>
<li>Finals win: +40 points</li>
</ul>
The maximum total points you can get from winning this tournament is 100.
<b>Point System Rules</b>
<ul>
<li>A school's 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. team can all earn points for their school from the same tournament</li>
<li>Only a school's top 5 tournament performances will count towards their point total for the season</li>
<li>In March, 16 of the 64 bids to The Nationals will be given out to the schools with the most points who do not already have a bid</li>
</ul>
This tournament only gives out points, and does not have a guaranteed bid attached to it.
For more information about the College Pickleball Tour's point system, use <a href="https://www.dupr.com/post/new-point-system-for-the-college-pickleball-tour"><u>this link here.</u></a>
<b>Tournament Eligibility Requirements</b>
The College Pickleball Tour has new eligibility requirements for the 2026-27 season, please review them here before signing up for this tournament. Players must meet all of these requirements in order to participate in this tournament.
<ul>
<li>All players must be a full time student at the time of the tournament</li>
<li>All players must have a high school diploma or equivalency at the time of the tournament</li>
<li>All players can play a maximum of five consecutive seasons on the College Pickleball Tour. If this is your first College Pickleball Tour event since the summer of 2026 (past playing experience on the CPT does not matter), your five-season clock will start in the 2026-27 season. You will then have four more seasons after the 2026-27 season to play college pickleball on the College Pickleball Tour.</li>
</ul>
To read the full list of eligibility requirements for the 2026-27 season, use <a href="https://www.dupr.com/post/2026-27-season-college-pickleball-tour-eligibility-rules"><u>this link here.</u></a>
<b>General Tournament Format</b>
<ul>
<li>Schools will bring teams of 4-6 players to compete.</li>
<li>Each team will have 2-3 men and 2-3 women players.</li>
<li>Teams will play Women’s, Men’s, and 2 Mixed Doubles games against each other to determine a winner. A Dreambreaker may be played if there is a 2-2 tie after the doubles games.</li>
<li>Teams will play at least 3 group play games (against schools other than their own if possible), and then the best performing teams from group play will advance to the single elimination playoffs.</li>
<li>All players on a team must be from the same school</li>
</ul>
<b>Legal Paddles</b>
We accept all <a href="https://upaa.unitedpickleball.com/approved-paddles/"><u>UPA-A</u></a> and <a href="https://equipment.usapickleball.org/paddle-list/"><u>USAP</u></a> approved paddles at College Pickleball Tour events.
