Welcome to the 2026 Powerball State Championships and 2026 New Hampshire Senior Games Pickleball Tournament!
This is a USA Pickleball Sanctioned Tournament. That means that all players must be active members of USA Pickleball, the National Governing Organization for Pickleball in the United States. It also means that all results will be reported to USA Pickleball, the National Senior Games Association, US Senior Pickleball, and DUPR. Players who intend to qualify for US Senior Pickleball National tournaments must also me members of USSP.
Some matches, but not all, will be refereed. All referees are USA Pickleball officials. The head referee is USA Pickleball Certified Referee Joseph L. Santoro.
Year 2026 is a qualifying year for the 2027 National Senior Games. The tournament is also sanctioned and endorsed by the following organizations:
Powerball
PPA
USA Pickleball
US Senior Pickleball
NH Senior Games
At this tournament medal winners could qualify for as many as three national tournaments:
1. PPA National State Championships (Date and Location to be announced) in November 2026
Players of all ages qualify for this tournament. Player must be a USAPA member.
2. US Senior Pickleball National Games in Arizona in December 2026. To qualify players
must be both USAPA and USSP members.
3. National Senior Games in Oklahoma in 2027. To qualify players must be Age 50 or more by
December 31, 2026. Player must be a USAPA member.
A note about Singles events. All National Events award medals for full court singles. However,
while Mini-Singles is a USAPA sanctioned event, not all national tournaments include mini-singles
in tournament play. A player must check directly with the host tournament to learn more.
This year's event takes place at Dynamite Pickleball, 702 Daniel Webster Highway, in Merrimack, New Hampshire, a short drive from Interstate 93. There are 12 air-conditioned indoor courts plus six newly constructed outdoor courts., for a total of 18 courts. Registration is limited to the first 300 players to fully pay the registration fee.
The dates and events are:
Friday, August 07: Men's Singles
Women's Singles
Men's Mini-Singles
Women's Mini-Singles
Saturday, August 08: Women's Doubles
Men's Doubles
Sunday, August 09: Mixed Doubles
Format
All games will be Round Robin. Based upon the bracket size, the games will be 1-15 points, winning by 2, or 1-11 points, winning by 2. In a Round Robin format, each team plays every other team in that bracket at least once. For example, in a bracket with eight teams, each team will play seven games.
Brackets are limited to a minimum of three teams and a maximum of eight teams which will play as follows:
-- Brackets with 3 or 4 teams will play a double Round Robin to 15 points.
-- Brackets with 5 teams will play a single Round Robin to 15 points.
-- Brackets with 6, 7, or 8 teams will play a single Round Robin to 11 points.
Brackets are formed first by Skill Level, such as 2.5, 3.0, etc., and then by Age in five year increments, such as 50-54, 55-59, etc. If a bracket is originally outside the minimums, the tournament director may combine them.
Example
Assume the Skill Level 3.5 bracket is composed of three five year age groups with
two teams each:
Age Group 50-54 Two Teams
Age Group 55-59 Two Teams
Age Group 60-64 Two Teams
These teams may be combined into a single comprehensive bracket identified as Age 50+.
Brackets are restricted to the first eight teams with partners who have registered and paid all fees.
Example:
1. Assume ten teams are registered for Skill Level 3.0/Age 60-64. Tentatively the first eight teams
are listed in the bracket [1-8] and the two other teams are wait-listed [9-10]
2. Assume Team Number 3 has an unregistered player and Team Number 4 has a registered player
who has not paid the registration fee.
3. If Team Number 9 and/or Team 10 has both players fully registered with all fees paid, Teams
Numbered 9 and 10 will advance, while Team Number 3 and Team 4 move to the wait list.
The Tournament Director reserves the right to merge brackets when there is an insufficient number of players within a bracket to make for meaningful play. The Tournament Director also reserves the right to change the format should circumstances, such as adverse weather conditions, necessitate expediency.
With reference to skill levels:
1. DUPR is the "internal control" for bracket registration. That is, a player's registration is "tested"
by comparing self-rating and DUPR. If self-rating is higher than DUPR, the player cannot register
for a bracket lower than the self-rated skill. If the player's DUPR is higher than the self-rating,
the player cannot register for a bracket with a skill rating below the DUPR.
For example, if a player self-rates at 4.0 but has a DUPR of 3.5, the player may only register for
brackets at Skill Level of 4.0 or higher unless the player changes the self-rating in the player's
Pickleballbrackets player profile.
2. Players may register for any bracket equal to or higher than their posted skill level. However,
a player may not register for a bracket that is lower than the player's posted skill level.
This tournament does not restrict brackets to only players of a specified skill level. For example,
Partner A, with a Skill Level of 4.0, wants to partner with a friend that has a Skill Level of 3.0.
That can be done as long as the two players assume the risk that they may be competing with
teams formed by players that are both Skill Level 4.0.
This flexibility allows for partners with different skill levels to register in the bracket of the
partner with the higher skill level, and also in the bracket of the partner with the youngest age.
Other Notes:
1. The registration fee includes a souvenir tournament tee-shirt if ordered before July 22, 2026.
2. Individual events can be added to the registration for a separate fee. Each event is $ 10.00.
3. This is a combination in-door/out-door tournament with no back-up dates. Thus, each registrant
assumes the risk that adverse weather could create scheduling delays, abbreviated play, or
event cancelation. At the tournament director's discretion some brackets will play indoors, some
outdoors.
4. There is a no-refund policy. However, any request to withdraw received by July 14, 2026,
entitles the player to a refund not to exceed $ 45.00.
