Fremont DUPR Club

Summary:

As it pertains to service rules, the Fremont DUPR Club (FDC) adheres closely to Section 4 of the USA Pickleball Official Rulebook (2025). However, the USA Pickleball Official Rulebook differentiates remedies for rule violations between officiated and non-officiated play, whereas, FDC tournaments tend to host a blend of officiated and non-officiated games. Whenever possible, FDC interclub tournaments employ referees through the use of "bye" teams. However, sometimes there are no referees available and violation calls are determined by the players themselves. To clarify how to remedy service rule violations, the following FDC rules shall apply to all interclub tournaments:

1. Violations: Rules on what constitutes a service violation shall follow exactly as delineated in the USA Pickleball Official Rulebook. As a reminder, the following are considered violations:
   1. Volley Serve
      1. No upward arc upon ball contact
      2. Any part of the paddle head above the wrist upon ball contact
      3. Ball contact above the waist (equivalent to the navel)
      4. Unnatural spin added to the ball during release of the ball prior to contact
   2. Drop serve
      1. Drop not released from one hand or paddle face
      2. Ball propelled up or down
      3. Unnatural spin added to the ball during release of the ball prior to contact
2. Violation Remedies:
   1. If a referee is present, any clearcut service violations will result in a fault. The referee must call the fault prior to return of serve.
   2. If a referee is present, but is uncertain of a violation, the referee may call to stop play (before the return of serve) and request a replay of the point. The referee shall indicate the specific violation that is in question so the server may appropriately make adjustments.
   3. If no referee is present, the receiving team may stop play (either by raising an arm or calling to stop play) if either player believes there to be a service violation. The motion/call to stop play must be made prior to return of serve, and subsequently the violation must be articulated to the server. The point shall then be replayed.
      1. Should the server and receiving team disagree on the assessed violation, the game will be paused until the tournament organizer (or representative) can be summoned to review the violation. The tournament organizer shall thereafter serve as the referee for one or more points (or even the remainder of the match). Should the server be found to be in violation two times, each time after requiring pause of game and summoning of the tournament organizer, the server's team will automatically forfeit the match at the current score, and the receiving team awarded all remaining points to finish the match.

Summary:

The Fremont DUPR Club (FDC) shall strive to optimize events with respect to balancing the number of games played and allowing sufficient time before, during, and after game play to ensure competitiveness, efficiency, and safety. Notwithstanding challenges due to weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances, the following event configurations for standard round robin play are recommended for game optimization:

Summary:

In rare instances, games cannot be completed as normal due to unforeseen circumstances, such as weather, time, or injuries. The following protocols will serve as the governing guidelines for FDC events:

Injuries

If a player is injured during a match, and unable to play, the following guidelines apply:

1. If either team has at least 6 points (in a game to 11), the game will count towards DUPR. The remaining score is resolved by two options:
   1. The injured team can choose to finish play in a 2v1 format.
   2. The injured team may forfeit, and the remaining points will be given to the non-injured team.
2. If neither team has at least 6 points (in a game to 11), the non-injured team will be asked if they are okay with not submitting the score to DUPR (they will still be credited with the tournament game win). If not, the resolution options under point 1 above applies.
3. For all remaining matches in the tournament: If the injured team cannot continue, their remaining matches will be considered losses, but the scores will not be submitted to DUPR.

Weather/Time

If a game is forced to stop play due to weather conditions or insufficient time, the following guidelines for score and event resolution apply:

1. If no protocol was decided upon prior to the game starting, by default any incomplete game will not count towards DUPR.
2. If prior to the game starting, the protocol is to submit to DUPR incomplete scores (written in the event description, or agreed upon by all players prior to game start), the conditions to submit scores to DUPR are as follows:
   1. If either team has at least 6 points, and the point differential is at least 2, the scores will be submitted to DUPR.
   2. Otherwise, scores will not be submitted to DUPR.
3. Should gameplay be forced to stop during the last round of the event, for the purpose of calculating final standings in the tournament, incomplete scores will be extrapolated to complete scores (rounded to the nearest whole number). Example: If the incomplete score is 6-3, the extrapolated complete score is then 11-5.5, which rounds to 11-6.
4. Should gameplay be forced to stop prior to the final round of the event, incomplete scores will be extrapolated as in point 3. above, but no final standings will be awarded for the event.
5. Exception to points 3. and 4., if the tournament's final standings are not affected by total points or point differentials, then incomplete scores will not require extrapolation for determining final standings for the event.