Pickleball Refereeing: To Overrule or Not to Overrule

To Overrule or Not to Overrule: That is the Question
 
We hear this question quite often as we travel the pickleball tournament trail:
In an officiated match, when should the referee overrule a call made by the players?   ball
 
Well the answer is NOT, “anytime they see a wrong call made.”
 
If you are one of those great volunteers who steps up to referee during a tournament,
let us start by saying THANK YOU!
 
To us, one of the top things that help make a great tournament (besides lots of players) are the referees. A shortage of available refs is death to running a smooth, on-time event.
 
But when you are refereeing, what can make your life easier?  It is knowing when or when NOT to overrule a player’s call.
 
First, understand that this is the player’s match and they should be in control of it.  Not the referee. A referee only has a few responsibilities when on the court. Number one is to keep track of the score and make sure players are in their proper serving and receiving spots (but only when asked).
 
Number two is to watch the non-volley line for foot faults, and number three is to watch for service foot faults.
 
THAT’S BASICALLY IT.
 
Contrary to what a lot of players think, it is NOT the responsibility of the referee to make line calls, or even to overturn bad line calls.
 
Players are responsible for making their own line calls.  To be even more specific, the receiving team is responsible for the line calls when the ball comes to them. 
 
If there is doubt between the two receivers, then they SHOULD call it IN.  More on that in another issue.  But if the receivers call it out and the hitting team thinks otherwise, the HITTING team is permitted to ask you one question, “Mr. or Ms. or Mrs. Referee, did you get a good look at that ball?”
 
Now is the moment when good referees become great, respected referees.
 
If you clearly, and I mean 1000% ,saw that the ball was IN, then you may overrule the call.  But you should only make that overrule if you clearly saw the ball hit directly on or inside the line.  And most of the time you can only CLEARLY see that on the side of the court you are standing on.
Ball on Line
 
If you did NOT clearly see it, then it is absolutely and most of the time expected for you to say, “I did not get a clear enough view to overturn that call”.  
 
Two of the players will be miffed for a minute, but it is the proper and respected thing to do. 
 
However, if you overrule a call from clear across the court, that was very close, then two players are going to be mad and they will doubt whether you or anyone else could have clearly seen it from that far away.  And they have a right to doubt. So be very, very careful about overruling a call that is far away from you.
 
Remember, you have a lot going on during a point to make sure the kitchen stays clean, so if you don’t see a close called ball, it is more than ok.
 
Don’t ever be afraid to say, “I didn’t get a good enough look”. 
In the end, players will always respect that and you will be a great referee.
 
Keep up the great work and thanks again for reffing,
 
-Rocket

Pickleball Rocks Men’s 5.0 Summer Shootout Coming…

The pickleball fanatics are at it again.  This summer for the first time ever, we are bringing sixteen high level players to tiny Brookville, Indiana for what will be a fun memorable weekend of pickleball.

This summer we have decided to have a Men’s Pickleball Rocks 5.0 Doubles Summer Shootout in Brookville on June 28th and 29th.

Pickleball Rocks Summer Shootout

We were looking for 16 high level players to come to Brookville for a shootout like never before.

No need to bring a partner, as this will be an every-man-for-himself doubles shootout.

Well the shootout draw is NOW FULL.

Here is what the players can expect:

Over 2 days you will be playing a 15 match round robin, where you will play one 15 point game (win by 2) with each and every other player entered.  YES, you will have a new doubles partner for each of your 15 matches.

Individual points will be tallied after each match with 20 points awarded to the match winners and the losers receiving their actual points scored during the match (maximum 13).  The tournament winner will be the individual with the most total points at the end of your 15 matches.  Tiebreaker will be most match wins, then Head-To-Head.

Day 1: Play will begin at 10:00am on Saturday June 28th with 8 matches scheduled.  There will be a break for lunch with a bag lunch provided.  After play has concluded, a cookout will be provided at the Grubbs home in Brookville.

Day 2: On Sunday June 29th, play will begin again at 10:00am with 7 matches scheduled.  Sunday lunch will be provided with play concluding around 4pm.

Entry fee for this event is $25 and cash prizes will be provided as follows:

Winner Receives $150 CASH, Second Place Receives $100 CASH, Third Place Receives $75 CASH, Fourth Place Receives $25 in Pickleball Rocks Bucks (good for Pickleball Shopping), Fifth and Sixth Place Receives $10 in Pickleball Rocks Bucks for pickleball shopping.

Should be a weekend to remember.  I know I’m looking forward to it.

-Rocket

HERE IS THE MATCH SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEKEND:

Pickleball Rocks Summer 5.0 Shootout - June 28 - 29, 2014

The Confirmed Players are:

Zack Grubbs – Fort Wayne, Indiana

Jeff Siebert – Brookville, Indiana

Paul Colletta – Flat Rock, North Carolina

Gary Ball – Monroe, Michigan

Paul Sprainitus – Canton, Michigan

Alvin Stinett – Terre Haute, Indiana

Jim Hackenburg  (injured and rehabbing) we’ll miss Jim.  Hurry back!

Al Hager – Eloy, Arizona

Ian Titus – Terre Haute, Indiana

Josh Grubbs – Fort Wayne, Indiana

Rob Ziegler – Hebron, Kentucky

Matt Smith – Fort Wright, Kentucky

Mike Swartz – Florence, Kentucky

JT Schwarz – Union, Kentucky

Jack Froman – Batesville, Indiana

Prem Carnot – Oceanside, California

Andy Gensch – Overland Park, Kansas

Rodney Grubbs – First Alternate

Meijer State PIckleball Games

 

 

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Final Tournament Results Below:

After 2 days and 15 matches:

First Place $150 Paul Sprainitis (279 pts).

2nd Place $100 Josh Grubbs (275 pts).

3rd Place $75 JT Schulz (241 pts).

4th Place $25 Matt Smith (232 pts).

5th Place $10 Andy Gensch (230 pts).

6th Place $10 Paul Coletta (228 pts).

7th Place Rob Ziegler (220)

8th Place Gary Ball (211)

9th Place Tie Jack Froman and Jeff Siebert (207)

11th Place Zack Grubbs (202)

12th Place Rodney Grubbs (198)

13th Place Ian Titus (189)

14th Place Mike Schwartz (181)

15th Place Alvin Stinnett (175)

16th Place Al Hager (148)

2014 Pickleball Rocks Summer Shootout Winners

2014 Shootout Winners

Pickleball Rocks: Club of the Month – Mission Royale

Mission Royale Pickleball Club:
To us at All About Pickleball, we believe there is much more to a pickleball club than just playing pickleball.   A great pickleball club does things to cause the community to embrace it.The Mission Royale players embody what it means to be a true club.Yes they welcome new players.  Yes, they have referree training programs. And yes they host one of the largest and funnest tournaments in the country plus an annual in-house tournament.

But this club goes well beyond that by giving back to their community. 

Recently this club participated in a Color Dash 5K and raised over $4200 for their local Humane Society.

 
Each year they select a community project to get behind.  This year’s in the Home of Hope: Women and Childrens’ Center.We could go on, but this was more than enough to earn them our Pickleball Rocks Club of the Month.
Congratulations Mission Royale Pickleball Club

Following The World’s Biggest Pickleball Tournament

Video from the USAPA National Tournament

Hey Pickleball Nation, it is finally here.  After 365 days of practice, playing and promoting pickleball, the 5th Annual USAPA National Tournament is back and we’re packing to go.  The 2013 tournament will be held November 11-17th at Sun City Festival in Buckeye, Arizona.

We, of course will be one of the tournament sponsors and are looking forward to presenting the USAPA with a check from all the sales you, our great customers, generated from purchasing all the “Pickleball Rocks” branded shirts and hats.  This yearly donation is made to help the continued growth of pickleball.  Many thanks to you for shopping at PickleballShopping.com .

As of today, there are over 640 players from 39 states plus Canada and Netherlands registered to play in Buckeye.

Take a peek at the awesome list of players registered:  PLAYER LIST

Talk about a fun week, here is the schedule of events: EVENTS SCHEDULE

And if you can’t be at the tournament, at least you can watch the brackets unfold and the winners posted here: RESULTS BRACKETS (this link will be active after the tournament begins).

I hope you can make it to Buckeye because it is a pickleball experience unlike any other.  Hundreds of great players, 24 courts and a large vendor area where our team will be camped throughout the week.

It will be fun as we have many new “Pickleball Rocks” dri-fit logo items ready to unveil

Pickleball Rocks Ladies Pink Long Sleeve ShirtHeather Grey Dri Fit Pickleball Rocks Ladies ShirtBlack and Lime Pickleball Rocks Dri Fit ShirtLive Laugh Play Pickleball Ladies Dri Fit Shirtplus we’ll have a limited amount of the new, fun “Pickleball Rocks and So Does The USAPA” long sleeved dri-fit shirt.  It contains the official USAPA logo on the left sleeve and the new Pickleball Rocks logo on the right sleeve.  Get there early if you want one of these. 🙂

Pickleball Rocks and so does the USAPA shirt

Looking forward to a week of meeting new friends and reconnecting with old ones.

Pickleball Rocks!

Rocket

 

 

 

1st Pickleball Rocks Summer Shootout a Hit!

If you can imagine a 4 person game of ping pong, being played while standing on top of a really big outdoor table, then you have pickleball.

Now create a day for a whole bunch of them to compete for one-of-a-kind bag tags and really cool prizes, then you have the Pickleball Rocks Summer Shootout in Brookville, Indiana.

Brookville Pickleball Tournament

A tour around the tournament site revealed a huge hospitality tent loaded with snacks and bottled water that was sponsored by various local businesses to make sure the players were kept strong and hydrated.  Also courtside was a newly built shade shelter Brookville Pickleball Shade Shelter with plenty of seating to help keep the players cool.  And of course, one of the most popular places to hangout between matches was the vendor tent showcasing the wildly popular “Pickleball Rocks” dri-fit shirts and hats plus corporate sponsor, Pro-Lite Sports pickleball paddles.

If player feedback is any indicator, the 1st ever Pickleball Rocks Summer Shootout was a huge success.

Said tournament advisor Rodney Grubbs, “It was certainly fun planning this first ever Brookville tournament, but what was most satisfying for me is that I sit on the Chamber of Commerce board of directors and this tournament put people in our hotels, restaurants and bed and breakfasts for two weekends.  From a tourism standpoint this tournament was a great success and it will only grow from here.  From a pickleball growth point of view, it is phenomenal to have this many players come here for a first time tournament.  Obviously people are hearing about the quality of pickleball being played here in Brookville.

The personal feedback and emails received from the players after the tournament have been especially gratifying because it tells us that we did things right.  Everyone loved it and have committed to coming back next year.”

Saturday June 29th was a special day just for the 3.0 skill level players competing for the coveted “Shootout Champion” bag tags and “Pickleball Rocks” branded prizes.  The ladies 3.0 winners were: KeKai Ruckstuhl and Jean Haupt from Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Runnerups were the sister duo of Shelly and Tammy Haley of Indianapolis and third place went to Sharri Kendall and Betty Herbert of Connersville.

3.0 Summer Shootout Winners

Ladies 3.0 Shootout Winners at Brookville, Indiana

3.0 Mens Winners Summer Shootout

Men 3.0 Winners at the 2013 Pickleball Rocks Summer Shootout in Brookville, Indiana

On the men’s side, bringing home the top prize was: Matt Klein and Joe Meeks from Fort Wayne, IN.  Runnerups were Paul Hamilton and Larry Oliver from Anderson Township, OH and third place went to local Brookville players, Michael Taylor and Kevin Moster.

Sunday June 30th was dedicated to the 3.5 level players and the ladie’s winners were: Melissa Muha (Fishers, IN) and Karen Grubbs (Brookville, IN).  Runnerups were Jen Griffin (St. Leon) and Bridget Danemayer (Cincinnati, OH).  Third place honors went to Kim Clements (Cincinnati, OH) and Kathy O’Bryan (Brookville, IN).

3.5 Summer Shootout Winners

Women’s 3.5 Pickleball Rocks Summer Shootout Winners in Brookville, Indiana

Summer Shootout

Men’s 3.5 tournament winners at the 2013 Pickleball Rocks Summer Shootout in Brookville.

Ladies 4.0 Pickleball Rocks Summer Shootout Tournament winners

The 4.0 Ladies Winners at the 2013 Pickleball Rocks Summer Shootout tournament.

5.0 Men Medalists Pickleball Rocks Summer Shootout tournament

5.0 Men’s winners at the 2013 Pickleball Rocks Summer Shootout tournament.

Men's 4.0 Pickleball Rocks Summer Shootout tournament medalists

Men’s 4.0 Winners at the 2013 Pickleball Rocks Summer Shootout tournament

5.0 Ladies Medalist - Pickleball Rocks Summer Shootout tournament

The 5.0 Ladies Winners at the 2013 Pickleball Rocks Summer Shootout tournament.

Men bringing home the prizes consisted of: (CHAMPIONS) Bruce Colton (West Chester, OH) and David Newman (Anderson Township, OH), (RUNNERUPS) Rick Zeek (Western Hills, OH) and Marc Mateyko (North Bend, OH).  And capturing third place by the slimmest of margins (1 point) was the team of Jerry Rea (Syracuse, IN) and Ken Flora (Fort Wayne, IN).

On July 20th the 4.0 players gathered for their special shootout. Coming away with the prizes for the men were: (CHAMPIONS) Mark Oswald (Fort Wayne, IN) and Don Labacz (Grabill, IN), (RUNNERUPS) Brad Bilyeu (Terre Haute, IN) and John Tackett (Louisville, KY)  plus 3rd place finishers, Dave Brostrom (Cincinnati, OH) and Jim Huitsing (Mason, OH).

Lady winners were: (CHAMPIONS) Marilyn and Courtney Haslup (Fort Wayne, IN), (RUNNERUPS) Miriam Long and Chrissy Haywood (Louisville, KY) and 3rd placers, the dynamic sister duo of  Sharon Hall and Cheryl Wyatt (Middletown, OH).

In the sport of pickleball, there are not many players who are entitled to the coveted 5.0 skill level designation.  But on July 21st, 2013, sparks flew as some of the best 5.0 pickleball players in the country descended on the sleepy little town of Brookville.

After a full day of competition, the prize winning 5.0 winners for the men were: (CHAMPIONS) Jim Hackenberg (Kalamazoo, MI) and Paul Sprainitis (Clinton Township, MI), (RUNNERUPS) Josh and Zack Grubbs (Fort Wayne, IN) and bronze medalists JT Schulze  and Mike “Ripit” Schwartz (Florence, KY).

Capturing the high level prizes for the ladies were: (CHAMPIONS) Alison Fulton (Lady Lake, FL) and Denise Boutin (The Villages, FL), (RUNNERUPS) Susan Wiartalla (Novi, MI) and Merriann Murphy (Howell, MI), plus bronze winners Yvonne Hackenberg (Kalamazoo, MI) and Marsha Koch (Toledo, OH).  They do seem to be enjoying wearing their new stylish earrings. 🙂

At the end of each day a prize drawing was done to give away a Pro-Lite Paddle.  The lucky winners were Gene Silver who won a Pro-Lite Blaster, Jan Eischens who won a Pro-Lite Magnum, Robbie McClain winning a Pro-Lite Classic and Marsha Koch taking home a Pro-Lite Aero-D.  Many thanks to sponsor Pro-Lite for donating the paddles.

And of course, a tournament of this magnitude simply cannot happen with the support of our great local sponsors.

Thanks to everyone who pitched in.

-Rocket, Josh and Zack (Tournament Directors and Player Services at AllAboutPickleball.com)

WHAT THE TOURNAMENT PLAYERS ARE SAYING:

“This was our first Pickleball Tournament and we had a great time. It was so much fun, can’t wait to do it again next year!!!!!” -Betty H and Sharri K.

“Had a great time on Saturday. Thanks for the amazing event!!!” -Michael T.

“Thanks again for the opportunity to play in your tournament.  It was a great time. Well organized. I have played in other tournaments that were not well organized at all. My partner and I both enjoyed ourselves a lot.” – Larry O.

“Tournament was a lot of fun.  You all did a great job with everything.” – Judy G.

Loved your tournament.  Tell the boys thanks so much.” – Michell C.

“My first pickleball tournament and I loved it.  Thanks for a great experience.” – Jen G.

A Five Star tournament.  Smoothly run and plenty of fun playing pickleball. Looking forward to next year.” – Miriam L.

Pickleball Tournament Sponsors

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Additional sponsors were: Harold Spurlock (Local Farm Bureau Insurance Agent).

PickleballShopping.com