Rules & Regulations

1. 01

   Verification deadline

   Team Rosters are due on October 15 so UHSPA staff can verify students are playing in the correct school boundary. Additional students may be added anytime, but must wait 7 days to compete. Coaches/Advisors must verify the player lives in their school boundaries and has not already graduated High School. Once you see a check mark in the verified column, that player is eligible to compete.

2. 02

   Championship eligibility

   A player who did not compete in at least two meets during the season will not be eligible to compete in the Regional or State Championships.

3. 03

   Roster size

   There is no limit to how many players can be on a school’s roster.

4. 04

   Who can play each week

   A school may bring any number of players to each meet each week but only 8 (4 boys and 4 girls) are allowed to play. Additional players may be brought in case of sickness or injury so games are not forfeited. Once a game has started, those players must finish the match. If a player cannot continue due to injury or sickness, it will count as a withdrawal.

5. 05

   School boundaries

   All players for a team must be from the High School, or can be Junior High or Homeschooled students living in the High School boundaries. No exceptions. A school found in violation of this rule will be disqualified.

6. 06

   Pro / collegiate ineligibility

   Any student who is signed with PPA, APP, MLP, or who plays for a collegiate pickleball team is not eligible to compete with UHSPA.

Competition

Game Play

How meets run on court — timing, equipment, coaching, and conduct.

• Punctuality

  Schools who are more than 15 minutes late to a meet/tournament game will forfeit their match.

• Team shirts

  All players and coaches must wear their UHSPA team shirts to compete in every meet and tournament.

• Ball

  We will be playing with the Vulcan ball.

• Line calls

  Line calls will be made by the players on the court but can be appealed to the referee if there is one on the court. No spectators or teammates may make line calls. If there is a dispute between the players on the court, the referee’s judgement will stand.

• Coaching & timeouts

  Coaching is not allowed except for during time-outs or between games. Each team is allowed one, 1-minute time-out per game.

• Meet format

  At each of the meets in our season, you will play one match against one High School team in your region.

• Approved paddles

  Please make sure that players only use approved paddles. Players who use a banned paddle will be disqualified and the match forfeited. See the list of approved paddles.

• Adult conduct

  Coaches and parents are expected to display positivity, good sportsmanship, integrity and kindness at all times. The adults are examples for the students to follow.