competing club teams

Dear Columbus Major League Pickleball Team Captains and Players,

Welcome to the Fall 2025 Season!  It seems as though the Cougars just won the spring city championships, and we are already excited for more dinking action as the weather begins to cool.

Returning league players will note that the fall season is structured differently from the previous spring season.  Instead of players aligning with their usual "tribes", now each player is entered into a draft.  Captains will sequentially build his/her teams according to the skill levels and experience within the player pool.  To learn more, click the button "The Draft Process: How Will Teams Be Selected?".

If you liked the "tribal" teams concept, don't worry...each spring season will be "tribal" and each fall season will be a draft. 

Congratulations to the new team captains this season.  Each captain's leadership will be crucial to running the league efficiently and fairly.

SWAT: Cody Phillips (Brings championship table tennis technique to the court and holds the highest DUPR in the land.)

Crushers: Chaitanya (CT) Malla (The newest player to arrive in Columbus from Dothan, AL and already impressing the city with his groundstrokes and internal medical expertise.)

Dink Around and Find Out: Tania Richards (A renowned golfer and returning player from last season's runner up team (Swans) who is a great motivator stepping up to lead her own squad.)

Fountain City Flickers: Casey Geringer (A local ophthalmologist, cross-fitter, and marathoner who plays a little pickleball on the side.  Better wear your eye protection around her!)

Kitchen Patrol: Lance Tankersley (President of Columbus Pickleball Association and the man we all should thank for championing the endeavor to get the new facility funded, constructed, and opened soon!)

Kitchen Nightmares: Brian Phillips (Father of 3 aspiring pickleballers who is serving in his 17th year of active duty service at Fort Benning.  He enjoys bringing teams together for a common goal, fun, and competition.)

Paddlers: David Theriault and Co-Captain Noah Theriault  (Captained a team in the spring and is the most passionate and emotional pickleballer in Columbus.  With his experience of leading in the last league he is source of continuity.  Noah motivates the team, keeps the players spirits high, and handles logistics to fuel up the squad.)

The captains and I will soon go into the draft selection to create fair and balanced teams ensuring that the competition is both fierce AND fun.  Matches will be set up so that players are across the net from opponents with similar skill levels.  Get ready.....captains and players can make contact with team members through GroupMe and start practicing together.

If you are not yet a member of the Columbus, GA Pickleball GroupMe, consider joining for current information on the local pickleball scene and to network with other players.  https://groupme.com/join_group/89875472/7gGUnx8b  

Finally, COLGAMLP was successful last season because league members played with new people at different venues around the city and built friendships within the Columbus pickleball community.  My hope is that every player will accomplish those tasks again while having a great experience.

Please reach out to me at colgamlp@gmail.com with any comments, concerns, or suggestions for the Fall Season.

Paddles up!

Doug Miller

MLP tournaments typically involve multiple teams competing in a round-robin or pool play format, followed by playoffs for the top-ranked teams. Teams earn standings points based on their match wins.

Proposed Seven-Week Schedule for Seven Teams (Round Robin):

To have each of the seven teams play every other team once over seven weeks, we structured a round-robin schedule. Assume one match per week for each team, scheduled for Monday evenings.  Each week, one team will have a bye.

How it Works:  Each team plays one match per week for seven weeks, facing a different opponent each week. By the end of Week 7, every team will have played all six other teams. Week 8 provides flexibility for any necessary adjustments and the playoff final showdown.

Player Substitutions:  If a team captain needs to utilize a sub, he/she may pick one from the sub bench. Teams may only use a specific sub player one time during the season. Therefore, if we have sub players A, B, and C, then a team can only sub in player A one-time during the season. But the team can later use sub B and/or sub C. This will allow all teams to utilize the same subs, but not keep playing the best subs.

This structure ensures a balanced and competitive tournament where every team has the opportunity to compete against all others, mirroring the exciting team dynamics of MLP.

Upon conclusion of the weekly match, the winning Team Captain will report the score to the Commissioner via the GroupMe app by posting the scoresheet.

Municipal League Pickleball (MLP) tournaments feature a unique team-based format that differs from traditional individual or doubles pickleball competitions. Here's a breakdown of the concept and structure:

Concept:

The core of MLP is to create a dynamic and engaging team environment within pickleball. Instead of individual players competing, teams up to eight players (with a minimum of two women and two men) compete against each other in a series of matches. This format emphasizes team strategy, collaboration, and the excitement of both singles and doubles play within a single team matchup.

Structure of a Team Match:

A standard MLP team match consists of the following four rounds:

Round 1. Women's Doubles (Game 1): Two female players from each team compete against each other.

Round 2. Men's Doubles (Game 2): Two male players from each team compete against each other.

Round 3. Mixed Doubles (Game 3): One male and one female player from each team form a partnership and play against the opposing team's mixed doubles pair.

Round 4. Mixed Doubles (Game 4): The remaining male and female players from each team form a

different mixed doubles partnership and compete.

Scoring:

• Games are played to 11 points (win by two, traditional side-out scoring).  A team will win a round by winning two out of three games.

Overall Match Scoring: A total of three standings points are awarded for each regular season match.

• 3 Points: Awarded for a regulation win (3-1 or 4-0; no DreamBreaker needed).

• 2 Points: Awarded for a DreamBreaker win (3-2).

• 1 Point: Awarded for a DreamBreaker loss (2-3).

• 0 Points: Awarded for a regulation loss (1-3 or 0-4; no DreamBreaker needed).

The DreamBreaker (Tiebreaker):

If the team match is tied 2-2 after the four rounds, an exciting tiebreaker called the

"DreamBreaker" is played. 

Here's how it works: If both teams are tied at 2-2 after the 4 rounds played, they’ll go to a DreamBreaker! In a DreamBreaker one person from each team plays singles against each other, switching every three points until a team gets to 21 and wins by two points. To level up the stakes, the away team has to present its singles line-up first then the home team gets the chance to counter that with their own configuration of their lineup to match and counter each player’s skills!

1. Scoring: A point is scored on every rally, regardless of which team served the ball.

2. Player Rotation: Each team previously declared a rotation order of ALL participating players.  ALL players must play in the DreamBreaker.  After every three points, the players rotate according to the predetermined order.

3. Freeze: The "freeze" rule applies at game point (20-point mark).  A team must win the final

point while serving.

For full rules, please see the downloadable Columbus MLP Rules Guide below.

The commissioner will select voluntary team captains and determine the number of teams based on the quantity of players registered for the league.

Team captains and the commissioner will meet for a draft to select teams.  The commissioner will provide index cards with each player's name and skill level.  The cards will be laid on the table categorized into male/female and skill levels.  Starting with the captain with the lowest DUPR rating, the captains will sequentially choose female players from the pool.  Following selection of female players, the Captains will continue building teams with male players until each team is filled with seven total players.  

The commissioner will then evaluate the teams for overall fairness and approve the teams.  Captains will contact their players to welcome them to a team.

All registered players will be selected for a team.  During the season, captains must ensure that each player will compete in a minimum of 75% of the matches.  This will prevent overusing the highest skilled players.

COLGAMLP SURVEY RESULTS: The purpose of the survey was to collect player input to best organize the Fall 2025 MLP Season.

Conclusions and considerations from the 53 survey responses:

WOMEN PLAYERS: Women players are well represented with over 1/3 of potential players. This supports great mixed doubles and women’s games for a balanced season. 

SKILL BALANCE: The majority of players are at the intermediate level (69%, DUPR 3.0-3.9) followed by advanced players (23%, 4.0-4.9) with a few beginners and masters level participants. If the number of registrants supports two leagues (intermediate and advanced) we will form two leagues. Otherwise, we will form one big league and ensure skill balance by holding a fair draft to assemble teams.

LOCATION: Most players call Cooper Creek their home court (57%) with the Country Club of Columbus (9%) and CSU Courts (8%) as the next most played. Therefore, Cooper Creek will be the primary venue, however other locations may be utilized at the discretion of team captains. 

TEAM CAPTAINS: Over a quarter of players volunteered to serve as a team captain which demonstrates excellent leadership within our PB community. Team captains will be crucial to good communication and coordination throughout the season. I will select team captains after the registration window closes. 

SCHEDULING: Monday (34%) and Tuesday (28%) evenings are the most preferred days for matches, followed by Thursday (19%). Other days have significantly less interest. Therefore, Monday evenings will be the primary time for matches with Tuesday/Thursday as make-up options.