competing club teams

Dear Columbus Municipal League Pickleball Captains and Future Players,

It’s time to secure your spot for the Spring 2026 League Season! We are thrilled to kick off our second year of high-quality competitive league play.

Play with Your Club, Rep Your Crew

This Spring, we return to the popular Captain-Chosen Team format. This means you can play alongside your regular partners and club members. Last year’s league saw strong representation from competitive groups at Cooper Creek, Green Island, the Country Club of Columbus, Fort Benning, County Rec Centers, and CSU. Rally your group and represent your home court!

Competitive Divisions to Match Your Skill

To ensure balanced and fun competition, we are planning to field separate skill divisions:

3.0–3.9 Division: Great for solid intermediate players.

4.0–4.9 Division: For advanced players seeking a high-level challenge.

New to the game? If we get enough interest, we will add a 2.5–2.9 Division for dedicated beginners looking to gain experience and improve.

The League Experience

The success of COLGAMLP is defined by more than just winning; it’s about building the Columbus pickleball community. Get ready to meet and play against new faces at different venues, elevate your skill set, and forge lasting friendships. Every season is an opportunity to improve and enjoy the great sport of pickleball.

Have questions or suggestions? I’m here to help. Please contact me directly at colgamlp@gmail.com.

Let's Grow Columbus Pickleball!

Doug Miller

 Please review the strict requirements and deadlines below for the Spring 2026 Season of COLGAMLP.

1. Team Roster Requirements: Teams must consist of five (5) players with one designated Team Captain. Each team must include a minimum of two (2) women and two (2) men.

2. Captain-Only Registration Process: Only Team Captains may submit the registration materials and payment on behalf of the entire team. To fully register, the Captain must submit all of the following:

• Team Name
• Team Logo (Get creative!)
• Player names (Captain + 4 players)
• League Fee: $40 per player (a total of $200 for a five-player team).
• Player Ratings: The Captain must provide the DUPR rating (or the best competitive estimate) for all five players for division placement.

3. Key Deadlines & Season Start

             Mark your calendars! These deadlines are firm:

                     League Registration Deadline is January 31, 2026.

                     Season Starts on February 15, 2026.

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:

Definitions:

     Match - entire competition between two opposing teams. A match consists of four lines and         potentially a DreamBreaker. To win a match, a team must win 3 out of 4 lines.

     Line - within the match the four lines are Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. To win a line, a team must win 2 out of 3 games.

     Game - played to 11 win by two.

     DreamBreaker - only played if teams win two lines each. Played to 21 with rally scoring, singles, 3 consecutive serves per player, and win by 2 while serving. 

Concept:

The core of MLP is to create a dynamic and engaging team environment within pickleball. Instead of individual players competing, teams up to five 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 lines:

Line 1. Women's Doubles: Two female players from each team compete against each other.

Line 2. Men's Doubles: Two male players from each team compete against each other.

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

Line 4. Mixed Doubles: 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 line 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 lines, an exciting tiebreaker called the

"DreamBreaker" is played. 

Here's how it works: If both teams are tied at 2-2 after the 4 lines 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.

Date/Time/Location: TBD after completion of regular season makeup matches.

Eligibility and Team Requirements: The four teams with the highest final standings from the regular season will qualify for the championship playoffs. Qualifying team captains will coordinate with the league commissioner for the date and time to ensure maximum player participation.  The away team captain will submit his/her team's lineup to the home team captain 24 hours before the playoff start time.

Team Roster Requirement: Each team must have a minimum of four players (2 males and 2 females) rostered and present for all playoff matches. No player may play more than two lines. All six players must be rostered for the DreamBreaker. Failure to meet this requirement may result in a forfeit.

Gold and Silver Match (1st & 2nd Place)

• The team with the 1st highest regular season standing (away) will play the team with the 2nd highest regular season standing (home).
• The winner of this match will be declared the Columbus Georgia MLP 2026 Spring Season City Champion (1st Place). The loser will be awarded 2nd Place.

Bronze Match (3rd Place)

• The team with the 3rd highest regular season standing (away) will play the team with the 4th highest regular season standing (home).
• The winner of this match will be awarded 3rd Place in the league.

Match Format: All playoff matches will adhere strictly to the same format and rules for regular season matches, including the number of lines, games, and scoring.