FAQ | Training | 2024 Rulebook
Frequently Asked Questions
At Florida Pickleball Leagues (FPLI), we take immense pride in uniting players through our innovative team-based leagues, fostering a vibrant and close-knit pickleball community that celebrates the joy of the sport together.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Florida Pickleball League, Inc. (FPLI) will be a statewide team-based pickleball league. It currently operates in the following regions: Brevard, Greater Orlando, Volusia, Indian River. FPLI is a nonprofit corporation led by a group of volunteers who want to make that experience available to players throughout Florida.
FPLI was formed to develop and introduce competitive team-based league pickleball to Florida, collaborating with Arizona Pickleball players League in Arizona and eventually nationally. We believe there are thousands of players that would like to enjoy a low cost, organized, locally convenient and competitive pickleball experience that is open to all adults ages 16 years and above.
FPLI’s objective is to bring a standardized team-based league format to Florida and eventually nationally as an alternative or addition to the existing singles or doubles tournament infrastructure.
Team-based league pickleball is a competition where several teams consisting of 6 or more players compete against other teams within the same skill level over a period of months for a championship using a standardized and structured format of play.
It is common to have 10-12 players on your roster so you can have confidence that you can field 6 players when you have a match. On match day you will bring 6 players and a sub, if available, from your roster who will play against your opposing team’s 6 players.
FPLI is starting in the Central Florida region and will grow throughout the state in the coming years. It currently operates in the following regions: Central Florida, NE Florida, NW Florida and the Panhandle.
You don’t really “join” FPLI. If you play on an FPLI team there is a fee that you will pay when you register on that team. If your club or community has indicated an interest to play in FPLI you should contact your club FPLI administrator and indicate your interest in being on a team. You can also form your own team. If you have a network of similar skilled players that enjoy playing together and they are interested in joining your team, you can register a team on the FPLI website.
FPLI supports Gender and Mixed skill level flights in 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5/5.0+ increments depending on regional interest.
There will be 2 age groups initially. An open age group can be anyone over 18+. There will also be a 55+ age group. You must turn 55 before the end of the year of the season you are playing.
You can play on your gender specific team, as well as a mixed doubles team. You can also play on an open age team and a 55+ team if you qualify for the 55+ team. You can join two different teams in different skills if you are .5 skill lower on one team and meet the criteria for that team age ranges.
See the website for current cost information. The per player fee for the entire season will continue to be less than the cost to play in one sanctioned tournament.
That will vary depending on the number of teams participating in the various skill level flights. Ideally there would be 6 teams on each flight. There can be more and there might be less. There typically would be 8 to 12 matches per season (including state championship playoffs).
That depends on the League Region. Home courts may be at city or county courts contracted through the appropriate officials (for example city Melbourne may be playing at Jimmy Moore courts, or and Orlando team may play at cady way courts) or club courts obtained through a community that have been approved for use for FPLI matches. Visiting teams will travel to their opponent’s home courts to play their matches. FPLI attempts to reach agreements with various Public (City/County/Regional) and Private for-profit venues in each region to make courts available for FPLI matches, for a fee.
Most of the 55+ teams will play during the week on weekdays. Most of the open age teams will play evenings or weekend afternoons, subject to court availability.
Typically matches take about 2 hours to complete. Matches use 3 courts simultaneously. When possible, we recommend reserving the 3 courts for 2.5 hours to allow for some warmup time. Two hours is the minimum time required.
The league is just beginning in 2023. The Florida Pickleball Leagues, Inc became incorporated as a nonprofit corporation in 2023. It is being modelled off the very successful Arizona Pickleball Players League that has been running since 2019.
If you are a member of a community or club, you should ask your club’s administration if they will be participating and, if so, who oversees putting teams together. You can also form your own team if you have a network of similar skill level friends who would be interested in enjoying team-based pickleball. In this case you would simply register your team when registration opens for a particular season. If you’re not able to pull a team together and/or your club is not involved, a Player Seeking a Team form is on the FPLI website which you can fill out to let captains know you are interested in joining a team.
Yes, you can. There is information on how to form and register your own team on the FPLI website.
You do not have to be a member of a club to participate. Many clubs and communities form their own teams and prefer their teams be made up of club or community players, but FPLI does not require you to be a member of a club or a community to participate. Anyone can form a team if they can meet the requirements such as securing a venue for their home matches, having enough players, etc.
See the narrative below taken from the FPLI Rules of Play.
Match Day Teams: On match day the captain will bring 6 players to play on 3 doubles teams. Line-ups identifying the doubles teams on the scoresheet will be exchanged prior to the start of the match after which they may not be changed. The 3 doubles team partners will stay together for that day’s match unless substitutions are made (see substitution rules). Captains or their designees are required to be on-site at each match.
Match Process: To begin a match, the visiting teams choose to serve, receive or side. Each doubles team will play 2 games to 11 (win by 2). Teams shall switch sides after the first game. At the end of the second games (first round), and the fourth games (second round), the visiting doubles teams switch courts to play the next home doubles team noted on the line-up/scoresheet. Therefore, on team match day, each doubles team will play 6 games (three rounds): 2 games against the opposing line 1 doubles team, 2 games against the line 2 team, and 2 games against the line 3 team. Two team points are awarded for each game won by a doubles team. If the losing team scores 6 or more points in a game, they are awarded 1 team point. No team points are awarded for a score of 5 points or less. Whichever team earns the most team points in all the games played in a match, will be the winner of the match and will be awarded a win in their league skill group team standings.
No, you do not need to be a member of USAP to participate in any of the FPLI leagues. In addition, your FPLI match results do not affect your UTPR rating if you have one.
The FPLI Regional leagues’ age requirement is 18 years and over. There are 2 age defined leagues (18+ and 55+) in each region in each division (Men’s, Women’s & Mixed). 1. Open Age League: All teams are not age restricted. Players must be 18 years or older by December 31st, 2023. 2. 55+ League: Players must be 55 years or older during the calendar year of the league start.
FPLI’s Fall League season typically starts the second week in October and ends near before Christmas holiday. The Spring season starts in January and will end in April. The Regional Championship will be played at the end of the season. See the website for registration deadlines and other key dates.
Visit the FPLI website at: floridapickleballleagues.org and click “Get Started” on the top menu. We have links to respond to common questions and a generic “Contact Us” button to respond to everything else. Or reach out to one of the League Coordinators in the “Contact” section and they will be happy to help you.
What is it, and what does it mean? A player's TSR is a number from 2.0 - 6.0. It is similar to the NTRP ratings used by the USTA.
- A 2.0 represents a player who has not played before or who has very little experience playing any other racquet sports.
- A 6.0 represents a highly skilled player who can compete at the national level.
- Use match data from prior seasons.
- Set an initial TSR based on a player’s division/typical line number.
- Ratings for new players entering the league will be determined by either their captain, pro or league.
- An 'official' rating in DUPR, WPR, UTPR or Pickleball Brackets will supersede any captains rating, pro rating or league rating for new players.
TSR ratings are dynamic, and adjust after match results are posted. The ratings algorithm uses the match outcome (win/loss, and games won) and the relative strength of the teams to determine the adjustment. Winning/losing the match is the most important factor in determining a rating change.
For example: Player A (3.5) and Player B (3.5) have a match versus Player C (3.5) and Player D (3.0). Team A/B has a combined rating of 7.0 vs. Team C/D’s 6.5. Team A/B has a higher TSR and is favored to win the match.
If Team A/B wins, this is the expected outcome. Ratings for A and B will increase a small amount; Ratings for C and D will decline by the opposite amount.
On the other hand, if Team C/D wins, this is an upset! Ratings for C and D will increase by a more significant amount while Ratings for A and B decrease.
Large changes in Rating are achieved through upsets or lopsided victories between closely-matched teams. A heavily-favored team cannot improve its rating by feasting on weak opponents.
League ratings are not exported to any other rating system but they will be used for subsequent league activity.
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