Dink Minor League Pickleball’s Most Social Event: The Dink Minor League Pickleball event at Pickle Spot in Orange, Connecticut, promises to bring the exciting and innovative MLPlay Team Event to players. This team-based competition will run from June 15 to June 18, 2025, with registration closing February 28, 2025. The tournament will begin December 27, 2024 and is set to take place at 401 Boston Post Road, Orange, CT 06477. Registration is priced at $90 per player.
- Tournament Director: Sam Rodriguez
The Exciting MLPlay Format
Minor League Pickleball is sweeping the nation with its revolutionary, fun, and social approach to amateur pickleball competition. The MLPlay Team Event brings together teams of four—two women and two men—who will compete in an engaging format with fresh twists on traditional scoring and match-ups. Here’s what participants can expect from the format:
- Teams compete in four 21-point games, including women’s doubles, men’s doubles, and two mixed doubles games.
- In the event of a 2-2 tie, the competition heads into a Dreambreaker. During this unique tiebreaker, one player from each team plays singles against the other team’s representative. The players switch every four rallies until one reaches 21 points and wins by two.
This format ensures an exciting mix of strategy, teamwork, and individual skill.
DUPR Divisions and Requirements
To add competition, teams will be divided into different DUPR divisions, based on their combined ratings:
- DUPR 20: Team’s aggregate must not exceed 20.99
- DUPR 18: Team’s aggregate must not exceed 18.30
- DUPR 16: Team’s aggregate must not exceed 16.30
- DUPR 14: Team’s aggregate must not exceed 14.30 (Max individual player rating is 4.10)
- DUPR 12: Team’s aggregate must not exceed 12.30 (Max individual player rating is 3.60)
Once registered, teams’ DUPR ratings are locked, meaning any changes to individual ratings won’t affect their division.
Substitutes and Single Registration
If players are unable to field a complete team, they can register as single players. In these cases, the tournament director will attempt to place them on a team. If a player isn’t placed on a team, their registration fees will be refunded.
For teams that need to make adjustments, a substitute player can be added. However, a substitute’s DUPR rating cannot cause the team’s aggregate to exceed the event’s division limits.
Cancellation and Refund Policy
Should participants need to cancel their registration, they must do so before the cancellation deadline, which is 15 days before the event start date. For example, if the event starts on June 15, 2024, cancellations must be received by June 1, 2024 to receive a refund, minus a $5 technology fee.
News in Brief: Dink Minor League Pickleball’s Most Social Event
Dink Minor League Pickleball returns to Pickle Spot in Orange, Connecticut, with a team-based format blending innovation and fun. Teams of four—comprising two men and two women—will compete in a series of matches using the MLPlay format.
The event offers a variety of DUPR divisions, ensuring fair competition across skill levels. Substitutes can be added to teams, and single registrations will be placed in teams by the tournament director. Cancellations are allowed up to 15 days before the event with a refund policy in place.
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