NEW IN SEASON 4: Team Doubles DUPR Cap of 20.500!

The Preseason Qualifiers will go from 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM at Club Pickleball USA in Orem on the following dates:

• PSQ Week 1: Monday, September 30
• PSQ Week 2: Monday, October 7
• PSQ Week 3: Monday, October 14
• PSQ Week 4: Monday, October 21

Like Season 3, players will choose their own teams and sign-up together to compete in Season 4. However, this season there is a new Team Doubles DUPR Cap — each team cannot have a combined Doubles DUPR higher than 20.500 at the time of team registration. There is no limit to what each individual player’s Doubles DUPR can be, but as a team, the combined Doubles DUPR cannot exceed 20.500 (see Q&A for examples). 

You will submit a screenshot of each player’s Doubles DUPR when your team registers. At this point, your Team Doubles DUPR is locked in. This means that even if an individual player’s DUPR changes at any point during the season, your Team Doubles DUPR will not be affected. 

In the four weeks of preseason play, teams will compete to earn Preseason Qualifier Points (PQP) in a round-robin style tournament*. PQP will be earned the same way as last season, from both games won and points scored, as follows:

Games won:

• One game won = 1 PQP
• Two games won = 3 PQP
• Three games won = 6 PQP
• Four games won = 10 PQP

Points scored: 

• 0 – 7 points scored = 0 PQP
• 8 – 14 points scored = 1 PQP
• 15+ points scored = 2 PQP

Each night, teams will play matches against others in their pool. Each match will consist of two gender doubles games and two mixed doubles games. There will be NO singles tiebreakers in the Preseason Qualifier. A max of 18 PQP can be earned for each match. 

Preseason play will be composed of two rounds. At the end of the first round, the bottom half of teams will be eliminated from that week’s competition, and the top half will continue into the round of play. At the end of the night, the top two teams with the most PQP accumulated that night will secure a guaranteed spot in the Regular Season. 

Being eliminated from one week does not mean that you are eliminated from the entire Preseason Qualifier. Come back the next week to compete again for your place in the Regular Season! Once your team secures a spot in the Regular Season, you will not compete again in the Preseason Qualifier, as you have already qualified—we will see you in the Regular Season! 

At the end of the Preseason Qualifier, eight teams will have secured their place in the Regular Season. To the four teams who won’t make it to the Regular Season: thank you for being a wonderful part of Season 4! We hope to see you next season!

Players who are not members of Club Pickleball USA in Orem will need to pay a $10 / night guest fee to the Club.

*League rules are subject to change depending on the number of teams that sign-up. 

Substitution Rules

Substitutes must submit their Doubles DUPR (in the form of a screenshot) to Sundance League Officials before they play. Their individual Doubles DUPR must not cause the Team Doubles DUPR for whom they are playing to exceed 20.500. 

Any teams found breaking this rule will forfeit the game(s) in which that substitute player is found playing. Men can only sub for men and women can only sub for women. 

Not applicable in Season 4: Any PQP that your team earns is divided evenly among the players who played in that game or match. At the end of the Preseason Qualifier, when ranking teams by PQP to determine who will qualify for the Regular Season, the team’s total PQP will be determined by the sum of the PQP earned by the top two men and top two women who ever played for that team. If a substitute player ends of having more PQP for the team that an original player, the substitute’s PQP score will be used in place of the original player. 

As the Sundance League is a team league, we do recognize that these substitution rules discourage the use of subs. However, we feel that they do not overly penalize a team who does need to use one. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding as we try to make a league that is fair for all participants!

Q&A

What is an example of how the Team Doubles DUPR Cap works?

When adding together the Doubles DUPR of each individual on the team, the total Doubles DUPR score must not exceed 20.500. 

Here is an example of a team that can compete:

• Player 1 = 6.5
• Player 2 = 4.5
• Player 3 = 5.0
• Player 4 = 4.5
• Total Team Doubles DUPR = 20.500

Here is an example of a team that cannot compete:

• Player 1 = 6.5
• Player 2 = 5.0
• Player 3 = 5.0
• Player 4 = 5.0
• Total team DUPR = 21.500

What if my Team Doubles DUPR totals to 20.501?

Sorry! Your Team Doubles DUPR can total exactly 20.500, but it cannot go over (not even by a little bit!). 

Why is Sundance League adding a Team Doubles DUPR Cap for Season 4?

The purpose of the Sundance League is to provide an MLP-like experience for amateur players in and around Utah Valley. With this goal in mind, the Team Doubles DUPR cap was instituted  with the hopes that it would encourage more players to feel like they have a chance to compete, ramping up the competition for everyone!

How is my Team PQP determined?

Any PQP that your team earns is divided evenly among the players who played in that game or match. At the end of the Preseason Qualifier, when ranking the teams by PQP to determine Regular Season seeding*, the team’s total PQP will be determined by the sum of the PQP earned by the top two men and top two women who played for that team (this includes substitutes; see the Substitution Rules).

How is the total Team PQP impacted by the use of a sub?

Bob’s team consists of Bob, Joe, Susan, and Sally. In Week 1, Bob’s team comes away with 40 total PQP. The 40 PQP earned in Week 1 will be divided evenly among the four players, which gives each player 10 PQP for that week.

In Week 2, Sally needs a sub, so Kate takes her place and the team earns 60 total PQP. The 60 PQP earned in Week 2 will be divided evenly among the four players, which gives each player 15 PQP for that week.

In Week 3, Joe now needs a sub, so John takes his place and the team earns 48 total PQP. The 48 PQP earned in Week 3 will be divided evenly among the four players who played that week, which gives each player 12 PQP for that week.

In Week 4, all four original players can play and they earn 36 PQP, which gives each player 9 PQP for that week.

At the end of the Preseason Qualifier, Bob’s team knows that they have 157 PQP because of how the points were distributed:

• Bob played four weeks and earned 10, 15, 12, and 9 PQP for a total of 46 PQP.
• Joe played three weeks and earned 10, 15, and 9 PQP for a total of 34 PQP.
• Susan played four weeks and earned 10, 15, 12, and 9 PQP for a total of 46 PQP.
• Sally played three weeks and earned 10, 12, and 9 PQP for a total of 31 PQP.
• Sub Kate played one week and earned 15 PQP for a total of 15 PQP.
• Sub John played one week and earned 12 PQP for a total of 12 PQP.

Taking the top PQP earners of Bob, Joe, Susan, and Sally, Bob’s team has a total of (46 + 34 + 46 + 31) 157 PQP. If they had never used a sub, yet still earned the same amount of points, they would have had (15 + 12) 27 additional PQP at the end of the Preseason Qualifier.

What is different between the Sundance League and MLP?

While the goal of the Sundance League is to provide an MLP-like experience, there are some key differences:

• Team Doubles DUPR Cap of 20.500
• All games are played to 21 (not 25)
• No let serves
• Sundance League uses the Dura Fast 40 ball