The Setup
Skill Groups – The sixty players were first grouped into 3 “skill groups” and given a letter to designate the group.
- A Group: Twenty 3.0-3.5 players
- B Group: Twenty 3.5-4.0 players
- C Group: Twenty 4.0-4.5+ players
Pairings – Players were then paired within each skill group with the goal of achieving an appropriate balance of skill from any given pairing to the next. This created 10 pairs of players (“pairings”) in each of the three groups.
Teams – Next, one pairing (2 players) was randomly selected from each of the three skill groups to form a “team” of six players. This resulted in 10 teams.
Divisions – The teams were randomly split into two divisions:
- Broken Top = five teams: Blue, Green, Red, White, and Black
- Bachelor = five teams: Blue, Green, Red, White, and Black
The Process
Each pairing would participate in a double round robin against other teams within their group and division. For example, the Mt. Bachelor Blue Team-Group A pairing would play against the Group A pairings in the Green, Red, White, and Black teams within their division. The B and C pairings would do the same. All pairings in the Broken Top division would also do the same within their division. This resulted in each pairing in each group playing 8 games with two byes.
The Auction
The “Reveal” dinner on Thursday, September 28, was catered by Bleu Bite Catering and included a delicious barbecued tri-tip meal with all the trimmings. Prior to dinner, players learned who their “pairing” partners and other “team” members were. Dinner attendees were first given an opportunity to participate in a silent auction to bid on any of the pairings.
After dinner, silent auction winners were announced, and the live auction for the 6 player “teams” commenced. Michael Mineni ran the live auction and did a great job of bringing in the bids. The evening ended with all pairings and teams sold.
Outcomes
Tournament play occurred on Saturday, September 30 at Pickleball Zone. Due to inclement weather, Werner Zehnder generously offered to host the event indoors. Each game was played in a 1-15/win-by-1 “rally scoring” format where a point occurs with any fault. This faster format turned out to be a lot of fun once everyone got the hang of keeping score.
When the dust settled, the winning pairs in each group were determined by the number of wins. Ties were broken by head-to-head play and point differential. Of the 30 pairings, only one pairing “ran the table,” winning all 8 of their games. There was not one “pickle” (shutout), and many games were determined by one point. Winning teams were determined in the same manner.
The complete results can be viewed below.
All-in-all, the tournament was really fun and, based on many comments, seemed to be enjoyed by everyone. Thanks to all who supported the event planning and hosting, and, of course, by participating!
