Welcome to the Georgia Pickleball Association Member Appreciation Tournament in Macon, Ga. The Tournament will be played at the Tattnall Pickleball and Tennis Center, 1155 College Street, Macon GA, 31201.

The Georgia Pickleball Association is thankful for an explosion of membership in 2021 and would like to show its appreciation by providing the members a FREE tournament to start of 2022.

All Entries are required to be a member of the Georgia Pickleball Association (GPA). The GPA registration fee is a one-time $20 fee for the calendar year. GPA membership allows players to play in all GPA sanctioned tournaments and leagues. GPA will maintain GPA ratings and GPA rankings for all players. GPA strongly encourages all players to also become members of USA Pickleball. Results from all GPA tournaments will also be submitted to USA Pickleball for UPTR ratings.

The registration fee for this tournament is $40 and includes two events (Mixed Doubles and Women's or Men's Doubles).

The schedule is as follows:

Saturday January 8th Men's & Women's Doubles

Sunday January 9th Mixed Doubles.

Competition each day will begin as early as 9:00 AM. Specific start times for each event will be posted and emailed to players approximately one week prior to the event.

Format is round robin.

Brackets of 3 teams: Double Round Robin. Each match will be one game to 15, win by 2.

Brackets of 4 teams: Double Round Robin. Each match will be one game to 11, win by 2.

Brackets of 5 or more teams: Round Robin with initial matches used for seeding. Top two teams play for gold. Third and fourth seed play for bronze.

As registration proceeds, tournament management reserves the option to combine brackets as needed if brackets do not fill. If brackets are combined to create playable brackets, awards will be based on the original division and not the combined bracket. Brackets will be combined by age if possible to avoid combining skills. Tournament management also reserves the right to convert brackets to double elimination if necessary.

Skills levels include 2.5 (Recreational),3.0, 3.5, 4.0.

Age groups are 14+, 50+, 60+

A team must play at the skill level of the higher rated player (or higher) and the age group of the younger player. Age is calculated as of 12/31/2022.

RATINGS

- Georgia Pickleball Association ratings will be used.

- For new players with no rating, the PickleballBrackets.com self rating will be used.

- Players who have official USAPA UTPR ratings but NO PickleballBrackets.com rating, MUST self rate using

their UTPR rating.

-Players with a UTPR that is higher than their Georgia Pickleball Association calculated tournament rating may be moved to the higher level at the discretion of the tournament director.

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You may register and identify your partner or request "Need partner". Your partner must register within five days of your registration or the team will be moved to the wait list. When the identified partner registers after the five day grace period, the team will automatically move from the wait list back to the active list if there is a slot available and both teams have paid. If a player needs a partner, the team will automatically move from the wait list to the active list once a partner is identified, registers, and both players have paid if there is an available slot to move to. NOTE: Your spot in the tournament is not guaranteed until your partner has registered and all fees have been paid in full.

There are no referees. Matches are self-monitored. If a referee is requested, we will do our best to provide one.

All Entries are required to be a member of the Georgia Pickleball Association (GPA). The GPA registration fee is a one-time $20 fee for the calendar year. GPA membership allows players to play in all GPA sanctioned tournaments and leagues. GPA will maintain GPA ratings and GPA rankings for all players. GPA strongly encourages all players to also become members of USA Pickleball. This tournament counts toward qualification for the GPA State Tournament. For players that are not already GPA members, the one time GPA membership fee can be paid when registering for the event. Players can check their ratings at PickleballBrackets.com. Simply go to club section, then click on Georgia Pickleball Association.

Cancellation deadline is 9pm January 3, 2022. No refunds for any reason after that date. Cancellations prior to that date are subject to a $10 administration fee. Your spot in the tournament is not guaranteed until your partner has registered and all fees have been paid in full.

If the tournament is cancelled due to COVID restrictions or directives from government authorities, we will credit your registration fees less any prorated incurred expenses toward a future GPA tournament.

If an event has STARTED and is cancelled due to weather there will be no refunds or credits. We will make every effort to complete any event that has been started. Tournament Director reserves the right to change format, shorten games, or make any other changes they feel will help complete the event.

Players who do not show up for their event and fail to notify the tournament director prior OR leave the event without notifying the tournament director after it has started are subject to a $25 fine. The fine must be paid before registering for any other GPA events.