PB4ALL Shamrock Slam, March 15-16, 2025 at Flyte Racquet Club, San Rafael
presenting sponsor: Mercer Advisors
The PB4ALL Shamrock Slam tournament is Flyte Racquet Club’s inaugural sanctioned event. PB4ALL Pickleball, Adam MacKinnon's new brand, is proud to present this first official tournament to showcase Flyte’s emergence as the premier Marin pickleball and racquet sport facility.
Since Flyte's soft opening in late 2023, they’ve added a fully equipped fitness center with six treatment rooms, locker rooms with sauna, a jacuzzi, 4 new Padel courts to go with their 6 tennis courts and 23 pickleball courts (7 indoor and 16 outdoor), and new Pro Shop … so it’s time to celebrate with a St. Patrick’s Day weekend tournament!
This is a prize-money event for the top-level brackets, a chance to test your competitive skills for players at all levels and is also intended to give a first tournament experience to those new to tournament play.
The tournament is all Doubles, with brackets at all skill levels (2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0+) for each category of Women's Doubles, Men's Doubles, and Mixed Doubles ... but Age Splits are NOT planned within these brackets.
We will have round-robin pool play leading to medal rounds (semi-finals, and gold/silver and bronze matches) for the top-finishing pool play teams. The tournament will be held on the 16 dedicated outdoor courts at Flyte, with possible use of taped tennis courts as well, depending on demand. We will be using the Vulcan VPRO Flight Outdoor (Neon Green) ball.
We encourage you to connect with our new Facebook group facebook.com/groups/pb4allpickleball. Please check out our website and add yourself to the PB4ALL mailing list at: PB4ALLPickleball.com. Updates will be posted there.
REGISTRATION
***UPDATE*** If you have any Registration difficulties, please consult our FAQs page to see the common problems, and how to resolve them!!!
Registration begins February 1, 2025, at 8am, and runs through March 5, 2025, until 11:55pm.
Registration fee is $70 (with a $20 discount available for Flyte members).
First 50 Flyte members to register using special early-bird discount code get $30 off registration..
Event Fee is $25 per registered event.
Registration and event fees are per player.
Flyte members should use a special members-only discount code which will be sent out via a club member announcement February 1st for the early-bird and regular discount prices. The code should be entered at checkout.
A team is not considered fully registered until both players are registered and fully paid. Teams that are not full may be moved to the waitlist at any time dependent on registration demand for individual events.
Please note that PickleballTournaments.com charges an additional $5 non-refundable service fee per event with a $10 cap. This fee is outside of our control.
USA Pickleball Membership (Champion level) valid through March 16, 2025, is required to participate in this tournament per sanctioning rules.
You can sign up for membership at USA Pickleball.
You must also connect your USA Pickleball membership to your account in this Tournament Registration Pickleball.com software:
Login to PickleballTournaments.com account | at top right: click on your name, and select My Profile | then click on Edit Profile | then click the Association Memberships tab | then Add Membership, then select USA Pickleball from the drop-down list, after which you’ll be prompted to put your Member Number in (it may take 1-2 days to synch if you have just joined USA Pickleball).
DUPR Ratings:
We are using DUPR Ratings in PickleballTournaments.com for tournament registration and seeding. You must have a DUPR account to register!
***UPDATE*** If your DUPR RATING is still ‘NR’, you CAN self-rate to register for the tournament.
If you have a numerical DUPR rating already but feel it is inflated, or the ‘Reliability Score’ is low, we will consider appeals for bracket adjustment, with supporting evidence and screenshots emailed to registration@pb4allpickleball.com.
Tournament match results will be entered into DUPR.
DUPR Resources/How-To links:
If you have questions, see: How-to-create-an-account-on-DUPR.
Connect your account with your Pickleball.com account: How-To-Connect-Pickleball-com-with-DUPR
If you are having difficulties integrating DUPR, please consult this FAQ before proceeding.
Getting a DUPR level: How-Do-I-get-a-DUPR-Rating.
If you have any further DUPR questions, just let us know and we will be happy to help!
Please note, the DUPR rating is dynamic and does NOT get 'frozen' by pickleball.com at registration as used to happen with UTPR and other ratings. Therefore, you might see someone in a bracket with a higher rating than the bracket apparently allows: they could not have registered for the bracket unless they were at the right rating at the time of registration! This is the same as in all prior tournaments. Nevertheless, we will review changes in DUPR ratings 2 weeks or less before the tournament and reserve the rate to move players to their adjusted rating.
SCHEDULE
Each bracket will run as round-robin pool play with consecutive matches, followed by medal rounds for top finishers, for a total of approximately 4 hrs start to finish (dependent on bracket size). Until scheduling is more finalized, please do not plan to do anything else on your tournament day!
Saturday, March 15, 2025:
• Mixed 2.5, 3.0, 3.5
• Women's 4.0, 4.5, 5.0
• Men’s 4.0, 4.5, 5.0
Sunday, March 16, 2025:
• Mixed 4.0, 4.5, 5.0
• Women's 2.5, 3.0, 3.5
• Men’s 2.5, 3.0, 3.5
Note: at this point Age Splits are NOT planned within these any of these Skill brackets.
IMPORTANT: We will add information here, clearly marked as an ***UPDATE*** as soon as we have a sense of bracket demand and therefore, probable start times (e.g. morning start; midday start; mid-afternoon start), prior to finalizing start times 5-7 days in advance.
***UPDATE as of 3/3***
The following brackets (because of their size) now have confirmed 'wave' start times:
Sat, Mar 15:
8:00am - Mixed Doubles 3.5
11:30am approx - Mixed Doubles 3.0
2:30pm approx - Men's Doubles 4.5 | Men's Doubles 5.0
Sun, Mar 16:
8:00am - Women's Doubles 3.0
11:30am approx - Men's Doubles 3.5
2:30pm approx - Mixed Doubles 4.0 | Mixed Doubles 4.5 | Mixed Doubles 5.0
This IS NOT a comprehensive schedule. We are awaiting the close of registration on March 5 to schedule the start times for the remaining brackets.
A player may only play in ONE event per day.
BRACKET FORMAT:
• 3 registered teams - double Round Robin of one pool (with no play off)
• 4-5 registered teams - Round Robin of one pool leading to a single-elimination medal round (1st and 2nd pool play teams play for Gold; 3rd and 4th teams playoff for Bronze)
• 6 registered teams - Round Robin of one pool leading to a single-elimination medal round (1st and 2nd pool play teams play for Gold; 3rd and 4th teams playoff for Bronze)
• 7 registered teams - Round Robin of one pool leading to a single-elimination medal round (1st and 2nd pool play teams play for Gold; 3rd and 4th teams playoff for Bronze)
• 8+ registered teams - Round Robin pool play in separate pools leading to medal rounds for top 2 finishers in each pool: semi-finals (e.g. winner of Pool 1 vs runner-up of Pool 2, and vice versa), followed by Gold/Silver match and Bronze medal match.
Pool Play:
Round Robin pool play will consist of games 1 to 15, win by 2, switch sides at 8 points. Top 2 teams from each pool will progress to the Playoffs.
USA Pickleball tiebreaker rules will apply for the round-robin pools. See Section 12: Sanctioned Tournament Policies in the 2025 USA Pickleball Rulebook: 12.C.4 Round-Robin.
12.C.4.b. First tie-breaker: head-to-head matches won among the tied teams.
12.C.4.c. Second tie-breaker: point differential of all games played. (e.g., Team A won Match 1 11-8, 11-4, so they would have a point differential of +10. Team A then wins the second match 11-9, 2-11, 11-6. For this round, they would have a point differential of -2. This would give them a total for the day of +8.)
12.C.4.d. Third tie-breaker: head-to-head point differential.
12.C.4.e. Fourth tie-breaker: point differential against next-highest player/team (e.g., if the players/teams are tied for second, use point differentials against the first-place team.)
Please note: per the 2025 USAP Rulebook, “if a player/team withdraws, retires, or is forfeited from a round robin with a playoff then that player’s/team’s match results will not count toward the standings of that round robin and the player/team will not be eligible to move on to a playoff elimination draw.” Furthermore, any withdrawal by players from a ‘dead’ pool play match (injury exceptions noted) may jeopardize future registration for PB4ALL events.
Playoff Format: Semi-final format is one game 1 to 15, win by 2 between Winner of Pool 1 vs Runner-Up Pool 2 and vice versa. [Semi-final format for 4.5 and 5.0 brackets will be 2/3 to 11] Winners move on to the gold medal match, losers will play for bronze. The medal matches are best 2 out of 3 games to 11, win by 2.
Tournament directors reserve the right to modify brackets and formats as needed based on registrations, weather impacts etc. This includes the unlikely, but possible, removal of medal matches in round-robins due to darkness or other adverse scheduling factors (so play every match to win!).
PARKING:
Free parking is available - please note, carpooling is encouraged. If you carpool, you will receive a ticket to be entered into a raffle (with higher prizes available for more carpoolers - clown cars encouraged!)
SANCTIONING AND REFEREES
This will be an MMP sanctioned tournament, with referees for all medal matches and semi-finals. All USA Pickleball Rules will apply: USAP Rulebook. Please verify in advance that your Paddle is on the USA Pickleball Approved Paddle List. This is a requirement for sanctioned tournaments.
Head Referee: Andrea Mayorga
Referee Coordinator: Adam MacKinnon
Interested referees should sign up at www.PickleballDesk.com/signup/836.
Tournament Director: Adam MacKinnon
PB4ALL Pickeball LLC, 'Advance with Adam' Pickleball Coaching
Questions: info@pb4allpickleball.com
Scholarship Donation
Our nonprofit donation partner for this tournament is the Pickleball Legacy Scholarship Foundation. We invite registering players to add a Donation Amount at checkout to this worthy cause. The PLS Foundation gathers funds and donations, and awards scholarships to qualifying youth athletes to use toward tuition at approved and accredited educational institutions in the USA. More information at www.PBLegacy.com.
Referee Workshop:
If you're interested in learning more about Refereeing, please note we are hosting a Referee Workshop for interested northern California trainees, Saturday, February 22, 2025, 11:00am-7:00pm, at Flyte Racquet Club, San Rafael. Workshop is free, with a materials fee of $20. Details on the sign-up form here: https://forms.gle/v9mjgn8rxAjb3qrF9. Advance signup required. Also, you must be a USAP (Champion level) member to take the workshop. Any questions, email Adam at adammackinnon@gmail.com.
Upcoming Junior Event:
Save the Date: We will also offer a special Junior Showcase event at Flyte, Saturday, May 10th, all day. We will use round-robin formats with play-offs to give youth players the most play possible. If you know any aspiring young players, please share the date with them, and invite them to join our mailing list at PB4ALLPickleball.com.
Don't Miss Our Additional Tournament...
PB4ALL Spring Classic, March 15-16, 2025, at Flyte Racquet Club, San Rafael, CA. Tournament details here: https://pickleballtournaments.com/tournaments/pb4all-shamrock-slam
Up thru Registration Close (March 5, 2025): Full refund less $25 processing
After Registration Close - no refund
We are making a commitment in advance to give a Full Refund (minus a $25 processing fee), in the event of on-the-weekend cancellation due to rain or unhealthy air quality. If you are registered for multiple events and only one is impacted, then the refund would be for the event fee only.
Please see our standing Air Quality policy for ‘PB4ALL’ tournaments:
If the AQI > 150 we will go forward with tournament play, but we’ll happily offer a full refund (registration plus event fees) to anyone who does not feel comfortable playing in that environment. If you are registered for multiple events and only one is impacted, then the refund would be for the event fee only.
If the AQI > 200, then the tournament will be postponed until the AQI falls below 200. We will notify players via text on an hourly basis with an update as to the plan. Formats may need to be adjusted if play resumes on the same day. However, each day will run the currently scheduled brackets (ie: it is not practical for us to defer suspended play to a subsequent day.) An air quality update will be included in our final player email to be sent out in the last few days prior to the tournament.
We will be using PurpleAir.com, with the US EPA 2.5PM filter, with No Conversion (this is the most conservative way to read part per million data.). This is NOT what the government and airnow.gov use, which allow people to be out in worse air.
Prize Money is being offered for Medal winners in the 4.5 and 5.0 brackets.
(please note: a minimum of 6 teams per bracket is required for prize money to be awarded)
5.0 Event Prize Money
Women’s Doubles 5.0 | Men's Doubles 5.0 | Mixed Doubles 5.0
Gold $300 per player; Silver $180 per player, Bronze $100 per player
4.5 Event Prize Money
Women's Doubles 4.5 | Men’s Doubles 4.5 | Mixed Doubles 4.5
Gold $150 per player; Silver $90 per player, Bronze $50 per player
Prize Money checks will be awarded at the medal ceremony.
INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY
This is an outdoor tournament. If weather is a factor, we will do all we can to play matches on the scheduled day (with modified formats if necessary), or, in exceptional circumstances, carry over the finish of a bracket to the next day. In the event of rain or smoke, all efforts will be made to move brackets indoors rather than cancelling.
Unlike other tournaments, we do make a commitment in advance to give a Full Refund (minus a basic processing fee of $25 to offset our considerable upfront costs) in the event of on-the-weekend cancellation due to rain or unhealthy air quality. (If you are registered for multiple events and only one is impacted, then the refund would be for the event fee only.)
***UPDATE*** We do now have the option of moving INDOORS if outdoor play is affected by Rain.
Flyte Racquet Club is kindly reserving the indoor courts in case of need by the tournament due to rain. The PB4ALL Shamrock Slam will go ahead indoors even if it rains!
Please note we fully intend to play the tournament outdoors if at all possible. If we do have to move indoors, there will need to be an abbreviated format, with an amended schedule, so please remain as flexible as possible in your weekend planning.
We ask that if you're feeling sick or have a fever, please do not participate (or attend as a spectator). If you have been exposed to an illness, please check your symptoms before attending. Thank you!