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What is moneyball, clearing up confusion around Ernies, and more!

There’s an exciting way to compete in pickleball tournaments that can also be quite lucrative. Moneyball is simply a competition in which one plays a multitude of games and can win money along with medals or trophies. I have been playing different combinations of moneyball tournaments over the last two years as they have become popular in Florida. Depending on the entry fee, usually $20 to $50 a person, the top 1, 2, or 3 people or teams could take home a nice cash prize. Compare this to a standard tournament (PPA or APP) where the usual entry fee is over $100 a person and double elimination, you can see why I have chosen to participate in many more moneyball events.

These moneyball tournaments not only are cheaper to enter and allow you to have a chance to win cash, but also usually provide a higher level of skill along with continuous gameplay. In a typical competition, you can play seven or more games and that usually takes place over three to four hours. In standard tournaments, you might only play two matches in a double-elimination format, or if you keep on winning you could be there for eight or more hours. In addition, moneyball can be set up by anyone at your local courts. It’s easy to run and a lot of fun.

There are three separate money ball formats I have played and with the huge growth of the sport I expect more to follow. These events can be played with 8 or 16 people or as a 4-person team event consisting of 2 men and 2 women or any combination of men and women. Tournaments can be set up as 1 pool of 8 or 2 pools of 8 if playing with 16. They can also be played individually in which one would play with a different partner every round or keep the same partner for every round.

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Rule Review of the Week

Need one of pickleball’s confusing rules cleared up? Let us know and we’ll include it in next week’s issue.

Everyone who plays pickleball wants to get an Ernie.

An “Ernie” is when you hit the pickleball either in the air as you are jumping around the Non-Volley Zone or after you run around or through the Kitchen and re-establish your feet out of bounds, just to the side of the Kitchen.

Can you hit the ball in the air across the net standing to the right or left of the NVZ out of bounds?

The answer is Yes!

4.B.7. Partner Positions. In doubles, with the exception of the server (see 4.A.4) there is no restriction on the position of any player, as long as all players are on their respective team’s side of the net. They can be positioned on or off the court. The correct server must serve from the correct service court, and the correct receiver must receive the serve.

4.A.9.a. The remedies for service motion violations are as follows:

9.D. If a player has touched the non-volley zone for any reason, that player cannot volley a return until both feet have made contact with the playing surface completely outside the nonvolley zone.

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