How to Set Up an Event in Your Tournament in PT
Events are the individual competitive divisions within your tournament in Pickleball Tournaments (PT) — for example, Men's Doubles 3.5, Women's Doubles 4.0, or Mixed Doubles Open. This article covers how to create an event and configure all the core settings that control who can register and how the event is structured.
Getting to the Events tab
From your tournament, open the 3-line menu and select the Events tab. Click the button to create a new event.
Core event settings
Event status
New events are created as disabled by default. Toggle the event to Active for it to appear on your tournament registration page and allow participants to sign up. You can also use Lock Public Registrations to prevent new registrations while keeping the event visible — a red lock icon will appear on the event during registration.
Bracket level
Bracket Level determines the tier of play and affects the PT service fee:
- All levels except Pro Event: $5 service fee per participant
- Pro Event: $25 service fee per participant (required for events offering more than $10,000 per event in prize money)
Bracket format
Select the format for how matches are played: round robin, single elimination, double elimination, or others. This displays on your tournament listing so participants know what they're signing up for.
Skill level
Set the skill level and skill rule for the event. This controls eligibility — the options are And Under, And Above, Only, and To (range). For a full explanation of each selection, see Tournament Event Skill Setup: What Each Selection Means.
NoteParticipants are never allowed to play down in skill. A player rated 4.0 cannot register for a 3.5 Only event.
Age settings
Set an age range if your event has age requirements. Like skill, you can add age rule overrides. Participants are never allowed to play up in age from what you have set. You can also optionally set up age splits for medal purposes — available in 5 or 10 year increments for events that combine age groups.
Event title and subtitle
PT auto-generates an event title based on your skill, age, and format settings. Enable Type a Custom Title to override this with your own name — the eligibility rules still apply regardless of what the title says. Use the Subtitle field to add secondary information visible to registering participants, such as prize money details.
DUPR ratings
Toggle Count Games Toward DUPR Ratings on if you want results from this event to count toward DUPR ratings after the tournament. If enabled, every participant in this event will be required to have a DUPR account during registration.
WarningDUPR counting cannot be turned on after registration opens. Decide before you open registration whether this event counts toward DUPR.
Waitlist
Enable the automatic waitlist to manage capacity. Set Max Teams for the main draw and Max Waiting Teams for the waitlist. When the main draw is full, new registrants automatically go to the waitlist. If a team withdraws from the main draw, the next team on the waitlist is automatically moved in and both participants are notified by email.
NoteSingle participants signed up without a partner take up a main draw spot. Use the Limit Teammate Must Register Within setting to set a time window for partners to register — if the window expires without a partner, the participant is automatically moved to the waitlist, freeing up the spot for full teams.
Registration settings
- Allow Need a Partner — lets participants complete registration without listing a partner. If off, a partner must be added to complete registration.
- Register Same Event — allows two participants from the same team to each register for this event separately, overriding the tournament-level setting if needed.
- Wheelchair Only — marks the event as wheelchair-specific, which applies different rules.
- Hide Players — prevents the participant names from showing on the public tournament listing, though the number of registered participants still shows.
- Medals Awarded — displays on the tournament listing to let participants know if medals will be given.
- Prize Money — marks the event as offering prize money to winners.
- Required — marks this event as required for all registrants.
Event cost
Set an additional per-participant fee for this event on top of your base registration cost. If you're including events in your registration cost, see How to Include Events with Your Registration Cost in PT for how the Included in Reg Cost toggle works in conjunction with this field.
Venue
If your tournament has multiple venues, select which venue this event will take place at. Defaults to your primary venue.
Link to parent event
Use this if you want to connect a secondary event to a primary one — for example, a round robin pool play event linked to a separate playoff bracket. Linked events are not charged an additional service fee.
Event date and time
Set the date the event will take place. You can optionally enter a specific time, or use the Display Time Type to show a general time label (Morning, Afternoon, Evening) instead. This information appears on the event during registration.
Scoring and scheduling settings
Additional settings for score format, score entry, seeding display, court assignments, and priority scheduling are covered in How to Configure Scoring and Scheduling Settings for Your Tournament Events in PT.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many events do I need before I can complete setup?
At least one event must be created and active before you can complete tournament setup and pay the setup fee.
Can I add events after my tournament is already set up?
Yes. You can add events at any point before registration closes. However, adding events after participants have already registered requires care to avoid scheduling conflicts and unexpected charges.
What event settings can I change after registration opens?
DUPR counting cannot be enabled after registration opens. All other settings can be modified, but changes to skill level, age, or format after registration is open may affect anyone who has already signed up.
A tournament director or player says they can't see medals for an event — what should I check?
Open the event and check the Medals Awarded toggle in Registration settings. If it's set to No, PT won't display medal placements on the event results even after the bracket is complete. Toggling it to Yes will make medals show on the results.
Related Resources
- Tournament Event Skill Setup: What Each Selection Means
- How to Include Events with Your Registration Cost in PT
- How to Configure Scoring and Scheduling Settings for Your Tournament Events in PT
- Venues
- DUPR Guide: How/When to use and report
Questions about event setup? Email support@pickleball.com.