How to Create Your First League Session in PL
A Session is a time-bound group of game days within your league — a fall session, winter session, spring session, and so on. This article covers every setting on the session creation screen so you can configure your first session correctly.
Part 1 — Basic Info
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Fee Plan | The current fee for the league in USD. |
| Visible Status | Controls whether the session appears on the public website. Works together with Show Public Date. |
| Current Status | Turns the session live. Only enable this when setup is complete and registrations can begin. |
| Complete and Lock | Turn on to end the session. |
| Count Games Toward Club Ratings | If on, games count toward club ratings when all players in a game are club members. Required if using club ratings on the ladder. Note: additional fee applies. |
| Count Games Toward DUPR Ratings | If on, game results are sent to DUPR after each completed game day. All players must have a DUPR account linked. |
| Activate Player Text | If on, players receive a text after each game showing the entered score. Managers can also send texts to all opted-in players on a game day. |
| Default Location | The playing location for this session. Locations are defined in the Club record. |
| Rating Choice | The rating used to determine eligibility at sign-up. Choose DUPR or Self Rating (evaluated in order). If a player has NR in DUPR, the system falls back to self-rating. |
| Sign Up / Payment Type | Choose per game day payment or full session payment. Flex Leagues require Session Sign Up. |
| Max Players for this Session | Set a player cap or leave unlimited. Blue number shows current registered count. |
Part 2 — Online Registration Parameters
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Allow Non-Member Sign-Up | No = club members only. Yes = open to non-members. Each player will only see the single price for their own category (see Cost to Members / Cost to Non-Members below) — the two prices are never shown side by side. |
| Cost to Members / Cost to Non-Members | Set different prices for club members and non-members. Player must be listed as a club member in your Pickleball.com Club to receive member pricing. On the registration page, each player sees only the price that applies to them — a member sees the member price, a non-member sees the non-member price. The site does not display both prices together. |
| New Players Start | At Bottom = new players start at the bottom of the ladder. At Rating = placed based on their rating. |
| Show to Public | When the session appears on the public website. Session must also be set to Visible. |
| Use Waiting List | Creates a waitlist once the game day max is reached. Waitlisted players auto-move in when opt-outs occur. |
| Display Opt-In Wait List Date/Time | Shows when players joined the waitlist on the public game day detail page. |
| Display Opt-In Playing List Date/Time | Shows when players opted into the playing list on the public game day detail page. |
Players never see both the member and non-member price at once. Whoever is registering will only see the single price that matches their own membership status — there's no side-by-side comparison on the registration page. If a player thinks they were charged the wrong price, check whether they're listed as a member of your Club.
Part 3 — Online Registration Dates
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Use Online Registration | Yes = players register themselves online. No = league manager handles all registrations. |
| Current Players Early Signup Date | Lets players from a prior session register before the general public. Online registration only. |
| New Players Open Spot Signup | The date new players can begin registering. Online registration only. |
| Age Limit Deadline | The date used to calculate player age if the session is age-restricted. |
League managers are not restricted by registration deadlines. Only players registering online are subject to these date limits.
Part 4 — Session Operation Parameters
These settings control how players are matched and how the ladder moves each game day.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Scramble Seeding Within Group | Uses different seedings each week to vary matchups within a group. Prevents the same players from always being matched. Only applies to groups of 5+. Note: when enabled, the manager cannot manually move players between groups. |
| Ranking Type | Determines how players move up or down the ladder. See dedicated ranking articles for details on each type. |
| Choose Group Size | Set your first and second choice of group size for game days. |
| Player Score Formats | Set scoring format (games to, win by, rounds) for group sizes 4–16. Highly recommended to configure multiple group sizes as a fallback. |
If you have groups of 4 and 5 on the same game day, a proven format is: Group of 4 — Double Round Robin, games to 11 win by 2 (6 games each). Group of 5 — Single Round Robin, games to 15 win by 1 (4 games each). Both finish in about 1.5 hours.
Part 5 — Adding game days
Once the session is configured, add your game days:
- Click Add New Game Day to add a single game day, or Add Multiple Game Days to create the full session schedule at once.
- Select the day(s) of the week you'll be meeting.
- Set the Start Time, Number of Weeks, and Max Players on Game Day.
- Set First Game Day — the date the session begins.
- Set Opt In From — how far before game day start time players can begin opting in.
- Set Opt In To — when the opt-in window closes.
- Set Waitlist Prior to Start Time — the final cutoff for automatic waitlist movement. Set this far enough ahead that waitlisted players have time to arrive.
Set Max Players on Game Day to match your available court space. Any player who tries to opt in after the maximum is reached will be prompted to join the waitlist.
Frequently asked questions
Will players see both the member price and non-member price when they register?
No. Each player only sees the single price based on their own membership status — club members see the member price, and everyone else sees the non-member price. The two prices are never displayed together on the registration page.
How do I add a second session after my first one ends?
Use Add a Session from the League Menu. The setup process is the same as the first session. See The League Menu in PL for navigation help.
I'm setting up a Flex League — is there anything special to configure?
Flex Leagues must use Session Sign Up (not per game day payment). Make sure to set this before enabling registration.
Can I change session settings after registration opens?
Yes. Use Edit Current Session from the League Menu. Most session parameters can be updated as long as the session hasn't been completed and locked.
Related articles
Questions about session setup? Email [email protected].