Saturday Night Assignment: Create the Greatest Team in Jamboree History

Saturday night is our biggest Pickleball Jamboree to date. Here are the official details.

Before we explain the twists, think carefully about how you want to approach this experience.

Jamboree is unlike other pickleball competitions. It’s about problem solving and team building. Saturday night’s competition was created to reward teams that can process layers beyond the rally directly in front of them.

THE GREATEST TEAMS IN JAMBOREE HISTORY

At the end of this week’s Atlas Q+A, a couple of players tried to pry some advanced knowledge out of the coaches. We talked about mulligans, matchup advantages, surviving the opening sprint, and which teammates thrive in different segments of the game.

You can find snippets from this discussion – along with your next assignment — in the “Game Plan” Book of your Practice Atlas. 

As you listen, write down an idea you want to discuss with your teammates before arriving at Fairgrounds.

Think about a role you can play to help your team compete. How do you plan to adapt that role through the night? 

Finally, what is one way your team can measure "great" beyond the score?

SCORING + THE GRAND PRIZE

When you arrive at 6:30 to check in, your team captain will be given a court assignment and one Mulligan. (We’ll explain Mulligans in a moment.) For teams that are not part of a troop yet, you’ll be introduced to two other teams who will make up your evening troop.

Each time your team wins a game, send your runner to the Jamboree scoring table near centre court.

The troop with the most wins by the end of Saturday’s elimination round will win a private cold plunge + sauna session for 9 people at Gatherwell Ambleside ($295 value).

There are other rewards waiting to be unlocked on Saturday night. More on those tomorrow.

STARTING A GAME

This isn’t a tournament. Don’t wait for an adult to tell you to start your next game. The moment two teams arrive on court, use rock paper scissors (reveal on shoot, the 4th beat) to choose side/serve and which team sends out their first players. 

Repeat these words: The Jamboree Does Not Stop. 

There are no scheduled water breaks. When you rotate off, be efficient. Stay near your court to cheer on your team. As the games get longer, use the time to hydrate, use the facilities, make sure your teammates are fuelled. Scout out your next opponents, show some spirit, and be ready to play your next game.

When your game is over, leave the ball in the kitchen before moving to your next court. (An adult will penalize your team to oblivion if you take that ball to another court.)

PACE AND TIME OUTS

The Jamboree might move efficiently between games. But nobody rushes once the game starts. Play the game at YOUR PACE. Play with intention. Take 30 seconds before your game to discuss a plan with your partner. 

Each team is allowed one 30 second timeout per game. 

As the night unfolds, each game will get longer. You’ll have more time to rest. Your team will build a rhythm. Talk consciously about this rhythm with your teammates. Check in with other teams in your troop.

All games are rally scoring—win by 1.

MOVEMENT

The first game of the night is to 3. So, you’ll swap players at 1 and then again when the score reaches 2. If you are up 2-1 and the team from behind wins a point, making it 2-2, you do not swap again.

Both teams swap player at the same time; everyone plays two segments of a game.

Win and move towards court 1 (and let the scoring desk know you won).

Each subsequent game will have a scoring progression of 6 → 9 → 12 → 15. 

All remaining games until the elimination round are to 15.

And now Mulligans are in play.

MULLIGANS

That sticker you received at the start of the night is a “Mulligan.” After any rally in any game, the player watching off court can throw down a Mulligan. A Mulligan must be thrown down after a rally ends and before the next serve. When a Mulligan is thrown down, that rally will be replayed—as if it never happened. Throwing down a Mulligan should be a big, dramatic gesture. Do it with some panache. Only one Mulligan can be played per rally. (You can’t Mulligan a Mulligan – at least not this Saturday.)

After you’ve played your Mulligan it can’t be used again in that game (by either team). After you play a Mulligan, your opponents get to take that Mulligan with them to their next game. 

Yes, a team can hold and carry multiple Mulligans. 

When you arrive at a new game, you MUST declare all Mulligans to your opponents before side/serve/first pairs are chosen. (Put all mulligans on the side of the court near the post.)

Play your Mulligans carefully—waiting for just the right moment. 

Rules:

CAN MY TEAM GIVE A MULLIGAN TO ANOTHER TEAM IN OUR TROOP?

Yes, you can.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN TWO TEAMS FROM THE SAME TROOP MEET?

We call these Civil Wars.

One team will report a win for the troop.

For the rest of the night, those two teams may trade players before any future game.

ELIMINATION

When you hear the cowbells, wherever you are, the game you are currently playing becomes the opening round of elimination.

The opening elimination game is to 15. (Win by 1, rally scoring of course)

Lose that game, and your role becomes cheering for any remaining teams in your troop.

Win, and you advance to the Jamboree Playoff Courts, where the field narrows through a descending gauntlet of elimination matches: 12 → 9 → 6.

Every elimination victory counts toward your troop’s cumulative win total.

If two troops finish tied in total wins, the tie will be broken by a single sudden-death game to 3.

MISSING TEAMMATE: If one of your teammates is missing from a game, your team automatically forfeits the chance to report a Win for the troop. However, two of you can play that game, moving up or down depending on the win. Replacements and court movement will be at the discretion of coaches.

INJURY DURING PLAY: Unforeseeable things happen. We MIGHT have a player on standby if one of your teammates gets injured.

SPACE SAFETY: Teammates who aren’t on court may stand by their game court only when preparing to rotate in.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS: Unlike some of our previous venues, Fairgrounds is a big, fun space with lots of seating – and gazebos! Friends and family are encouraged to come and watch and cheer and bring their own picnic of snacks and beverages. 

REFFING: You are responsible for your own refereeing. If you get stuck, try to come to a mutually agreeable solution. Replay the point. Be fair. No armchair refs “helping” with line calls from the cheap seats.

FILMING: In the second hour, you are welcome to ask the other team for their permission to record a game. If you record the game, you must pledge to share the video with the other team for their training. Our expectation is that photos and video won’t be shared publicly without permission from others in the images. (If you send footage to the coaches before your next troop meeting, we’ll help you analyze.)

PRIZES ARE AWARDED FOR SPIRIT AND STYLE: Remember, spirit is not necessarily the loudest, smiliest person. Spirit might be the player who quietly shows grace at certain moment in a match, the one who just has a way of supporting their teammates and opponents. Spirit is the player who begins nervously, but finds courage in the competition. Spirit inspires us. Spirit pulls the reluctant ones into battle.

EARLY PRACTICE: Some of you are booking court time at Fairgrounds on Saturday afternoon to get some extra practice with teammates. Everyone involved with Jamboree can get 25% of court bookings this spring: use JAMBOREE25.

If you’ve never been to a Jamboree, there are several coaches and dozens of Jamboree veterans who are there to help you figure it out. Jamboree is a competition. But above all, this is a development event. Even in heated competition, everybody supports everybody. 

If it’s your first time, remember these three general rules of Jamboree flow: 

1- Win and move towards Court One. Lose and move the other way. 

2- The Jamboree doesn’t stop.

3- Play with joy.