Road to Minors (RTM) Sanction Guidelines (scroll down to answer questions below)

Approval Process:
- Tournaments must be sanctioned by the RTM Association via pickleball.com
- Create a tournament on pickleball.com and request RTM Association sanction
approval (Go to "Sanctioned/Approved & Ratings" and choose RTM Association)
- Submit an application to ensure proper tracking of data and point accumulation on
the RTM Leaderboard
- Contact info@roadtominors.com for any questions

Scheduling:
- Approved tournaments will have a two-week buffer before and after their
scheduled dates within a 75-mile radius
- Tournaments cannot be held more than once a month at a single facility to prevent
intentional point inflation

Venue Requirements:
- Must have a minimum of 3 pickleball courts
- Court setup and equipment must meet RTM standards

Tournament Levels:
Bronze (3–6 courts)
Silver (7–13 courts)
Gold (14+ courts)

Tournament Format:
- All pools play a round-robin format with a guarantee of at least three matches per
team. Number of pools will be determined based on the number of registered teams
- Top teams from each pool advance to semi-finals and finals.

Scoring format:
- Pool and semi-final rounds: 1 game to 15 points (win by 1)
- Finals: 1 game to 15 points (win by 2)

Player and Partner Guidelines:
- Players sign up with a partner for each division with flexibility to change partners for future tournaments
- Separate divisions based on DUPR ratings:
          - Level 1: 3.0-3.4
          - Level 2: 3.5-3.9
          - Level 3: 4.0-4.4
          - Level 4: 4.5+
          - Open Division

Point System:
- Points awarded per placement:
          - Gold: 1st (1,000), 2nd (700), 3rd (400), 4th (200); 5th (100); 6th (50)
          - Silver: 1st (700), 2nd (400), 3rd (200), 4th (125); 5th (75); 6th (25)
          - Bronze: 1st (400), 2nd (250), 3rd (100), 4th (75)
- Points accumulate individually, tracked across men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles divisions

Leaderboard Management:
- Points are tracked locally and nationally on the RTM Leaderboard, contributing to RTM Cup qualification
- The top players from each division will qualify for their regional RTM Cup

Director Approval: There must be a designated tournament director who will coordinate with RTM management

Revenue Sharing: RTM Association receives 10% of tournament registration revenue. A check for 10% of the total registration must be sent to RTM Association no later than 5 business days after the tournament end date. 

Player Requirements
- Must have an active DUPR account
- Must be a member of the RTM Association (Club) on pickleball.com (membership is free)

Perks of RTM Sanctioned Tournaments
- Guaranteed sponsored giveaway products (i.e. Smart Sweets Candy, Happy Dad Seltzer,
Eternal Water)
- Promotional discount code to Pickleball Drop Shop (leading online pickleball retailer)
- Guaranteed raffle prizes through Pickleball Drop Shop (i.e. Paddletek, Engage, Diadem, ProXR, etc.)
- Incentive program with prizes for facilities who host multiple RTM tournaments
- Social media promotion via RTM channels
- Official RTM-branded shirts (optional add-on)
- Medalist swag bags (optional add-on)
- Opportunities for exposure to Major League Pickleball (MLP) teams

For more information on RTM go to www.roadtominors.com