DPL

Governance

Official rules, policies, and codes of conduct for the Dublin Padel League.

Platform Guide

v1.0

Dublin Padel League — Platform Guide

How the system works · v1.0

This guide explains how the DPL platform works for both players and club managers. Read the section that applies to you.

1. Accounts and Roles

Everyone on the platform has one of three roles:

  • Player — the default role. You can view and edit your own profile, see fixtures and standings, and submit scores for your team.
  • Club Manager — manages a club's teams, players, courts, and registration. A club manager account is created by the DPL Committee when a club joins the league.
  • Admin — the DPL Committee. Full access to everything.

Creating your account

Player accounts are created in two ways:

  1. Club manager-created — your club manager adds you to the system and you receive an activation email with a link to set your password.
  2. Self-registration — you register directly on the platform. Your account starts as a basic player profile until linked to a club and team.

Club manager accounts are created by the DPL Committee when a club is approved. You will receive an email invitation with a link to set your password.

2. The Season Lifecycle

Every DPL season moves through four stages:

Stage What's happening
Interest Clubs signal that they intend to enter. No commitment yet.
Nominations Clubs confirm their teams and nominate players. Player lists lock at the nominations close date.
Active Fixtures are being played. Scores are submitted and standings update in real time.
Completed The season is over. Final standings are set, class locks are released, and the season is archived.

The DPL Committee sets the key dates for each season: interest window, nominations deadline, season start date, and season end date. These are published in advance.

3. Divisions, Classes, and Groups

Classes

Players are assigned a class from 1 to 6, where 1 is the highest level. Your class determines which division you compete in.

Your class can change between seasons based on your performance. Once you are promoted or reclassified during an active season, your class is locked until that season completes.

Divisions

Each season has separate divisions for men's and women's leagues, split by class. Within a division, teams may be placed into groups depending on how many teams are entered.

Stages

A division can run across multiple stages — for example, a group stage followed by a knockout. How a division is structured depends on the number of teams and the format chosen by the DPL Committee.

4. Teams

Structure

Each team belongs to one club and competes in one division. A team has:

  • Nominated players — the players registered to that team for the season.
  • Pairings — two named pairs are designated before the season starts. Pair #1 plays Pair #1 from the opposing team; Pair #2 plays Pair #2.
  • A captain — one nominated player is the team captain, responsible for match-day organisation and score submission.

Substitutes

Each club can register substitutes for each class. A substitute can be called upon when a regular pair player is unavailable. Substitutes must be registered before the nominations close date (the DPL Committee can override this).

5. Fixtures

Each fixture is a tie between two teams, consisting of:

  • Rubber 1 — Pair #1 (home) vs Pair #1 (away)
  • Rubber 2 — Pair #2 (home) vs Pair #2 (away)
  • Rubber 3 (Decider) — played if Rubbers 1 and 2 are split 1–1, with pairs chosen by the team captains

Each rubber is played as best of 3 sets. If a rubber reaches one set each, a 10-point champions' tiebreak replaces the third set.

Walkovers

If a team cannot fulfil a fixture, it may be recorded as a walkover. There are three types:

  • No-show — team fails to appear with no notice
  • Advance notice — team gives sufficient notice that they cannot play
  • Forfeit — team concedes the fixture

The opposing team is awarded the points. The DPL Committee decides whether fines apply.

Byes

In rounds where a team has no opponent (e.g., odd number of teams), a bye is recorded. Byes do not award points and have no effect on ELO.

6. For Players — Match Day

Before the match

  • Your team captain will confirm pairings and let you know which rubber you are playing.
  • If a pair member is unavailable, a registered substitute may be called in.

Playing

  • Play is governed by the DPL Rules and FIP Rules of Padel (see the Governance page).
  • Short deuce applies: at 40–40, the next point wins the game.
  • The home team provides courts and new balls.

After the match

  • The winning team captain (or home team captain in a tie) submits the full scores within 24 hours using the platform's score submission form.
  • The opposing team captain then has 48 hours to confirm or dispute the scores.
  • If no action is taken within 48 hours, scores are auto-confirmed.

7. Submitting Scores

Scores can be entered in two ways:

  1. Digital entry — the submitting captain logs in and enters the set scores for each rubber via the platform. The opposing captain receives a notification and can confirm or dispute.
  2. Physical match sheet — an admin logs scores directly from the paper Fixture Report. Physical sheet entries are auto-confirmed immediately and bypass the dispute window.

Confirming scores

When you receive a score submission notification, log in, review the scores, and either:

  • Confirm — scores are accepted and standings update.
  • Dispute — flag a disagreement. The DPL Committee will review and issue a ruling.

Score disputes

A disputed score enters review by the DPL Committee. You should be prepared to provide supporting evidence (photos of the match sheet, witness accounts). The Committee will resolve the dispute within 14 days.

8. Standings

Standings are calculated per stage. After each confirmed fixture:

  • The winning team earns 3 points (default).
  • A drawn fixture earns 1 point each (applies in group stages where draws are permitted).
  • A loss earns 0 points.

Tiebreakers

Tiebreakers apply to playoff qualification only — they are not used during group stage play. Throughout the group stage, teams are simply ranked by their cumulative points total and all results count equally.

At the end of a group stage, if two or more teams finish level on points and this affects who advances to the playoffs, positions are resolved in this order:

  1. Head-to-head result between the tied teams
  2. Rubber differential (rubbers won minus rubbers lost)
  3. Set differential (sets won minus sets lost)
  4. Game differential (games won minus games lost)

In a playoff or knockout stage, there are no tiebreakers — every match is played to a conclusion, with a decider rubber if the standard rubbers finish level.

Points adjustments

The DPL Committee may apply manual point deductions (e.g., for disciplinary reasons). These are shown in your team's standings and are accompanied by a reason.

9. ELO Rankings

The ELO ranking system tracks individual player performance across all competitive rubbers. Your ELO rating is per class — you have a separate rating for each class you have competed in.

How ELO is calculated

After each rubber your ELO updates based on:

  1. Your pair's expected probability of winning — based on the average ELO of your pair vs the average ELO of the opposing pair.
  2. The actual result — win, loss, or draw.
  3. K-factor — controls how much a single rubber can move your rating. A lower K is used when you are an experienced player; a higher (provisional) K applies when you are newer to the system and have fewer rubbers played.

The formula is: E = 1 / (1 + 10^((opponent_elo - your_elo) / 400))

Beating a stronger pair earns more ELO than beating a weaker one. Losing to a weaker pair costs more than losing to a stronger one.

Minimum rubbers

A minimum number of rubbers must be played in a season before your ELO ranking appears on the public rankings page. Players below the threshold are shown greyed out.

Substitutes and ELO

Substitutes do earn (and lose) ELO from the rubbers they play. Their substitute appearances are tracked separately.

10. For Club Managers — Season Registration

Registering your club

At the start of each season, the DPL Committee opens an interest window. Submit your club's interest to confirm you intend to enter teams.

Once the interest window closes, you will receive details of the entry fee and the nominations deadline.

Entry fees

The DPL charges entry fees either per team or per player (the billing mode is set per season). Invoices are issued to clubs directly. Payment can be made via Stripe using the link in your invoice, or by bank transfer.

Discount codes may be issued by the DPL Committee for early payment, returning clubs, or special circumstances.

Credit balance

If your club has overpaid in a previous season or received a credit from the Committee, this balance is applied automatically against your next invoice before any payment is requested.

11. For Club Managers — Managing Your Team

Nominating players

During the nominations window, log in to the Club Hub and nominate players to each team. Players must:

  • Be at least 18 years old as of 1 January of the competition year.
  • Be registered to your club.
  • Not be nominated to another team in the same class in the same season.

Setting pairings

Before the season begins, assign each team's pairings:

  • Pair #1 — two players who compete as your top pair.
  • Pair #2 — two players who compete as your second pair.

Pairings can be adjusted by the DPL Committee but are locked once the season becomes Active.

Registering substitutes

Add substitute players to your club's substitute list for each class. Substitutes can step in for any pair member in that class. They must be registered before the nominations close date.

Managing courts

Keep your club's court information up to date in the Club Hub. You can add courts, mark them inactive during refurbishment, and set availability blackout dates for periods when courts are unavailable.

12. For Club Managers — Match Day and Scores

Before the fixture

  • Confirm which pair members are playing for each rubber.
  • If a player is unavailable, assign a registered substitute. Log this in the score submission form.

Submitting the result

After the match:

  1. Log in to the Club Hub.
  2. Navigate to the fixture.
  3. Enter the set scores for each rubber. If a substitute played, record which player they replaced.
  4. Submit. The opposing captain will be notified to confirm.

Scores must be submitted within 24 hours of the match. Late submissions may result in a fine.

Automatic confirmation

If the opposing captain does not confirm or dispute within 48 hours of submission, scores are automatically confirmed and standings update.

13. Fines

Fines may be issued by the DPL Committee for:

  • Late score submission — failure to submit the Fixture Report within 24 hours.
  • No-show — failing to appear for a scheduled fixture without advance notice.
  • Conduct — serious breaches of the Code of Conduct.
  • Other — at the Committee's discretion.

Fines are invoiced to the club, not the individual player. Fines must be paid before the club can register for a subsequent season. The DPL Committee may waive a fine in exceptional circumstances.

14. Suspensions and Bans

Players may be suspended or permanently banned by the DPL Committee following a disciplinary process.

Suspensions come in two forms:

  • Match-count — player is suspended for a fixed number of rubbers.
  • Date-range — player is suspended until a specific date.

A suspended player cannot be listed in any lineup or substitute list during their suspension period.

Bans are permanent and are only lifted by an explicit decision of the DPL Committee. Banned players appear flagged on the public rankings page.

15. Notifications

The platform sends email and in-platform notifications for key events, including:

  • Score submission received (opposing captain)
  • Scores confirmed or disputed
  • Score auto-confirmed (48-hour deadline passed)
  • Fixture scheduled or updated
  • Invoice issued
  • Fine issued
  • Account activation

You can manage your notification preferences in your account profile.

16. Getting Help

If you have a question about how the platform works, or believe something has gone wrong, contact the DPL Committee directly through the league contact details. For disputes or disciplinary matters, follow the process set out in the Disputes & Disciplinary document on the Governance page.