08/08/2026
We would like to respectfully share our sentiments regarding what happened to our two entries in the ongoing 1st Sangguniang Kabataan Open Pickleball Tournament organized by Gen Z Pickleball Club in Liloy.
Our club has two entries in the tournament, Both bracket E. Unfortunately, both entries were defaulted despite the fact that there were still several matches in their respective brackets that had not yet been played.
For Bracket E, our team was defaulted in the 6th match indicated in Challonge because we were not yet at the venue at around 11:00AM. However, at that time, the first four matches listed in Challonge had not yet been played. We were relying on the published Challonge schedule and its match progression to estimate our arrival time, especially because our players had other prior commitments.
Similarly, our other entry in Bracket E was defaulted in what was listed as the 15th and last match of the bracket, even though some of the matches scheduled before it had not yet been played.
Another matter that concerns us is that the opponents of both of our defaulted entries came from the same pickleball club. We are not making a direct accusation that anyone intentionally favored a particular club. However, considering that both of our entries were defaulted and both were set to play against players from the same club, while the match sequence was also not followed according to the Challonge schedule, the situation naturally raises questions about fairness, consistency, and equal treatment among participating clubs. From our perspective, it creates an unfortunate appearance of possible preferential treatment, whether intentional or not. We believe this is something that deserves clarification from the organizers, especially because tournament decisions should be made objectively and applied consistently to everyone.
We also observed that Bracket E was played ahead of Bracket D, even though the sequence reflected in Challonge indicated otherwise. We understand that tournament schedules may change because of circumstances at the venue. However, when significant changes are made to the order of matches, we believe that participants should be properly informed so that they can adjust their plans accordingly.
Our players invested time, money, effort, and transportation expenses to participate in this tournament. We traveled far just to be part of the event. We also had previous commitments that we needed to consider, which is why we relied on the Challonge updates and match progression to estimate our time of departure and arrival. Our concern is not simply about losing a match or being defaulted. We understand and respect that tournaments need rules, and we are willing to abide by reasonable rules when they are applied consistently. Our concern is about how those rules were implemented in this particular situation.
If the published schedule can change, matches can be moved ahead of other scheduled matches, and teams can be defaulted even when earlier matches have not yet been played, then participants need to be clearly informed of these changes. Otherwise, players who rely on the official tournament platform may be placed at an unfair disadvantage.
We believe that transparency, fairness, consistency, and proper communication are essential to maintaining the trust of participants. We raise these concerns not to create conflict, but because we value fair play and sportsmanship. We traveled, spent, prepared, and participated in good faith. We simply hope that the same respect for our time, effort, and investment is extended to every participating club.
