> How organised open play works: skill levels 2.0 to 4.0 in plain words, open play etiquette, the launch-season venue plan for Naples public courts, and gear. - Canonical: https://pcpc.club/play - Published: 2026-09-25 - Updated: 2026-09-26 - Club: Paradise Coast Pickleball Club, a private social club for pickleball players 30 and up, Naples, FL - Contact: https://pcpc.club/contact or hello@pcpc.club (the club has no phone yet) [Home](/) / Play Play # Show up, get paired at your level, play. Organised open play is the heart of the club. Here is how levels work, how a session runs, where our launch-season plan starts, and what to bring on a first morning. [Join for $99 per year](/membership) [Ask a question](/contact) ![A row of four sunlit pickleball courts under tall royal palms on a bright morning, empty (illustration)](/assets/img/_gen-play-court-palms.webp) Illustration Courts under the palms. ## Quick answer Organised open play at Paradise Coast Pickleball Club groups members by skill level, from 2.0 (brand new) to 4.0 (strong, competitive), so every session is a fair game. Our launch-season plan starts at public courts in Naples such as East Naples Community Park, Veterans Community Park and Fleischmann Park. These are public courts, not club facilities, and the club has no arrangement with any park. Bring a paddle, outdoor balls, court shoes, water and a hat. | Item | Detail | | --- | --- | | Levels | 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 (the standard pickleball scale) | | How you are placed | You tell us your level; we adjust after a session if it does not fit | | Format | Doubles, rotating partners, winners split | | Venues (launch plan) | Public courts across Naples. Days and courts being confirmed | | Court fees | Paid to the park, where a park charges one. Never to the club | | Bring | Paddle, two outdoor balls, court shoes, water, hat or visor, sunscreen | Levels ## The five levels, in plain words Pickleball uses a scale from 2.0 to 5.0 and above. Our club runs from 2.0 to 4.0. Pick the one that sounds like you. If a morning feels too easy or too hard, say so and we move you; nobody is tested and nobody is stuck. **2.0** ### Brand new to the game You are learning to serve underhand, keep the ball in and remember the score. Every session at this level assumes nothing. **2.5** ### Rallying You can keep a short rally going and you know the kitchen rule, mostly. You are starting to move to the ball on purpose. **3.0** ### Playing real games You serve and return with some consistency, you dink a little, and you know where to stand. Games are games now. **3.5** ### Consistent, thinking You have a third-shot drop most days, you move with your partner, and you are working on patience at the kitchen line. **4.0** ### Strong and competitive You control pace, mix drives and dinks, and rarely give a point away. You want partners who can do the same. ![Two players seen from behind at the baseline waiting to serve, paddles down, visors on, palms beyond the court (illustration)](/assets/img/_gen-play-doubles.webp) Illustration Waiting to serve. ## How a session runs Every organised session is for one level, or two neighbouring levels when numbers are small. You arrive ten minutes early, warm up, and a host pairs the first games. From there it rotates: winners split, losers stay together, the next four come in. The host keeps the rotation fair so nobody sits out twice in a row. Sessions are mornings in our launch plan, because Naples afternoons in season are for the shade. Socials and round-robins mix levels on purpose; open play does not. ## Open play etiquette Six habits that make a morning run well. New members pick them up in a session; long-time players are usually the ones reminding themselves. ### Kitchen rules The seven-foot zone at the net is the kitchen. No volleys from inside it, and no stepping in on the follow-through. Everyone gets this wrong at first; nobody minds. ### Paddle tap After every game, meet at the net and tap paddles. Win or lose, that is how a game ends here. ### Rotation Winners split, losers stay together, and the next four come in. Nobody sits for more than one game while the courts are full. ### Call it fair You call the lines on your side. If you are not sure, it was in. Say the score before every serve, loud enough for four people. ### Be on time Sessions start together so the pairing works. Arrive ten minutes early, warm up, and the morning runs itself. ### Play the person in front of you Match the game to the group. A 4.0 in a 3.0 session softens the game; a beginner never gets buried. ## Where our launch-season plan starts The club does not own courts, and it has no arrangement with any park. Our launch-season plan starts at public courts like these, because that is where Naples plays. The facts about each park are sourced; the club's use of them is a plan. ### [East Naples Community Park](/courts/east-naples-community-park) 65 courts. Home of the US Open Pickleball Championships since 2016. Source: [Collier County Parks](https://www.collierparks.com/Parks-and-Beaches/Community-Parks/East-Naples-Community-Park) Public court, not a club facility ### [Veterans Community Park](/courts/veterans-community-park) 14 pickleball courts in North Naples, 6 of them lighted. Source: [Collier County Parks](https://www.collierparks.com/Parks-and-Beaches/Community-Parks/Veterans-Community-Park) Public court, not a club facility ### [Fleischmann Park](/courts/fleischmann-park) Lighted courts in central Naples, and by local accounts the first Collier County park to offer pickleball, back in 2011. Court directories list a $5 drop-in or $25 a year. Source: [City of Naples](https://www.naplesgov.com/parksrec/park/fleischmann-park) Public court, not a club facility Days, courts and hosts are being confirmed. The first play calendar goes to founding members by email. ## Open play words you will hear at the courts - **Paddle stack:** Paddles lined up in a rack or along the fence to hold places in line. The next four paddles make the next game. - **Sign-up board:** A whiteboard at some venues, such as East Naples, where you write your name at your level's court instead of stacking a paddle. - **Level court:** A court set aside for one skill level during open play, so a 3.0 game stays a 3.0 game. - **Four off, four on:** All four players leave the court after a game and the next four come on. Common when every court is busy. - **Round-robin:** An organised session where partners rotate every game, so everyone plays with everyone. ## What to bring - A paddle. Any paddle. If you do not own one yet, say so on the founding list and we plan a way to borrow one for a first morning. - Two outdoor balls. The harder, smaller-holed ones. Indoor balls go soft in the sun. - Court shoes. Shoes built for sideways movement. Running shoes are not; see [play safe](/play-safe). - Water, a hat or visor, and sunscreen. Naples mornings are kinder than afternoons, and still bright. - A towel and a light layer. For the coffee afterwards, which is half the point. ![An open paddle bag on a bench with paddles, a towel and balls inside (illustration)](/assets/img/_gen-sq-paddle-bag.webp) Illustration The bag, packed. ## Play questions **Q. Where will we play?** Our launch-season plan starts at public courts like East Naples Community Park, Veterans Community Park and Fleischmann Park. These are public parks, not club facilities, and the club has no arrangement with any of them. The exact venues and days are being confirmed. **Q. How are levels decided?** You tell us where you are, using the standard 2.0 to 4.0 scale, and we place you in a session that matches. If a morning feels too easy or too hard, say so and we move you. Nobody is tested and nobody is stuck. **Q. What should I bring to a session?** A paddle, a couple of outdoor balls, court shoes, water, a hat or visor and sunscreen. If you do not own a paddle yet, tell us on the founding list and we will plan a way to borrow one for a first morning. **Q. I have never played. Can I still join?** Yes. Being new to pickleball is not a barrier, being under 30 is. Read our guide for new players, then join the founding list and mark yourself as brand new. Our launch plan includes a gentle first session and clinics. ### Founding membership $99 per year. Members are 30 and up. Billed once a year. [Join for $99 a year](/membership) ### Keep reading [New to pickleball](/new-to-pickleball)[Play safe in the heat](/play-safe)[Events and socials](/events)[All the questions](/faq) ### Launch plan Everything on this page is our launch-season plan. Venues, days and hosts are being confirmed. Founding season ## Your level, your morning, your people. Founding membership is $99 per year. Members are 30 and up. Our launch-season plan covers organised open play by level, socials, round-robins and clinics, and founding members hear every date first. [Join for $99 per year](/membership) [Read the beginner guide](/new-to-pickleball)