❋ The 24.
May 1 | 7pm
24 teams for 24 hours of non-stop pickleball
What to Expect
I've been getting one question more than any other since we started talking about The 24:
“I want to do it, but I can’t play pickleball for 24 hours straight.”
Here’s the thing: you won’t have to.
The format is built so that a team of the right size can rotate players and keep fresh legs on the court all day and night. A 10-person team means each player only needs to average about 5 games over 24 hours - that’s roughly one shift every 4 to 5 hours. You could sleep, come back, and still be a meaningful part of your team’s run.
But if you want to be the person who plays every single game for 24 hours straight? That lane exists too. And if you pull it off, you’ll have done something genuinely absurd.
Here is everything you need to know.
May 1st
Red Hook Pickleball Club
❋ Date & location24 hours, non-stop
1 game per hour, every hour
❋ Duration24 teams total (first come, first served)
$100 per player
❋ Teams❋ Courts4 scheduled courts + 1 open bonus court
How to build your team and why it matters
Your roster size is the single most important strategic decision you make before the tournament starts. Here’s how to think about it:
The Duo: 2 players
Hours per player: 24 games each (every game, no breaks)
You play every single game for 24 hours straight. This is the hardest possible path. But if you win, you split the prize two ways. Highest upside. Highest suffering.
The Crew: 4 to 6 players
Hours per player: 10–12 games each (~8–9 hrs of play spread over 24)
The sweet spot for most teams. Enough rotation to stay sharp. Small enough to stay hungry. Each player gets real rest while the team stays competitive.
The Squad: 8 to 10 players
Hours per player: 5–6 games each (~4–5 hrs of play, plenty of rest)
Maximum comfort. You run true shifts - one pair plays, the rest recover, eat, sleep, cheer. The prize gets split more ways but this is the most manageable experience for players who are newer to the format.
Each team plays one scheduled game per hour for 23 hours - a full round robin where every team plays every other team exactly once. Hour 24 is the championship round, seeded by live standings.
In between your scheduled games, you can jump on the 5th open court to play bonus games. More on why that matters in a minute.
The key rule on rotation: any registered player can play any hour. There are no mandatory shift minimums - you can deploy whoever is freshest at any moment. The only requirements are: (1) your team must complete one game per hour, and (2) every rostered player must appear on court a minimum of twice during the 24 hours.
That second rule is there to prevent roster padding. If you register 10 players, all 10 need to play at least two games. Plan your rotation accordingly.
DUPR rating requirements
The 24 has three DUPR rules designed to keep the field balanced and competitive:
Team average must not exceed 4.0. Add up all rostered players’ DUPR ratings and divide by the number of players. That number must be 4.0 or below. There is no floor so any skill level is welcome as long as the average holds.
On-court pair average must not exceed 4.0. The two players you field in any given game must average 4.0 or below. A 4.4 and a 3.8 averages 4.1 - that pair is not allowed. A 4.3 and a 3.5 averages 3.9 - that pair is fine.
Every player must play at least twice. This applies regardless of roster size. Staff tracks appearances on the court sheet throughout the event.
If you’re not sure whether your roster construction is legal, send us your intended lineup and DUPR ratings before you register. We’ll check it for you.
How scoring works
Every game played earns your team points - whether you win or lose:
Win: 3 points
Loss: 1 point
This means grinding extra games on the open court isn’t just an endurance badge - it’s a real path to winning. Every game you play beyond your 24 scheduled games adds to your total.
Two bonus awards are added to the final standings:
Highest Win Percentage - the team with the best win-to-loss ratio across all games earns a bonus point award (10). Rewards skill and composure over 24 hours.
Most Games Played - the team that plays the most total games earns a separate bonus point award (20). Rewards hustle, endurance, and the willingness to be on court at 4am when no one else wants to be.
Here’s the key design intent: the bonus values are calibrated so that a team in 4th or 5th place on the main leaderboard at hour 20 can realistically win the tournament by sweeping both bonus awards and piling up extra games in the final stretch. The leaderboard is live and competitive until the final whistle.
Prizes & Charity
1st place: 24% of the total buy-in pool. At 24 teams averaging 8 players, that’s $4,600. The exact amount scales with total registrations.
2nd place: $1,000 flat, regardless of roster size.
All other places: no prize. This is winner-take-all energy.
*new sponsors are coming onboard that may add to prizes later on.
The charity layer
The 24 is officially tied to Pickleball for Parkinson’s - a nonprofit using structured pickleball programming to support people living with Parkinson’s disease. P4P is already part of what we do at RHPC & Dink Dynamics. Proceeds will go towards the foundation.
Miss your hourly check-in twice and your team is disqualified. Results stand but you’re out of prize contention. Don’t let this happen.
Games are played to 11, win by 1. There is a hard 18-minute time cap. If time runs out, the leading team wins. If it’s tied, one sudden-death rally decides it.
The rules that matter most on the day
Illegal DUPR pairings caught before a game: immediate substitution required. Caught mid-game: auto loss of game
Dropout rule: if your team cannot continue, notify staff immediately. Your results to that point stand, but DNF teams are ineligible for prizes.
No refunds if you cant complete the full tournament.
We have 24 team spots. First come, first served. Buy-in is $100 per player.
Questions about roster construction, DUPR eligibility, or anything else - send us an email, chat on our app, or DM us on Instagram. I’d rather answer ten questions before you register than have you show up on May 1 unsure about the rules.
See you on the courts.
- Anthony
Red Hook Pickleball Club / Dink Dynamics
Interested in sponsoring a team?
We're actively building team sponsorships for The 24. A sponsor covers a team's full registration cost and gets their name on the leaderboard, in our content, and in front of the RHPC & Dink Dynamics community for all PRE EVENT, LIVE EVENT, AND POST EVENT CONTENT. If you have a brand, company, or business that might be interested - or if you're a player looking to get your team's registration covered - reach out and we'll send you everything you need to know.
Contact: info@redhookpickleball.com or DM us on Ig @redhookpickleball