2024 English Nationals Q&A
The English Nationals is the friendliest tournament in the calendar. Bolton Arena has been a very popular venue for the tournament with a great playing surface and facilities. The proximity of hotels, restaurants and retail makes it very convenient for after play gatherings.
We have had to make some tough decisions for this year’s event to enable us to increase capacity. We have attempted to answer the questions that might come up due to those changes.
As more questions are identified this page will be updated.
Fair Competition
We ask players to play in their appropriate age group, so that we can award medals to the best players within that age band at a specific rating level. If you have a long standing partnership, it is possible for one of the players in a team to play down in age but this will need to be fulfilled by the younger person requesting to partner the older player as the older player will not be able to automatically enter an event below their age group.
We ask players to play in the appropriate rating level. E.g. If you enter 4.5 or 3.5 in open event, we expect you to play 4.5 or 3.5 in the mixed event.
We will undertake a review of DUPR prior to scheduling the games. If your rating is above the event you have entered, this will trigger a review and if your confidence rating is high you will be moved. If it is low we will undertake other reviews, e.g. medals won in prior events, doubles league results etc.
It is critical that players partners sign up promptly because we are expecting to fill up quickly and we cannot add spaces to accommodate partners that registered later. It is also recommended that partners follow the partner process to link with chosen partners asap, so that players can see who is registered but without a partner. Indicating that you have a partner caused us too much administration so we have not included that function within registration. Players without partners when registration closes will be partnered up by the tournament team without consultation.
Q Why is there no Singles in this year’s Nationals?
A Last year we were at max capacity with 640 registered players and there were complaints that people that wanted to register could not. The massive growth of pickleball in the past 12 months is going to make that situation more acute. Given that we are contracted to hold the English Nationals at Bolton Arena again this year, we need to do something to address capacity. Not everyone plays singles. A lot of people that do play singles choose not to play singles because they do not want to risk injury before the doubles events. Therefore, we have decided to separate Singles into it’s own event. We are currently looking for a suitable venue with availability between October and December.
Q Why are the 50+ events on Thurs/Friday rather than at the weekend like last year?
A Whilst we understand that people at 50+ are still working age, we believe that 50+ people would be more established in their jobs and feel more confident about taking time off at the end of the week.
Q Won’t all the 50+ people take the spaces designated for 35+?
A Whilst we understand that some partnerships may involve one 50+ and one 18+/35+ player, the system will be set up to not allow 2 x 50+ to partner up in a 35+ or 18+ event, to prevent this from happening. At the Nationals, we are looking to award medals to the best players in a specific age group.
Q How will the system stop 2 x 50+ players to partner up in a 18+ or 35+ event?
A There will be age validation at the event level. Anyone 50+ will have to enter the 50+ event and will only be moved to a younger event, via a partner request. When the partner request is accepted with a younger player, the system will move the 50+ player to the lower age event. It is vital that players partnering a younger player in an event below their age level, partner up early to avoid missing out due to capacity constraints at the event level.
Q Why have you renamed the ‘Men’s Gender Doubles’
A Because some people do not identify as their birth sex, or as either sex, and we want to ensure there is a place for everyone to be included in fair competition in pickleball. We needed to ensure that we reflect this change and be ready with a Transgender policy (link). There is no point having a policy if we don’t have events that reflect the change. Therefore, with the Nationals we are trialling the use of the new description Men+ which will include players that are ineligible for the women’s event because they were not a female at birth.
Q What is the Prize Money for the Pro Events and Senior Pro Events?
A Subject to meeting registration numbers the proposed prize money is: Pro Events: £1,000, £500 and £250 to be shared. Senior Pro Events: £500, £200 and £100 to be shared.
Q Why are the Senior Pro prize money lower than for the Pro Events?
A The prize money is lower because the entry fees are lower than the Pro Event fees and generally, we receive fewer registrations in the Senior Pro event. The Senior Pro event fees higher than the other 50+ events to help fund the prize money.
English Nationals Schedule
Accommodation options
Hotels
Check out what rates Ultimate Travel Club can offer you https://www.pickleballengland.org/ultimate-travel-club/
Bolton Stadium Hotel https://www.boltonwhiteshotel.co.uk/ We have an allocation of rooms at special rates – below . Call Reception 01204 673610 and let them know the dates you want to book for and quote the reference code (25712817) to get the pickleball rates.
– Room only, £95.00 per evening
– Bed & breakfast for one person, £105.00 per evening
– Bed & breakfast for two people, £115.00 per evening
If you want something special the hotel can offer the quoted rates for our upgraded rooms, but they would carry the following upgrade fees:
- £20.00 for a Deluxe Double or Pitchview Double
- £40.00 for a Pitchview Suite or Penthouse Suite
Premier Inn Bolton Arena/Stadium https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/greater-manchester/bolton/bolton-stadiumarena.html
Premier Inn Bolton West Hotel https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/greater-manchester/bolton/bolton-west.html
Camper Vans and Caravans
A message from Bolton Arena team:
We are delighted to announce that during the upcoming English National Pickleball championship we will be able to accommodate up to 10 campervans per evening at Bolton Arena. Here are some important details:
Cost: £15 per evening per campervan.
Booking: To secure your spot, please contact Joanne at joannefishwick@boltonarena.com.
Allocation: Spaces will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
Limit: Once all allocated spaces are taken, we will not be able to accommodate any additional overnight stays.
Barrier Closure: Please note that the entrance barrier will close at 9pm each evening, and no exit will be permitted until the following morning. To reserve your spot or for any inquiries, please reach out to Joanne.
We look forward to welcoming you to Bolton Arena for this exciting event! Warm regards, Stuart Kay
If you are looking for affordable local site for Motorhomes and Caravans, Wilcox Farm have extended their opening period to enable players to stay with them. Last year several players stayed with them as the site is only 10 minutes away from the Arena. They usually close for the season on 31st October, however are remaining open until 3rd October departure date.
Getting to Bolton
Car – Bolton Arena is located just off Junction 6 of the M61. Address is Arena Approach, Horwich, Bolton, BL6 6LB.
Train – Horwich Parkway is a 2 min walk from Bolton Arena. It has direct links to Manchester Picadilly and 1 change journeys to various locations across the UK.
Plane – Manchester Airport is a 40 minute drive from Bolton Arena. It has direct domestic flights to and from London Heathrow and Southampton.