Racquet Network

If you are reading this, it is probably because you recently made a purchase at a Racquet Network store and have noticed the Ranking Points entry on your sales receipt. This article explains how to use your ranking points to get involved in our leagues.

What are Ranking Points?

Ranking Points are at the heart of Racquet Network’s competitive league system. Players who wish to participate in our competitive leagues require Ranking Points in order to play. The more Ranking Points they have, the higher they rank in our standings.

Players in the top third of our standings are typically our most active players. Because they are near the top of the leader board, they get asked to play most often.

How to Get Ranking Points

In order to participate in a competitive league, you will first have to get some Ranking Points. As a new player, the simplest way to get started is to purchase 500 ranking points from our online Pro Shop. Within 24 hours of your purchase, these points will be added to your account and you will be able to start challenging and meeting other players in your league.

In Store Purchases

Racquet Network also gives out ranking points on every in-store purchase. If you have made a purchase from our southwest Calgary store since 15 March 2013, you will see a line on your sales receipt indicating the number of Ranking Points you have earned on your purchases. This means that you are eligible to join one of our competitive leagues and start playing as soon as you have completed all four of the steps listed at the bottom of this page.

Bonus Ranking Points

In addition to in store purchases, Racquet Network gives our players opportunities to earn BONUS ranking points. To get the most out these opportunities, Friend us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our newsletters and visit our store. Our competitive leagues were set up to help our customers meet each other and find new people to play with. As long as you are actively involved in what we are doing, you should never run out of Ranking Points.

How to Use the Points You Have

Getting set up to use ranking points will require a little effort on your part. But once you are set up, you will be able to participate in all league activities. Here are the steps you need to take and the order that you need to take them in. EACH STEP MUST BE FULLY COMPLETED BEFORE MOVING ON TO THE NEXT STEP. If you follow these instructions carefully, you will be playing in no time.

Step 1 – Create an account on Racquet Network.
Step 2 – Complete your player profile.
Step 3 – Join a competitive league.
Step 4 – Request to have you ranking points added to your league account (orders@racquetnetwork.com or 403-238-0687).

Once your ranking points have been added to your account you will be able to start playing immediately.

If you have ranking points and you are not sure what to do with them, come into our southwest Calgary store for quick tutorial on our competitive league system. Our staff can have your account up and running in no time. And since you already have Ranking Points to get started, it won’t cost you anything.

You’ve just joined a competitive league. Your probably wondering “What do I do next?”

Here are some tips to get you started.

Tip 1 – Purchase Ranking Points

In addition to hundreds of FREE public groups, Racquet Network also offers PREMIUM competitive leagues. In order to get started in a premium competitive league, players must purchase a minimum of 500 ranking points. Players who don’t purchase ranking points are not able to participate in premium competitive leagues.

Every Sunday at midnight, the Racquet Network robot searches our COMPETITIVE leagues and removes players with less than 10 ranking points. If you have joined a competitive league but have not yet purchased any ranking points by midnight on Sunday our robot will remove you from that league.

Tip 2 – Replenish Your Ranking Points

Once you have purchased some ranking points to get started in a competitive league, you are eligible to start earning free ranking points. Follow us on Facebook to get easy points nearly every week. Remember, too, that you get 10 ranking points for every dollar you spend in our store or in our online Pro Shop.

Tip 3 – Friend Everybody

Once you are part of a competitive league and have more than 0 ranking points, go to any page for your group and click on the MEMBERS tab. That will create a full list of league members.

Click on the ADD FRIEND button for everyone in the league. Not only will you get Pro Shop Credits for adding new friends, but you will then be able to communicate with everyone via private message when you need to later.

Tip 4 – Challenge Somebody Immediately

It’s generally a bad idea to sit and wait for players to challenge you. Do that and suddenly a month will pass and the robot will start deducting points for inactivity. Our best advice to new players is to challenge, challenge, challenge. That’s the best way to meet new players and become fully engaged in your new league.

Tip 5 – Earn Pro Shop Credits

As a member of Racquet Network, you also have the opportunity to earn Pro Shop Credits. Many players use Pro Shop Credits to pay for ranking point purchases. In general, our whole system is set up to reward activity. In other words, the more you play, the less you pay.

Welcome to Racquet Network — a great place to play games, report scores and get free stuff.

If you are watching this video, it is probably because you recently earned some ranking points on a purchase from Racquet Network and you now want to find out how to start participating in one of our competitive leagues.

Step 1 – Join Us

Visit racquetnetwork.com and click on the JOIN US tab. Fill out and then submit the form. You will be sent an activation link by email. Once you activate that link, you will be a registered member.

Step 2 – Complete Your Player Profile

Once you have activated your account, come back to the website and login using the form on the right side of the page. Then scroll down to the HOW TO section. Click on UPDATE YOUR PROFILE. Follow the instructions on your screen and make sure that your profile is complete.

Step 3 – Join a League

Find the competitive league that you want to join and JOIN it. Use the SEARCH BOX in the top right corner to search for your city. Click on the titles to open the groups and consider joining them.

Be sure to check out the STANDINGS page for competitive groups. The STANDINGS page is at the heart of every competitive group. It is where you can easily see who is playing who and who is still open to new CHALLENGES.

Once you have decided to join a group, click the JOIN button.

Step 4 – Redeem Your Ranking Points

If you join a competitive league, there will probably be a one day delay between the time you join and the moment we add your ranking points to your account.

Immediately after you join, please send an email to orders@racquetnetwork.com or call us at 403-238-0687 to let us know that you have joined a competitive group. Please be clear about which group you have joined so that we can add your ranking points to the correct account.

Once the ranking points are added to your account, you will be able to start challenging players and enjoying the benefits of being connected to more than 5000 other racquet sports players worldwide.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions. You can contact us by private message through the website, by email or by telephone. We are always happy to help new members get started and to help old members figure new things out.

Until recently, Racquet Network’s systems were all set up to serve singles games like tennis, squash and racquetball. Racquet sports that are primarily doubles games, such as pickleball and badminton, didn’t really fit into what we were doing. All of that changed in the fall of 2012 when Racquet Network added TEAM ACCOUNTS to the mix.

The addition of TEAM ACCOUNTS means that players can now form doubles teams and compete against other doubles teams. Each of these teams is now able to accumulate Pro Shop Credits in the same way that individual players accumulate them over the rest of the network.

This is great news for pickleball players who want to acccumulate Pro Shop Credits in order to save money on pickleball paddles, balls and accessories. All they have to do is form a team and start reporting scores from their matches against other teams playing at the same club.

Get Your Club Started

The simplest and most effective way to get started is to recruit some players from your pickleball club. Since they are playing regularly anyway, they may as well get credit for doing so.

Start by recruiting six or more players to form three or more teams. Register these teams with Racquet Network. Then contact our administrators. We will set up a Pickleball Network & Social ladder for your city/town so that your players have a place to start reporting their scores.

As soon as you start reporting scores, your group will begin attracting attention. People will become interested and more players will join your group. In general, the level of competition and the quality of players begins to rise once players start reporting scores.

As the teams in your group report their scores to our system, they will earn Pro Shop Credits which can be used to reduce the costs of playing pickleball. Like tennis and squash players in our network who save money on racquets, bags, shoes and other essentials, pickleball players can also save money by playing matches and reporting their scores to our system.

Get started today by forming your first team account. Simply follow these instructions.

Join the only network that pays you to play racquet sports. Register – Play Games – Report Scores – Get Free Stuff

Wonderful news, players!! Racquet Network now supports team sports.

Members who wish to play team games such as doubles tennis or doubles pickleball are now able to form teams by creating TEAM ACCOUNTS that are completely separate from their personal Racquet Network accounts.

Creating and maintaining a team account requires a higher level of commitment than creating and maintaining a personal account. Please take care to follow each of the steps below.

Step 1 – Team Captain

The first step is to choose a player who will act as team captain. That player will be responsible for communicating on the team’s behalf as well as entering scores from matches with other teams.

Step 2 – Create a Team Account

Since the team account will be completely separate from the personal accounts of the team members, it will be necessary to use an email address that is also unique. If neither team member has a Racquet Network account, then it’s simple: you can just use the Team Captain’s email address. If, however, the team captain already has a personal Racquet Network account, then it will be necessary to use a different email address for the team account.

Tech Tip – If it is necessary to create a new email address for your team, we recommend creating a Gmail address. REMEMBER – Racquet Network does not accept Hotmail or AOL email addresses.

Tech Tip – If you are already logged in, you will not be able to create a new team account. Please log out and then look for the CREATE ACCOUNT link at the top of the panel along the right side of this page.

Step 3 – Update Your Team Profile

Update your profile with information that is applicable to your team. Be sure to include a cropped photo in which the faces of both players are visible.

Step 4 – Join a Team Ladder

Racquet Network offers SOCIAL ladders and COMPETITIVE LADDERS. The primary empahsis on social ladders is sociability. The primary emphasis on competitive ladders is competition. Social ladders are free. Competitive ladders require ranking points. Teams are welcome to join as many ladders as they wish.

Team Sports

Racquet Network supports the following team sports:

• Doubles Tennis
• Doubles Pickleball
• Doubles Badminton
• Doubles Squash
• Doubles Racquetball
• Doubles Table Tennis
• Doubles Speed Badminton
• Team Tennis
• Team Squash
• Team Pickleball

Questions? Need Assistance?

Racquet Network staff are here to help you get your group set up and reporting scores. Contact us by email at orders@racquetnetwork.com or call us at 1-888-505-5295. We are open Mon-Sat 10:00am-5:00pm. We are closed Sundays and Holidays.

Using groups wisely can be a fun and fruitful way to make new friends and play more matches. Since groups are central to what we do and since we want all of our players to succeed, here are five helpful tips to get you started.

Tip 1. Join Groups that Interest You

Racquet Network staff and systems are trained to watch for spammers. So it is a mistake to join a bunch of groups just for the Pro Shop Credits. Do this and you will surely be banned.

The wisest way to use groups is to join only those groups that interest you. Use the SEARCH box at the top of the page to find groups. Change the menu to GROUPS and then enter the name of your city. This will create a list of groups for your city. Join groups that have been created for your sport. Top priority should always be given to groups with the words SOCIAL LADDER in the title. These groups have built in scorekeeping features that make it easy to play games and earn Pro Shop Credits.

Tip 2. Be one of the first to join

Internal tracking indicates that players who are the first to join groups typically earn the most Pro Shop Credits over time. Why? Because of the strategy advised in Tip 3 below. The first person in the door to a new group almost always ends up with more friend requests that late arrivers.

Tip 3. Friend Everyone

When you join a group, the first thing you want to do is friend everyone. Click on the group’s MEMBERS tab to create a list of members. Once you see the list, press the ADD FRIEND button beside every name. As people accept your friendship requests, you will begin to discover some prospective new partners. You will also earn Pro Shop Credits for every friend request that is accepted by other players.

Tip 4. Use Private Messages

Racquet Network members can use our system to send message to their FRIENDS. This is generally the best way to connect with players and talk about setting up matches. Many players react badly to public challenges. So we advise the use of PRIVATE messages for setting up games and matches.

Tip 5. Post Friendly Public Messages

Public messages should be friendly and positive. Example: “I’m a 4.0 tennis player looking for a hitting partner in the southwest. Please message me privately if you want to play.” Or: “I’m a beginner seeking other beginners for squash. Please message me privately.”

Messages to avoid include anything with a date/time and, in general, public challenges. Example: “Looking for somebody to hit with on Friday at 4:00pm in the southwest.” Messages like this tend to be ineffective because they do not generate any interest once the deadline has passed.

Equally bad is this: “@johnsmith Want to get together and hit on Friday?” Most players react badly to public challenges. So messages like this are best sent as PRIVATE messages.

If you are one of the first players in a group, you will want to use general public messages like the ones above to let people know that there is at least one player in your group looking to play. As your group grows, though, you will want to use private messages more often than public messages.

Join the only network that pays you to play racquet sports. Register – Play Games – Report Scores – Get Free Stuff

If you’ve just joined Racquet Network, you have already seen how easy it is to start earning Pro Shop Credits. All you needed to do to earn your first $5.00 was to register. The moment you completed registration, we added $5.00 to your Pro Shop Credits account. It was just that easy.

Tip 1. Join Groups

The next easiest thing you can do to start building the credits in your account is to join groups for your sport and city. Use the SEARCH box in the top right corner of this page. Set it to search GROUPS. Then enter the name of your city. Find groups for sports that interest you. Every time you join a group, more credits are deposited in your account.

BONUS TIP – If we don’t have a group for your city. Ask us. Our staff can generally create new groups within 24 hours. All we need to know is: city, state/province, country and sport.

Tip 2. Add Friends

Once you join a group, the next thing you will want to do is locate the MEMBERS tab and open it up to see the list of players who have already joined. Click ADD FRIEND for every member of the group who interests you. As players accept your friend requests, credits will be deposited in BOTH of your accounts.

BONUS TIP – Join groups for your city and sports even if you are the only member. As new players join behind you, they will send friendship request to everybody in the group. As you accept these requests, credits will be added to your account. Over time, this can really add up.

Tip 3. Share Scores on Facebook

Once you join a group and make some friends, the next thing you will want to do is start playing games and reporting scores. Racquet Network credits you with a small amount for reporting scores on our website. But we give you a larger amount for sharing your scores on your FACEBOOK wall.

We do this because sharing on Facebook helps grow our network and increase the number of players playing the games we love. As a player, you will also want to share your scores on Facebook because it will attract the attention of players who live year you and give you more opportunities to play the games YOU love.

In other words, the more you share, the more you play. And the more you play, the more credits you will earn.

Additional Ways to Earn Pro Shop Credits

Racquet Network rewards engagement. Log in to your account every day and we will reward you for that. Chat with other players. Ask or answer questions. Share photos in your gallery. The more time you spend on our website contributing to our network the more credits we will deposit in your account.

Invite your friends to come and play with us. Once they register, you will be able play games, report scores and earn Pro Shop Credits together.

Join the only network that pays you to play racquet sports. Register – Play Games – Report Scores – Get Free Stuff

Active friends are important. The more you have, the more you play. If you already have active friends to play with, you have a head start. You can all join our Social Ladders and start reporting scores immediately. If you don’t have active friends when you join Racquet Network, the first thing you should do is start making some.

Tip 1 – Player Profile

There are seven pages in your player profile that help you communicate who you are, what you play and how you like to play it. Make these pages work for you. Be clear about the sports you play and the level you play at. Remember that everybody is here for the same reason. We want to play. Some of us want to play a lot. If you are clear about who you are and what you expect, you will make it easier for people to friend you.

Tip 2 – Profile Photo

Players tell us that the most important thing in a player profile is the photo. They want to be able to look into the player’s eyes. They also want to get important clues from player photos about age and general fitness. Posting a closeup of your smiling face is the best way we know to connect with other players and start making friends.

Tip 3 – Joining Groups

Social Ladders and other groups are now at the center of Racquet Network. In early 2012, Racquet Network moved from our old website to the new CLUBHOUSE so that players could begin sorting themselves into groups. Every group with the words SOCIAL LADDER or COMPETITIVE + LEAGUE now has scorekeeping features.

Finding friends who play your sport in your city starts with joining groups. EXAMPLE: If you live in HOUSTON, type the word HOUSTON into the search box at the top right corner of the screen. Then change the dropdown menu to GROUPS and click SEARCH. This will create a list of groups for Houston. Pick groups that interest you and join them.

Racquet Network is here to help. Our staff are creating new groups every day. If we don’t have a group for your city/sport yet, please let us know. We will create one.

Tip 4 – Start Friending People

Once your profile is complete and you have joined some groups, you are ready to start friending other players. Go to the MEMBERS page to search player profiles. Or go to your groups and click on the MEMBERS tab. Don’t be shy. Friending people is the first step to getting to know them. Once you are friends, you can start communicating via Private Messages.

If you are like most players, you will ignore accounts with incomplete profiles. That’s probably a good idea since many of these accounts are inactive. Focus instead on profiles that look real. Remember that you don’t need 100 active friends to play racquet sports. Start with one or two and grow your personal player network from there. Most people don’t have time to maintain an active player network of more than a dozen people anyway. So think quality, not quantity.

If you can find two or three active new friends at your level in your sport and start playing with them regularly, you should consider your time spent here a success.

Join the only network that pays you to play racquet sports. Register – Play Games – Report Scores – Get Free Stuff