Box leagues are a great way to meet and play different opponents competitively all-year-round. The Padel box leagues will be split into separate divisions of 4 or 5 pairs (teams) where each team within the same division (box) will be required to play all other teams once within a fixed time period, usually two months. At the end of the round, the top team(s) will gain promotion to the division above while the team(s) that comes bottom will drop down a division.

Scoring
Matches are played as 3 straight sets, not best of 3 sets but 3 sets in total with a golden point at deuce.
If the games reach 5-5, a team must win the next two games to win the set. If the games reach 6-6, a tie-break is played same style as tennis to decide the set winner and the score should be recorded as 7-6.
For the league standings, 1 point is awarded per set won by the team meaning a 3-0 win in a match would result in a full 3 points being awarded to the winning team.

Dates
Sunday 30th July: Registration deadline for all players. Players must register via the google form which can be accessed by clicking on this link here: PBL Form.
Tuesday 1st August: Boxes will be released with matches available to be arranged via Matchspace.
Monday 2nd October: Deadline for completion of matches.

Matchspace
In order to participate, arrange and submit results, all box league players must download and register as players on the Matchspace app (phone app not PC) before the registration deadline league using the club code VKDSP-9566.
Apple: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/matchspace/id1588501362
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/detailsid=uk.co.matchspace.mobileclient&pli=1

Booking Discount – 30% off!
Once registered on Matchspace, all box league players will be able to retrieve a 30% discount code which can be used for booking courts at Padel United – Bushey. The discount code will be released in the club feed section after the registration deadline.
For any further queries please email Padel@jafferys.org

Following the announcement of Padel joining the SJ Portfolio for gents (16 and over), we are pleased to share further information on dates and sign up process.

Dates, time and location

Padel will be played on Sunday evenings with the first session on Sunday 2 July. There will be two different slots to choose from; 19.00 to 20.30 and 20.30 to 22.00. The cost of each session is £6.

Sign up

Sign up will take place on the members portal. Please click here and click on members portal.

Full details of the sign up process can be found here.

Please ensure you have paid your SJ membership for 2023 on the portal BEFORE you book your session. If you are unsure of your membership status for 2023 you are strongly encouraged to check this with secretary@jafferys.org well in advance of sign up opening.

Sign-ups will operate strictly on a first come, first serve basis. There are 8 places available for the 19.00-20.30 session, and 12 places available for the 20.30-22.00 session.

The sign up link for each session will go live at 9 PM every Wednesday when there is a session on the Sunday.

Waiting List

If all spaces have been allocated and a waiting list is showing, you are encouraged to complete the sign up process as places on the waiting list will be offered on a first come, first serve basis. No payment will be taken from you if signing up on the waitlist. If a space becomes available you will be notified by email and you will have a fixed period in which to complete payment and secure your place for the session. If you do not complete it within a certain time period, the place will be offered to the next person on the waiting list.

Refunds

SJ operates a strict no refund for cancellation policy across all its sports. In the event SJ cancels the session, all participants will be fully credited with £6, which can be used against the purchase of any future SJ session on the portal. If you would like to join the SJ Padel group please use the QR code below and if you have any further questions email padel@jafferys.org

SJ are delighted to announce that it will be adding padel to the SJ rackets portfolio! Considered a mix between tennis and squash, it’s an ideal game for all abilities as its easy to learn where points are won more by strategy than sheer power of strength. As one of the fastest growing sports in the world, the combination of action and social interaction makes it an ideal sport for SJ to bring players of different interests to participate together in teams of two against their opponents.

The first SJ padel sessions will be held on the evening of Sunday 2^nd July at Padel United – Bushey, North London. For SJ members to be eligible to sign up, please email padel@jafferys.org with your mobile number to be added to the SJ Padel WhatsApp group and receive sign up links for all sessions.

So where did it all start?

Padel was invented in Mexico in 1969 by Enrique Corcuera when he modified his squash court to welcome elements of platform tennis. In the 1970s, a Spanish friend of Corcuera brought the padel sport to Spain where it is now considered one of the most popular sports in the country which has over 20,000 padel courts and over 4 million active players.

Since then, the sport has grown rapidly and is today considered one of the world’s fastest growing sports in Europe, South America and North America. Recently the LTA have also integrated padel into their framework with a commitment to growing the sport in the UK.

The Padel Court

Padel is played in doubles on an enclosed court about 30% smaller than a tennis court surrounded by walls of glass and metallic mesh so your shots can be played off them – like in squash – to find wicked angles and creative shots to beat your opponents. As a bonus, you can even bounce the ball off a wall on your own side of the court – if you can get it to land on the other side of the court!

While there are a small number of courts designed for singles padel games, the game is originally designed to be played as doubles due to the smaller court and the higher speed of the game makes it difficult to cover the court when playing on your own.

Are Padel balls the same as tennis balls?

Padel balls differ slightly to tennis balls in both having a lower pressure and smaller diameter than tennis balls, however the weight requirements of the ball is the same as tennis in competitions.

What about the Padel racket?

A padel racket unlike a tennis or squash racket, has no strings and is typically made of carbon fibre or fiberglass. Fiberglass is a lot cheaper to make, so you will find them in the lower end, beginner rackets. Carbon fibre is used in the more intermediate to advanced rackets.

So how do I play Padel?

In padel, scoring is the same as tennis – but that’s where a lot of the similarities end. Also, unlike tennis, when a ball is served it must bounce once on the floor then hit underarm. But don’t worry, you still have a first and a second serve.

You can also volley the ball during a rally, however, the ball is determined as “out” if it hits a wall (fence or glass) before touching the ground. In padel, a smash or overhead if struck well can result in the ball rebounding out-of-play – but beware that your opponents can run out of the side gates to return the ball! This is allowed on certain courts that have enough out-of-bounds space and is common at the professional level.

Like tennis, a set is won when a team wins six games and there is at least two games difference – failing that the set is decided by a tie-break. Matches are best of three sets.

If the ball hits the wall or fence before it hits the playing field, this counts as a fault and a player loses the point. Once the ball bounces, it may hit the wall once or more before it goes over the net to the other player.

A good clip to explain the basic rules this can be found here courtesy of The Padel School: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8Xt_itvQOc