Help Guide: Creating a Pickleball.com Account for a Minor

This help document walks a parent or guardian through phase one of setting up a Pickleball.com profile for a child under 17. It is concise, step-based, and highlights the key items you’ll encounter during the process, including media consent, verification, and how to manage the account afterward. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Help Guide: Creating a Pickleball.com Account for a Minor
  • Before you start
  • Quick steps to create the minor’s account
  • After the account is created — managing the child’s profile
    • What “Impersonate” means
  • Common questions & troubleshooting
  • Tips and best practices
• FAQ: Creating a Pickleball.com Profile for a Minor
  • 1. Do I need a separate email address for my child’s account?
  • 2. Can I manage my child’s account using my own profile?
  • 3. Who receives match start time emails?
  • 4. Will parents also get a copy of start time notifications?
  • 5. Will parents receive receipts?
  • 6. Can both parents/guardians manage the same child account?
  • Next steps
  • Need more help?

Before you start

• Have the child’s email address ready (required).
• Decide whether you’ll use the child’s phone number or the parent/guardian phone number for contact.
• Be prepared to sign the media release and consent form on behalf of the minor.
• Sign in to your own Pickleball.com account first — you will be creating and managing the child’s account from there.

Quick steps to create the minor’s account

1. Go to Pickleball.com and click Sign Up.
2. Select the option: “I am creating an account for a child under seventeen years old.”
3. Log in to your parent/guardian account when prompted.
4. Fill in the child’s required information:
   • Child’s email address (required)
   • Create a password for the child’s account
   • Child’s phone number or parent/guardian phone
   • Skill level, time zone, and any profile preferences
5. Read and agree to the Terms of Service and check any applicable checkboxes on the form.
6. When prompted, open and sign the Media Release and Consent form as the parent/guardian:
   • Click the checkbox to view the release
   • Read the release, then type your "last name" and check that you read the terms
7. Return to the account creation page and click Create Account.
8. Check the child’s email for the six-digit verification code, enter it, and click Verify and Create Account.
   
   

After the account is created — managing the child’s profile

Once the child’s account is saved, it appears under your profile in the “Accounts I Manage” section. From there you can:

• See a list of all minor accounts you manage.
• Use the Impersonate button to act as the child when registering for events or lessons — this streamlines registration and keeps everything under one parent account.
  

What “Impersonate” means

Impersonating an account allows you to complete sign-ups, registrations, and purchases as if you were logged in as the child. It does not transfer ownership of the child’s account; it simply provides a way for the parent/guardian to manage tasks on the child’s behalf.

Common questions & troubleshooting

• My child doesn’t have an email address: You’ll need to create one for them to complete account verification. Alternatively, some households use a child-specific family email, but the system requires a unique email per account.
• I didn’t receive the verification code: Check spam/junk folders first. If it’s not there, ensure the email was entered correctly and request a new code from the account creation screen.
• How do I change the child’s phone number later? Go to the child’s profile from your “Accounts I Manage” list and edit contact details.
• Can a minor later move their account under a parent/guardian? An update planned for a future phase will allow players to release accounts to a manager or move an existing minor account under a parent/guardian account.

Tips and best practices

• Use a strong, unique password for the child’s account and store it in a secure password manager.
• Keep the parent/guardian contact info up to date for important notifications and emergency contact.
• Review the media release carefully — you must sign it during account creation for the child’s profile to be complete.
• If you manage multiple children, keep a simple naming convention in profile nicknames to avoid confusion when impersonating accounts.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do I need a separate email address for my child’s account?

Yes. Each child’s profile requires its own unique email address. Parents cannot use their own email address for the child’s account.

2. Can I manage my child’s account using my own profile?

Not yet. In Phase 1, only new child accounts can be created. The ability to hand over or manage existing accounts will be available in Phase 2 (coming soon, expected in about 2 weeks).

3. Who receives match start time emails?

Currently, only the child’s email address will receive match start time notifications.

4. Will parents also get a copy of start time notifications?

Not at this time. This feature is not built in yet but has been flagged for review by the Pickleball.com team.

5. Will parents receive receipts?

At this stage, only the child’s email address gets notifications (including start times). Receipt notifications have not been confirmed for parents.

6. Can both parents/guardians manage the same child account?

No. At this time, only one parent/guardian per child account is supported.

Next steps

After the account is created and verified, you can immediately register the child for events, lessons, or local play sessions using the Impersonate feature. Stay aware that additional account management features are coming in later phases, including the ability for players to release accounts to managers.

Need more help?

If you’d like a step-by-step visual walkthrough, watch the short tutorial video that demonstrates this process in real time. The video shows each screen and action mentioned here and is a great companion to this help guide.