STATEMENT FROM THE DINK SERIES WITH REGARDS TO THIS POST

A post has been shared suggesting that The Dink Series awards women less prize money than men. This is incorrect and a total fabrication.

Men and women are treated equally at The Dink Series. Prize money is determined by the size of each division — not by gender.

At the tournament in question (Episode 4) - where photos / complaints were made, the relevant prize pools were:

$300 cash: Men’s <2.99, Men’s 3.00–3.49, Men’s 3.50–3.99, Women’s <2.99, Mixed <2.99 and Mixed 3.00–3.49 (24 TEAMS IN THESE POOLS)

$250 cash: Women’s 3.00–3.49, Women’s 3.50–3.99 and MIXED 3.00-3.49 (12 TEAMS IN THESE POOLS)

The two divisions receiving $250 had approximately half the number of teams of the larger divisions. Despite having substantially fewer entrants, their prize money was still proportionally higher relative to the size of their fields. Suggesting that these divisions received less prize money simply because they were women’s divisions (which not all were) therefore leaves out the key information determining the prize allocation. Please note, events of equal size such as the WOMEN’S <2.99 and the MEN’S <2.99, 3-3.5 and 3.5-4 RECEIVED EQUAL PRIZE MONEY.

We are proud to run tournaments in which men and women are treated on exactly the same basis. If two equivalent divisions have the same field size and tournament structure, gender does not affect the prize money awarded.

We welcome questions and constructive feedback about our events, but we also think it's important that public claims about our tournament are based on the complete and accurate information - not total lies.

Furthermore, as with all tournaments across Australia, higher prize pools are often awarded to higher skilled categories. This is in order to attract higher-level players which people love to watch. In our last tournament, the MIXED 4.00+ and the MEN’S 4.00+ were BOTH awarded $500 - there was also a WOMEN’S 4.00+ which was listed as having an equal $500 prize pool which did not occur due to zero registrations - however it was the full intention to award all equal-skilled categories $500.

We also want to point out something important: most pickleball tournaments in Australia do not offer any cash prize money at all. We choose to invest thousands of dollars back into the community for EVERY event ($3000 + in cash, $2000+ in t-shirts and $1000+ in medals) because we want The Dink Series to be more exciting, more rewarding, and a better experience for everyone who plays.

Summary:

This post is a lie.

We love our women.