To assist the Chippewa Valley Pickleball Club (CVPC) in providing club member desires to have more evenly matched organized and tournament play, CVPC is adopting the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR) as our standard for player ratings. This will allow for fair matchups based on skill levels that are objectively determined through an accurate rating system.
First and foremost, CVPC recognizes that not all recreational players wish to participate in play of a competitive nature. That is GREAT and we respect that! Our mission is to promote the game of pickleball and its many benefits by providing inclusive, respectful, and welcoming pickleball for all ages and skill levels. We do, however, wish to provide a fair and enjoyable level of play in our organized competitive events as well. DUPR will help us to address the subjectivity of personally determined ratings for these Club sponsored events.
CVPC has signed an agreement with DUPR that will set our club up as a “digital club.” This allows for players to join us on DUPR, and those not already on DUPR can be invited to join DUPR to create a free account. This agreement enables us to automatically input the results of club organized play and tournaments directly into DUPR for updating participants DUPR ratings.
If you do not yet have a DUPR account, please go to MyDUPR and create one. Once you have your account and are logged in, go to the “Play” link in your account and search for “Chippewa Valley Pickleball Club” and then request to join our DUPR Virtual Club.
The DUPR rating system can be used for:
- Recreational Open Play by Any Member
- DUPR Ratings Open Play Nights
- Organized Club Play (e.g., Round Robin, King/Queen of the Hill Round Robin, Ladder League, etc.)
- Sanctioned Tournament Play (e.g., Eau Claire Dell’s Open Pickleball Tournament, Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork, etc.)
The DUPR system uses the following ratings:
| Rating Level | Description |
| 1.0-2.5 | Beginner |
| 2.5-3.5 | Intermediate |
| 3.5-4.5 | Advanced |
| 4.5-5.0 | Expert |
| 5.0-5.5 + | Professional |
The DUPR ratings algorithm includes aspects of points won (including the “expected value” of score your team was predicted to make based on player matchup), victory (win/loss of match), and type of result (e.g., recreational play, league match, sanctioned tournament, etc.).
Benefits of the DUPR Rating System:
- Motivation to Improve
- Objective Skill Assessment Based on Results of Actual Play
- Fair Competition
- Easy Event Organization Based on Reliable Skill Levels
- Skill Progression Tracking
- Community Integration Across Communities
- Recognition and Achievement
No ratings system is perfect, nor will it ever be. However, a system like DUPR may be the best we can hope for, as it attempts to remove as much subjectivity as possible. DUPR ratings should become more accurate as more matches are played and more data is available to analyze. This enables organizers to be able to rely on the best ratings possible for fair play.
Frequently Asked Questions about CVPC’s use of DUPR
- As a CVPC member, am I required to have a DUPR account? No. If you are not interested in participating in any of our competitive organized play events, then you will not need to have a DUPR account or worry about DUPR ratings.
- Are the weekly round robin events considered competitive DUPR required events? The Tuesday night non-competitive round robins are not, but the Thursday night competitive round robins are.
- What if I don’t agree with my rating that DUPR provides? The DUPR ratings are only as accurate as the information it has to analyze and the more information it has, the more accurate it will be. Therefore, if you only have a few games played in the DUPR system, it’s possible that you played worse than your average abilities or better than your average abilities during those few games. In that case, your DUPR rating may indicate a much lower or higher rating than you believe you truly are. The only way to “fix” that is to play more games for DUPR. Again, the more games it has to analyze, the better it can determine your true rating as accurately as possible.
- How can I work to get more games into DUPR? CVPC will be holding some round robin events that are specifically intended to help establish your DUPR rating as quickly as possible. The more of these you attend, the quicker your rating can be determined. Also, you can enter game results into DUPR at any time, provided the people you are playing with also have DUPR accounts and agree to include the game results into DUPR. Many tournaments also add their results into the DUPR system.