How to Change Your Club Rating
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CRS has proven an effective tool for identifying players who warrant advancement to the next level. Since its implementation in September 2023, we have identified a few “tweaks” necessary to make CRS more effective. We will continue to “tweak” as necessary. This year being our inaugural season, we are learning we could not anticipate every situation, thus necessitating mid-season adjustments.
Event Schedule:
While we await the availability of new courts, our current CRS events will consist of the CRS Ladder, scheduled for Thursday (women), Friday (men) and Sunday (men and women). The average number of games completed per week is 5.
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New Procedures Effective December 14, 2023
The Club will be adjusting the milestones to advance a player’s Club Rating. Depending on their current Club Rating they will either be required to complete 15 or 30 games, attain a CRS rating that meets the minimum threshold and maintain that rating over a 6 or 12 game moving average to move to the next level.
ADVANCEMENT
Process Min Games Required # of games for moving Avg Control Group Process
2.5 to 3.75 15 6 No
3.75 to 4.25 30 12 No
4.25 to 5.0+ 30 12 Yes
2.5 thru 3.75
Players can quickly move through these levels as their skills improve quickly. Players desiring to move from 2.5 through 3.75 are required to play a minimum of 15 CRS games and attain a CRS rating that meets the minimum threshold of the next level and maintain a 6-game moving average at the new level. A player can only move 1 level after 15 games.
30 games offer a sample size large enough to be statistically accurate. Therefore, after 30 games as soon as a player meets the minimum threshold of a level and maintains a 6-game moving average at the new level they will be moved to that level.
4.0 thru 5.0 +
A player’s ability to improve relative to other upper-level players slows dramatically. As a result, a player must complete 30 games to advance a level and maintain a 12-game moving average at the new level.
Because 30 games offer a sample size large enough to be statistically accurate, after 30 games a players can move 1, 2 or 3 levels, provided they maintain a 12-game moving average at the new level.
4.5, 4.75 & 5.0
These levels are the elite players of our club. To ensure the candidates identified by CRS to advance to these levels are up to the task we have a control player process outlined in the 4.5 – 5.0 Rating Advancement Procedure.
Success Process: 2.5 – 4.25 players meeting the criteria for the next level will be notified the week they qualify. All players will be asked if they want to advance to the next level. It is not mandatory, and we recognize some players may choose to stay at their current level. Their club rating will be changed once the player responds to our inquiry. 4.5 and above players will be notified and they will be contacted regarding next steps in the control group process.
NO RISK OF REDUCTION IN CLUB RATING FROM PARTICIPATING IN CRS
CRS is working. It is an effective tool for identifying players ready to move to the next level. The #1 comment we heard from players who participate in CRS is that they really enjoy CRS, but they will not play after the trial period if there is a risk of their existing Club Rating moving down.
REDUCTION IN CLUB RATING
1. Injury/illness:
Injury or illness can take a player away from the game for an extended period. While the player is working their way back into playing condition, a player may request a temporary reduction in club rating … when the player deems themselves “ready”, their club rating will be restored at the player's request.
2. Individual player responsibility around reduction in club rating:
Pickleball is most fun when the four players on the court are of similar ability. Often, the player is “the first to know” that they are not as competitive as they once were. A player that is consistently losing five or six games in their round robin, and/or is averaging fewer than six points per game, should consider requesting a reduction in club rating.
In rare instances, if a player is observed performing significantly below their current level in Round Robins, a member of the rating committee will meet with them and discuss their unique situation. If it is determined by the rating committee that the player should be moved down a level, that player can advance to the next level again via CRS.
We understand the recurring criticism of all our rating systems through the years, we are good at moving players up, but not at moving players down. There is a good reason for this. As much as we recognize the need to occasionally move a member down a level, to do it is incredibly difficult for the member and the volunteer assigned the uncomfortable task.