Our club has members ranging from those who just want a spontaneous fun session to those who want to get to the top of the most competitive play possible. We try to accommodate all these interests.
A rating system ensures players with similar skills are grouped together in club-organized play and tournaments.
Not everyone needs to be formally rated. There are several sessions in our play calendars, like those designated "All" play, Open Play, and 2.0-2.5 play, that accept players with no club or tournament rating.
Why get rated?
For those who would like a little more competitive play, consider these advantages of a formal rating:
- You can play in more events
- Ratings enable members of similar skills to play together
- It builds fun -- what's more thrilling than a close game?
- It measures your progress
- It helps you select suitable events
- It sets up fairer tournaments, ladder play and other competitive play
lt is a requirement for our club that players wishing to play in club-organized events at a 3.0 level or higher have a club rating at that level.
How to get a club rating - Avenues
SAPC accepts the following avenues of qualifying for a club rating. SAPC does not accept ratings from other clubs, unless such ratings are based on one of following.
1. Skills-Based Assessment by Brenda Hawryluk
The Club will accept ratings, up to the 3.5 level, as evaluated by Brenda Hawryluk, an assessor whose qualifications have been reviewed by SAPC.
SAPC's Rating Team organizes times, venues, seeded players and fee collection for these rating sessions based on Brenda's requirements at full cost to the member - Brenda's cost plus court time.($85.00 for an assessment training session and rating assessment OR $55.00 for the rating assessment only plus court fees). Brenda will only assess 4 members at a time and she will contact the registrants on their results.
SAPC also accepts past assessments by Brenda, for up to one year since the last assessment or re-assessment with Brenda.
If this rating assessment option is of interest to you, please email rating@pickleballstalbert.ca.
2. IPTPA Certified Rating
The Club will accept ratings, up to the 3.0 level only, as evaluated by a current IPTPA Certified Rating Specialist. Acceptable supporting documentation must be provided to the Club via e-mail rating@pickleballstalbert.ca .
Two such IPTPA specialists, Declan and Christian, provide these rating assessments at YEG Pickleball. SAPC is arranging for some rating sessions with these folks starting in late July 2026. Contact Karen at rating@stalbertpickleball.ca to be added to a waitlist.
3. Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR)
For those who are not familiar with DUPR, please visit the DUPR page on this website.
A person's DUPR rating is universal. It may be earned while playing in any other club, in self-organized games, in tournaments and leagues, and/or in SAPC DUPR play sessions. Your DUPR rating will be recognized by SAPC regardless of where your DUPR-scored games were played, provided you:
- have played at least 20 DUPR-recorded games, and
- have a DUPR Reliability of at least 60.
Once you meet this criteria, email rating@pickleballstalbert.ca and ask to have your regular DUPR doubles rating recognized as the basis for a new or adjusted club rating. (SAPC does not accept any age-related DUPR rating for club rating purposes.)
4. USAPA Tournament Player Rating (UTPR) or World Pickleball Rating (WPR)
Your club accepts your UTPR or WPR rating provided the last games played and counted towards your UPTR or WPR are within the last 12 months of your application to the club and provided you've played at least 25 recorded games toward that rating. To have your UTPR or WPR used as the basis for a new or adjusted SAPC club rating, email rating@pickleballstalbert.ca and specify the rating to be used for your new SAPC rating.
How to start your DUPR Rating
For those with no current DUPR rating, register for and attend a club "Aspiring To" DUPR rating session to get your first 10 DUPR games in. This will give you an initial DUPR rating. With that DUPR rating, you can then join SAPC DUPR play sessions or play at a DUPR session organized by another club or venue. Keep doing so until you have a DUPR reliability of at least 60. Then apply for a club rating based on your DUPR rating.
If you play DUPR-recorded games through our club or another club or venue, it will take about 20 games, within a three-month period, to reach a DUPR Reliability of 60. If you play DUPR-recorded games on your own (not through a club or venue), it will take many more games to reach a Reliability of 60.
Emails to Rating@...
In your "Club Rating Adjustment" email request to rating@pickleballstalbert.ca:
- Specify whether you would like a club rating adjustment based on a rating by Brenda Hawryluk, your IPTPA rating, your DUPR rating, your UTPR or your WPR.
- If you specify IPTPA, provide evidence of having achieved the 3.0 level.
- If you specify DUPR, make sure DUPR has at least 20 games on record for you and you have a DUPR Reliability of at least 60.
- If you specify UTPR or WPR, ensure your last game recorded in those events are within the time limits specified above.
- If your request is based on a UTPR or WPR, specify whether your mixed doubles, men's doubles or women's doubles rating should be used as your club rating.
Typically within three days, the club will review the request as follows:
- The club will look up the member's DUPR, UTPR or WPR rating and games played, confirm your assessment by Brenda Hawryluk, or evaluate the IPTPA certification.
- The club will adjust the member's consolidated club rating in their member profile, if warranted.
Note that DUPR and other ratings are dynamic. They go up or down each game played and can change even if you haven't played in a while. Your DUPR, UTPR, or WPR rating must be above the threshold of the desired club level (e.g. 3.500 DUPR for a 3.5 club level) ON THE DAY/TIME we look it up.
