Why do we offer graded sessions?

There is a lot of confusion around pickleball ratings or gradings, mainly because there are several different systems in place that aim to rate players, but they don't all use the same principles. So...why have graded sessions at all ?

We believe that in any sport that is played competitively (i.e. where you keep score), games are most enjoyable when the players involved are roughly on the same level. Noone likes to get thrashed - and noone likes to win without any serious opposition. This is the same in every one of the more established sports such as footy, tennis etc.

Having the players in our club graded allows us to set up sessions where players that have similar abilities get to play each other - this also makes it easier to organise competitions or leagues down the track.

The club is currently offering sessions for players with the following gradings:

Social

Players who are starting their pickleball adventure, just want to play socially - or who haven't been graded yet.

Intermediate 2

Members graded INTERMEDIATE 2

Upcoming grading sessions

Players who have won a medal or placed in the top 25% of players/teams in a sanctioned (listed on PickleballBrackets) or club tournament (medals only, for our own Round Robins require a minimum poolsize of 10 and a minimum 6 games played) at or below the 3.0 level in the last 12 months, or who have attended a grading session at GPCI and were graded for the Intermediate 2 level.

Intermediate 3

Members graded INTERMEDIATE 3

Upcoming grading sessions

Players who have won a medal or placed in the top 25% of players/teams in a sanctioned (listed on PickleballBrackets) tournament between the 3.0 and 3.5 level in the last 12 months, or who have attended a grading session at GPCI and were graded for the Intermediate 3 level.

Advanced

Members graded ADVANCED

Upcoming grading sessions

Players who have won a medal or placed in the top 25% of players/teams in an sanctioned (listed on PickleballBrackets) tournament at the 3.5 or above level played within the last 12 months, or who have attended a grading session at GPCI and were graded for the Advanced level.

If you already have a tournament result that fits the criteria above, simply email grading@gpci.au with...

  • Your Name
  • The PickleballBrackets link to your tournament event result page that shows your name & result
...and we will update your club grading accordingly. If you're not playing tournaments (yet) or haven't achieved a result matching the requirements, but feel that you're ready to play up at a certain level, you can always book in for a grading session with the club.

Some notes on tournament results: Because there is no standard on how tournament divisions are set up, some divisions don't match the criteria above 100%. The following lists some division titles and their mapping to our club grading - if you have a result that is still not clearly matchable, simply book in for a grading session:

Intermediate 2
  • 2.5 and above
  • 3.0 and under
  • 2.99 and under
  • 2.99 and above
    • Club tournaments (Medals Only)
Intermediate 3
  • 3.0 to 3.49
  • 3.0 to 3.5
  • 3.5 and under
  • 3.5 (no range)
  • 3.0 and above
  • 2.99 and above
Advanced
  • Open
  • 4.0 and under
  • 3.5 and above
  • 3.5 to 3.99
  • 3.5 to 4.0
  • 3.5 and under
  • 3.0 and above
  • 3.5 (no range)
How does a grading session work ?
If you don't qualify for the tournament based grading yet, then in order to get graded you will need to book into a session that is played at the desired level and offers grading spots - see the 'Upcoming grading sessions' links above.
At a grading session, you get to pick your playing partner from the players that are available on the day; your partner can be any player that is a member of the club - as long as they are not graded higher than the grade you are going for (i.e. you cannot pick a player graded 'Advanced' as a partner when you are going for an 'Intermediate' grading).
You then also get to pick one of your opposition players which has to be a player that is graded at the level you are going for - and that opposition player then gets to pick their partner (from the same level). You will then have up to 2 games to 11 win by 2, or you can play two timed games going for 12 minutes instead.
In order to get graded at the desired level, you need to score at least 7 points in one of the two matches. If you get to 7 in the first game the 2nd game doesn't need to be played.
If you don't make the grading, you can work on your game and come back for another attempt; there needs to be at least 4 weeks between each of your grading session.
Your grading lasts for 12 months, so every player will need to be re-graded (either via a grading session or another tournament result) at least annually to stay on their current grading level. You can of course also attend a grading session (or provide tournament results) at any time to go up a level from your existing grading.