Creating better games through balanced matchups
The most memorable games aren’t the ones we win easily, but the ones where every point is earned, and every teammate matters. True joy in sport comes when the contest is fair, fierce, and uncertain.
While we all have experienced those games that just feel great (even if we don't win!), there is scientific evidence behind this: According to Flow Theory* people are most engaged and happy when their skills are well matched to the difficulty of the task.
Ok then... so what is this PIRAT thing?
When we started the Geelong Pickleball Club in early 2024 it was for a number of reasons, but one thing that I strongly believed was necessary to keep people interested in the game and to improve overall player satisfaction was to find a way to get more of the even matchups described above.
I also wanted something that was more efficient and less subjective than a Grading Committee — a mechanism that would allow for players arriving at a session to be automatically placed into games where they would be experiencing more of the even matchups.
There is obviously existing mechanisms in Pickleball that claim to solve this problem — most notably DUPR. DUPR and PIRAT aim to do the same thing and while DUPR doesn't publish the internals of their system it is likely that like PIRAT, it is based on the Elo rating system.
Essentially, PIRAT assumes that every player has a rating which predicts how likely they are to win a match. When you play with a partner, your ratings are combined to create a predicted outcome. PIRAT ratings change not necessarily based on whether you win or lose, but whether you're able to beat the expectation or not.
If you beat the expectation, you've actually played better than what was predicted, which means your rating needs an upward adjustment. The opposite applies if your score is worse than predicted.
DUPR is a global system — everyone that signs up starts at the same level. PIRAT is different. With PIRAT you can use existing DUPR ratings as well as local knowledge to set up an initial rating. Someone who comes to an induction session will be started on a lower rating than someone with a verified DUPR of 5.0.
Both systems work best when you record lots of scores. The system is self-correcting — if the initial rating is slightly off, enough games will adjust it.
Every player has their own individual PIRAT, but since we mainly play doubles, we calculate a combined rating for each team. Simply averaging the two ratings is not ideal. A large difference between two partners reduces their overall efficiency as a team. PIRAT takes this into consideration by adjusting the combined rating proportionally to the difference in individual ratings.
One of the big advantages of having a rating system is that it largely negates the need for explicitly graded sessions. Players of all levels can attend the same session and be assigned to pools or courts based on their rating.
Smaller groups generally produce better game experiences because the rating range is narrower. Court-based formats (4–6 players staying on the same court) further increase the chance of even matchups.
The purpose of the rating is to help create more enjoyable games — not to feel superior or inferior based on a number. Your rating will only go up if you are beating the expected outcome. Losing a close match against slightly better players should not heavily impact your rating.
If your club is interested in using the PIRAT system, get in touch. The 002 mobile app was built to work with the PIRAT system and has been used extensively at the Geelong Pickleball Club. 002 is planning to make the app and associated club management system available to other interested clubs.