Following our discussions about the future of the Sussex Pickleball League, we, the LEAGUE organisers have agreed a new format for next season. The changes are designed to create a league that is competitive, fair and enjoyable to play in, while reducing unnecessary travel, creating more consistent playing conditions, strengthening the club team experience and providing clearer rules for everyone involved.
From next season:
The 2026/27 Sussex Pickleball League will operate as two separate league seasons:
Winter League – October 2026 to March 2027
All matches must be played indoors.
Summer League – May 2027 to September 2027
All matches must be played outdoors.
This will provide more consistent playing conditions within each competition and give clubs the opportunity to participate in one or both seasons.
One of the biggest changes will be the introduction of a new club team format.
Rather than Men’s, Women’s and Mixed fixtures taking place separately, clubs will come together for a single club-versus-club fixture.
Each fixture will consist of six doubles matches played across two courts:
The results of the six matches will combine to produce an overall result for the fixture and form the basis of a new Team League.
We will continue to recognise, and calculate standings for the Men’s, Women’s and Mixed competition alongside the new Team competition.
The intention is to make league fixtures feel much more like a genuine club team event, with players competing together for an overall result while retaining the Men’s, Women’s and Mixed elements of the existing league.
There will also be an important change to how clubs enter teams.
Clubs will no longer enter a team into a specific league or division.
Instead, each club will tell us how many teams it wishes to enter and rank those teams in order of playing strength:
Closer to the season start each club will be asked to provide the names and the DUPR rating of each of the players.
For this year’s initial placement, we will use the cumulative DUPR rating of the two highest-rated women and men declared within each team to assess the relative strength of all teams entered. Teams will then be placed into the most appropriate division, taking into account the relative strength of entries from across Sussex. For example, if a club enters three teams, it will enter Team 1, Team 2 and Team 3. Those teams will then be assessed alongside teams entered by other clubs before their divisional placement is confirmed.
The aim is to create divisions containing teams of comparable playing strength, resulting in closer and more competitive fixtures throughout the season. Strengthening our clubs, and subsequently strengthening our County.
There will also be an important change to how clubs enter teams.
Clubs will no longer enter a team into a specific league or division.
Instead, each club will tell us how many teams it wishes to enter and rank those teams in order of playing strength:
And provide the names and the DUPR rating of each of the players.
For this year’s initial placement, the LEAGUE will use the cumulative DUPR rating of the two highest-rated women and men declared within each team to assess the relative strength of all teams entered. Teams will then be placed into the most appropriate division, taking into account the relative strength of entries from across Sussex. For example, if a club enters three teams, it will enter Team 1, Team 2 and Team 3. Those teams will then be assessed alongside teams entered by other clubs before their divisional placement is confirmed.
The aim is to create divisions containing teams of comparable playing strength, resulting in closer and more competitive fixtures throughout the season.
Each league fixture will consist of:
6 matches | 2 courts | 1 Men’s | 1 Women’s | 4 Mixed
League matches will use:
Rally scoring with no freeze.
The same scoring format will be used consistently across the Sussex League.
Further details around the playing order and administration of fixtures will be included within the league rules.
Clearer rules will be introduced around squads and player eligibility, particularly for clubs entering multiple teams. The rules will provide clubs with reasonable flexibility to manage player availability while protecting the integrity of the divisions.
This will include clearer rules around squad sizes, player eligibility and movement between a club’s teams. The principle will be that clubs should be able to manage genuine player availability without being able to significantly strengthen a lower team with players who would ordinarily represent a higher team.
The one area where we would particularly like feedback from clubs and players is the future role of DUPR within the Sussex Pickleball League.
While DUPR will be used to help with the initial placement of teams for the coming season, we want to consider whether and how it should form part of the league longer term.
We would like views on whether we should:
If the decision is to retain DUPR, we will review how ratings are used across the league. We will also consider introducing an additional level of governance for Division 1.
The intention would be to protect the competitive standard and integrity of the highest division while recognising that DUPR alone may not always provide the complete picture when determining whether a player or team is competing at the appropriate level. This could mean that Division 1 eligibility and team composition are subject to additional oversight alongside DUPR ratings.
The exact approach would be developed as part of the league rules if the decision is made to continue using DUPR.
A clearer Fixtures Policy will be introduced for next season.
This will establish consistent rules covering areas such as:
The intention is not to create unnecessary bureaucracy, but to make expectations clear for every club before the season begins.
A formal Cancellation Policy will also be introduced.
There will inevitably be occasions when fixtures genuinely cannot go ahead, and the rules will recognise this. However, there also needs to be a distinction between unavoidable circumstances and a team simply being unable to field its preferred players.The policy will therefore establish expectations around notice periods, acceptable reasons for postponement or rearrangement, and what happens when a team cancels without sufficient notice or reasonable grounds.
The emphasis will always be on getting fixtures played wherever reasonably possible.
A clear Code of Conduct will apply to everyone representing a club in the Sussex Pickleball League. The overwhelming majority of league matches are played in the spirit we would expect. However, having a published Code of Conduct will ensure that everyone understands the standards expected and the consequences when those standards aren’t met.
An escalating disciplinary process will apply for breaches of the Code.
The policy will clearly set out expected standards of behaviour, how incidents are reported and reviewed, and provide a fair process for responding to or appealing disciplinary decisions. There will be a maintained list of all players at each stage of the process on the league website.