UTR Sports Faces Criticism: Kerry Gambescia Shannon recently took to Facebook to voice her frustrations with the new UTR Sports rating system for pickleball. Shannon expressed concerns that the system appears to unfairly favor male players by rating them one level higher than their female counterparts. She noted that her rating dropped to 3.0 under the new system, despite knowing women who play professionally are rated at 4.0. Shannon questioned whether the system is assuming that men are responsible for the wins in mixed doubles, calling the system “seriously flawed” and urging for a revision before the nationals.
The post quickly gained attention, with one user commenting,
“Yeah. My rating says 5.1 and I’m barely 4.0 right now. Lol. Way off and I emailed them but really got no explanation.”
UTR Sports responded directly to Shannon’s concerns, stating,
“The UTR-P rating does not adjust based on gender, it goes strictly by match results. We are investigating player profiles to ensure everyone’s rating is placing them in the correct divisions. What is your partner’s name? We can look into it for you!”
Despite this response, the conversation continued to heat up. Another user highlighted the system’s flaws by pointing to the drastic drop in registrations for mixed doubles in certain age brackets. They commented,
“Mixed doubles 3.5 (old rating) so 4.5 now only has at the 50-54 bracket has 2 teams registered, last year 61! The 55-59 bracket last year had 72 teams registered this year so far 1!!!! One team!!”
The user further argued that the overinflated ratings for male players are “destroying brackets” and called for a return to the previous rating system where players earned their spots through gold ticket wins. The sentiment was echoed by others, with one user expressing relief at their decision to drop USAPA and delete the UTR-P app.
As the debate continues, it’s clear that UTR Sports has some serious work to do to regain the trust of the pickleball community. The issue of rating discrepancies has struck a chord with many players, and with the nationals approaching, the pressure is on UTR Sports to address these concerns swiftly and fairly.
News in Brief: UTR Sports Faces Criticism
Kerry Gambescia Shannon criticized the new UTR Sports rating system for pickleball on Facebook, claiming it unfairly rates male players higher than female players. She noted that her rating dropped to 3.0, despite knowing women who play professionally are rated 4.0. Shannon described the system as “seriously flawed” and urged for revisions before the nationals.
UTR Sports responded, asserting their ratings are based solely on match results, and promised to investigate. The debate has intensified, with users pointing out a drop in mixed doubles registrations and calling for a return to the previous rating system. UTR Sports faces mounting pressure to address these issues.
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