Last winter, four Toronto clubs met for a single day of interclub round robin play. One day wasn’t enough.

This November, the Ontario Interclub Pickleball League (OIPL) turns that one day into a full season. It’s a new Toronto pickleball league built by Racquet Nation, with DUPR as the official rating partner. Every team is seeded with DUPR, and every result counts toward your rating.

What is the Ontario Interclub Pickleball League?

The OIPL is a team-based league that connects member clubs across the Greater Toronto Area for winter-season play. Four founding clubs take the court for the inaugural season:

• Royal Canadian Yacht Club
• Badminton & Racquet Club
• Boulevard Club
• Donalda Club

Matches run on Sundays from November 15 into March. Each club hosts home nights, travels for away nights, and the season wraps with the Founders Cup final.

How the Ranked Six format works

The league plays a format called Ranked Six. Each team fields six players, ranked one to six by ability. Pairs then face their matching pair on the other team across three rounds.

That means your top pair plays their top pair, and your bottom pair plays theirs. Every court is a fair fight, from the top of the lineup to the bottom. No one gets stuck in a blowout, and every match matters to the final team score.

Why DUPR ratings matter in this Toronto pickleball league

A format built on fair matchups needs an accurate way to rank players. That’s where DUPR comes in.

Teams are seeded using DUPR, so lineups reflect how players actually perform. Results post automatically to players’ DUPR ratings through Racquet Nation’s direct DUPR integration. No manual entry, no spreadsheets.

For players, that’s a real benefit. Club and organized league results carry more weight in your rating than self-posted rec games, because the data is verified. A full winter of interclub matches gives your rating a steady stream of reliable results. 

“Clubs have been asking for real interclub play for a while, and last winter proved the appetite,” said Phil Obendorf, founder of Racquet Nation. “The OIPL gives them a season, a schedule and a Cup. With DUPR in the loop, every match counts twice: once for your team, once for your rating.”

“Interclub play is some of the most competitive pickleball happening at the club level, and it works best when every matchup is fair,” said Tito Machado, CEO of DUPR. “Seeding teams with DUPR and posting results automatically gives players a season worth competing for and a rating that keeps up with them.”  

Who runs the league

Racquet Nation provides coordination and convening services for the OIPL, while the founding clubs set the format and rules together.

Racquet Nation is a league-management platform built for racquet clubs across squash, tennis, pickleball, padel, and badminton. It runs a club’s full competitive program, from leagues and scheduling to scoring, standings, ratings, registration, and member communications.

When the season starts and how to get involved

The inaugural season opens Sunday, November 15. You can find the league format, rules, and founding clubs at racquetnation.ca/oipl.

Future seasons will add divisions as team numbers permit. Clubs interested in joining can reach out through racquetnation.ca.

Interclub play is coming to Toronto with a real season, a real Cup, and ratings that reflect every match. Want to bring DUPR-rated league play to your own club? Start a club on DUPR and get your members playing.