Draft wording, pending review by the owner. Not yet final.
Help · How Minton works
Grades and the band
Letter grades, the one-grade band, the grade a player is matched on when partnered or playing down, and what out of band means.
Letter grades
Every player has a grade on an eight-rung ladder: A1 at the top, then A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1 and D2. The organiser sets it, and a grading can move it one rung.
The band
The four players on a court may be at most one grade apart: adjacent rungs. A D2 may play with D1s but not a C2; a C1 with C2s or with B2s, but never both at once.
The grade you're matched on tonight
Usually your grade. When you play down, one rung below it. When you have a fixed partner, the lower of your two, so your partner never meets stronger opponents. The board shows the grade you're matched on; the desk shows both.
Out of band
When no in-band court can be made for a player who must play — the only A1 on a night of B2s, say — the draw widens the band for them as a last resort and flags the court to the organiser with the grades it spans, so the organiser can swap or regenerate.