How far up should a player be able to challenge?

Cap it. Five rungs is the default here, and every published club ruleset we surveyed caps it somewhere. Uncapped ladders produce a 3.0 challenging a 4.5 in week one, which is a bad hour for both of them and the fastest way to lose a new member. Tighter caps (three rungs) make the ladder climb slowly and reward patience. Wider caps (eight or more) make it volatile. Rule 3.