As most of you guys know, I wear two hats (three if you count my Ravens hat): One is as the owner of Skim City, and the other is as a member of the board of directors of SkimUSA. Today, I again write as the SkimUSA guy.
OK, so if you're entering SkimUSA events (and why wouldn't you be?), you know that, shortly after each points contest, we post the individual results and the cumulative totals of everyone's points on www.skimusa.org. Currently, those points are decided strictly by placement: 1st place = 1000 points; 2nd = 900, and so on. Well, that method is about to get a whole bazillion times better. We have been working on a scoring system that will not only take into consideration a competitor's placement/results, but also the quality of the competitors he beat along the way, the sheer size of the contest itself, and the quality of the competition that the contest attracts. Ya following me? IOW, finishing 1st in Jr Mens in a contest that only has 8 Jr Men entered might not gain you as many points as finishing, say, 4th in a contest that has 24 Jr Men, especially if the larger contest attracts tougher competitors. However, if the smaller contest attracts the big names, and the larger contest attracts a bunch of newbies...Well, you get the point.
How exactly it will all shake out remains to be seen, but in our very limited test runs using prior years's points it has produced some pretty exciting and definitely interesting results, with some guys moving up the ladder, and others moving way down.
Another thing that we're looking to be able to do with this thing is have it make up the initial heats - automatically - which will save Harry and/or I a lot of time and trouble (and some parents a lot of grief, eh?). But that's a whole other conversation.
Either way, the one thing this will ultimately (hopefully) allow us to do is to actually create a legitimate national rankings of all the amateur competitors (and a more accurate ranking of the pros as well).
Stay tuned.
OK, so if you're entering SkimUSA events (and why wouldn't you be?), you know that, shortly after each points contest, we post the individual results and the cumulative totals of everyone's points on www.skimusa.org. Currently, those points are decided strictly by placement: 1st place = 1000 points; 2nd = 900, and so on. Well, that method is about to get a whole bazillion times better. We have been working on a scoring system that will not only take into consideration a competitor's placement/results, but also the quality of the competitors he beat along the way, the sheer size of the contest itself, and the quality of the competition that the contest attracts. Ya following me? IOW, finishing 1st in Jr Mens in a contest that only has 8 Jr Men entered might not gain you as many points as finishing, say, 4th in a contest that has 24 Jr Men, especially if the larger contest attracts tougher competitors. However, if the smaller contest attracts the big names, and the larger contest attracts a bunch of newbies...Well, you get the point.
How exactly it will all shake out remains to be seen, but in our very limited test runs using prior years's points it has produced some pretty exciting and definitely interesting results, with some guys moving up the ladder, and others moving way down.
Another thing that we're looking to be able to do with this thing is have it make up the initial heats - automatically - which will save Harry and/or I a lot of time and trouble (and some parents a lot of grief, eh?). But that's a whole other conversation.
Either way, the one thing this will ultimately (hopefully) allow us to do is to actually create a legitimate national rankings of all the amateur competitors (and a more accurate ranking of the pros as well).
Stay tuned.
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