Tutorial - Results series tool

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INTRODUCTION

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Results series examples

The results series tool is designed to combine results from multiple races, allowing application of various points rules:
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Other results series types

  • A sailboat regatta where the winner is determined by order of finish based on handicap-adjusted times from several heats
  • A downhill race where only the best run out of many attempted is counted
  • A multi-stage enduro motocross race, with each stage timed separately, and the combined time wins
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Pricing / licensing

  • The tool supports posting results from a .TXT file, from Webscorer PRO
  • The .TXT results format is explained here: www.webscorer.com/resources/tutorial-txt
  • Using the results series tool with Webscorer PRO is included in the PRO subscription fee
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FUNCTIONALITY OVERVIEW

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Race results requirements

  • The tool relies on racer names that are spelled the same across all races in the series
  • Consistent capitalization is not required, e..g. "James Smith" and "James SMITH" will be considered the same racer
  • If the series standings involve a Category series or Distance series, the category and distance names must match across the series
  • With the series results option for separate male / female standings, the race results must include the "Gender" field for all racers
  • Team name / Team name 2 will be displayed in the standings, if they’re included in the first race results of the series
  • This means that it does not matter if there are discrepancies in team names amongst the results
  • If you don’t want team names to be displayed in the standings, remove them from the first race results
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How to set up a results series

  • There's a new menu button called Add a new results series on www.webscorer.com/members/mypostedraces
  • The results series can be setup anytime, to apply for past races or future ones
  • You can create the results series and add the races as they happen
  • Or you can post the results to Webscorer.com first, then create the results series & add the races to the series at the same time
  • When posting results from Webscorer PRO, the app will ask if you want to add the results to your open series on Webscorer.com
  • Or, you can post the results to Webscorer.com, then navigate to your series setup page and add the results to the series there
  • Once you've created the results series setup & saved it, you'll get a URL that will stay the same as results are added to the series
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Updates to series

  • The series standings page is created dynamically from the results data each time it's accessed
  • After adding the results to the series, if you make changes to results & repost, the series standings are automatically updated
  • If you notice that a racer appears twice in the standings with different spellings, just update the misspelling on the results & repost
  • You can change the series rules any time and the series standings will be updated accordingly without impacting the results
  • The same results can be part of multiple series, so you could have multiple series standings based on a different rules
    • One series standings shows "Total time"
    • Another series standings shows "Points per place"
    • A third series shows "% back" as an average
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SERIES SETUP

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Introduction

There are 4 main points systems to choose from for the series. There are many different variants of points systems in use today and offering all options would make the points system too complicated to use. We have attempted to offer enough options to offer interesting alternatives, but chances are you may not find an exact match to your existing series points system. We're happy to entertain feature requests, but we will apply the "simplicity" test before adding more options.
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Race time

  • Finish time (or adjusted time) is used as "points" for each race in series
  • Choose Total time when adding the race times together
  • Average time is an option for races where the same course is used in each race
  • "Tour de France" series at www.webscorer.com/seriesresult?seriesid=7578 uses the following options
    • Series points system = Race time
    • Series standings display = Total time
    • Total number of races in series = 21
    • How many best races are counted = All
    • Use penalty- or handicap- adjusted results = No
    • Use "Gender" to assign points separately for Male / Female = No
    • Do you offer multiple distances per race = No
    • Do you offer multiple categories per race = No
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Points per place

  • Racers earn the same number of points as their place (1 for 1st place, 2 for 2nd place etc.)
  • You can choose to count Total points or have the system calculate Average points
  • Note that the system does not have tie-break rules
    • Racers with the same points will share the place in standings
    • There are too many possibilities to automate ties
    • You often also need multiple levels of tie-break rules
    • We'd suggest you explain your own tie-break rules in the "Race notes"
  • "2012 Squamish Mountain-biking Series" at www.webscorer.com/seriesresult?seriesid=7601 uses the following setup
    • Series points system = Points per place
    • Series standings display = Total points
    • Total number of races in series = 13
    • How many best races are counted = 10
    • Use penalty- or handicap- adjusted results = No
    • Use "Gender" to assign points separately for Male / Female = Yes
    • Do you offer multiple distances per race = No
    • Do you offer multiple categories per race = Yes
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Custom points per place

  • This option allows you to upload your own custom points system as a file
  • The file format is a simple tab-delimited .TXT file with two column headers: "Place" and "Points"
  • You can create the file in Excel and save as "Unicode text" or "Tab-delimited .TXT"
  • The points can be descending or ascending
    • e.g. 40-35-30-29-28 etc. or
    • 1-5-10-11-12 etc.
  • Include all the places that will earn points
    • If all racers earn at least one point, include as many places as you expect racers
    • There is no max size for the file
  • Racers marked as DNS, DNF and DSQ in results will earn 0 points
  • You can choose to count Total points or have the system calculate Average points
  • Note that the system does not have tie-break rules
    • Racers with the same points will share the place in standings
    • There are too many possibilities to automate ties
    • You often also need multiple levels of tie-break rules
    • We'd suggest you explain your own tie-break rules in the "Race notes"
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% of winning time

  • This points system have the attraction that it will reward performance over simple placement
    • The winning margin matters for points
    • The points are a closer reflection of actual performance vs. who showed up for each race
  • Each racer's points are calculated as follows: 100 * (racer's time in seconds / winner's time in seconds)
  • For example, if the winner's time is 20 minutes and the racer's time is 25 minutes
    • Winner's points = 100.00
    • Racer's points = 100 * [ (20 * 60) / (25 *60) ] = 80.00
  • This points system is similar to "% back", the only real difference is that the leaders have higher points
  • "2012 Evergreen Trail Run Series" at www.webscorer.com/seriesresult?seriesid=7582 uses the following setup
    • Series points system = % of winning time
    • Series standings display = Total points
    • Total number of races in series = 14
    • How many best races are counted = 8
    • Use penalty- or handicap- adjusted results = No
    • Use "Gender" to assign points separately for Male / Female = Yes
    • Do you offer multiple distances per race = Yes
    • Do you offer multiple categories per race = Yes
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% back

  • This is similar to the % of winning time, the only difference is that the winner gets 0 points instead of 100
  • Each racer's points are calculated as follows: 100 * (Difference in seconds behind winner / Winner's time in seconds)
  • For example, if the winner's time is 20 minutes and the racer's time is 25 minutes (racer is 5 minutes behind winnner)
    • Winner's points = 0.00
    • Racer's points = 100 * [ (5 * 60) / (20 * 60) ] = 25.00
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How many best results are counted?

  • This option is a number that's equal of smaller than the "Total number of races in series"
  • For a typical "Total time" race (e.g. Tour de France), this would be set to All
  • For example, consider a "points per place" series with a total of 10 races
    • If you want to allow a racer to skip 2 races without a penalty, set this option to 8
    • The racer can still participate in all 10 races, but only best 8 results would be counted towards the total points
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Number of races required to list points in standings

  • This option is available for the following points systems:
    • Total time / Average time
    • Points per place / Average points
    • % back / Average points
    • % of winning time
  • An example, in a best 4 out of 6 series, series type = % of winning time:
    • Only 4 best races are still counted, this setting simply sets the minimum to be listed in series standings
    • If you set this option to 1, any racer who's participated at least in one race are listed with points in the series standings
    • If you set this option to 4, racers who have participated is less than 4 races will be listed as -1 race / -2 races etc. in the series standings
  • The reason this option is not available for other points systems is as follows:
    • In a series with Points per place / Total points, a racer with less races would benefit in series standings
    • In a % back / Total points series, a lower points is better and similarly a racer who participated in fewer races would have an unfair advantage
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Notes on other series options

  • If you answer Yes to the question Use penalty- or handicap- adjusted results, then
    • The series will use the Adjusted time instead of Finish time when calculating points
    • If only some races in the series have Adjusted time, Finish time will be used for the rest
  • If you answer Yes to the question Use "Gender" to assign points separately for Male / Female, then
    • Each racer must have the Gender field filled in as either Male or Female
    • This is another way to classify male & female racers separately for the series without requiring gender-specific categories
  • If you offer multiple distances or multiple categories per race, note the following
    • In a "Distance series", the distance names must match across all races in the series
    • In a "Category series", the category names must match across all races in the series
    • If a racer switches distances during the series, that racer will earn points towards each "Distance series" (overall placement within the Distance)
    • If a racer switches categories during the series, that racer will earn points towards each "Category series" (placement within the Category)
    • An "Overall series" is for the overall placement within a single-distance series
    • In a "Combined overall series", each distance winner per race earns maximum points and the points apply to the same series standings