New FIR Ranking System
2007-01-11
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Following the review of the existing ranking system undertaken during the beginning of the year, Scotland's Phil Reid, the Ranking Officer of the FIR has been working on improvements that are now, as of the Swedish Open, ready for launch.

One major difference in the new ranking system compared to the system used previously (which has been in place almost unchanged since the federation first introduced a ranking system in March 2003; see newsitem) is the fact that the 10 best results over a period of 2 years are counted rather than (mainly) the best 3 results over a 3 year period. This will mean that "frequent" players travelling to many of the tournaments on the tour will be much better rewarded for this than at present.

Another major difference is that a "points matrix" (see excel document, that also includes some examples) has replaced the previous fundamental principle of "one point per match victory". And that this matrix rewards victories in the lower classes to a much higher extent than previously; a tournament victory in Class C will typically (prestige factor 1) give 200 points while a tournament victory in the Elite only 4 times as much (i.e 800 points). This can be compared to the present typical 11 points for a Class C tournament victory and 100 times as much (i.e. 1100 points) for the Elite. The consequence of this change should be increased mobility between classes. (i.e. it will not take as much for a busy traveller in the class C to move up the ranking since 4 tournament victories in the Class C will be as generously rewarded as one tournament victory in the Elite).

Please, find an introductory message from the FIR Ranking Officer below.

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Racketlon Ranking System 2007

Points to Note
· Racketlon will have a new ranking system for 2007 and beyond.
· The first event where the new ranking system will be used is the Stockholm Open 2007.
· Ranking points will be awarded based on a player's lowest known finishing position e.g.
--Monrad system: quarter finalists play off for positions 5, 6, 7 + 8
--Knock-out system: quarter finalists do not play off for positions so all 4 players will be awarded the same points i.e. 8th place
· The new system is governed by a published matrix of points (see excel document, that also includes some examples) that provides points for categories A, B, C + D within the 4 'grades' of event i.e. World Championships, Super World Tour, World Tour, Challenger.
· Every player participating in an FIR event will receive at least one ranking point.

Ranking System
· The new ranking system will be based on a player's best 10 point-scoring events over a 'rolling' 2-year period.
· There is no erosion of points other than their removal after 24 months i.e. points gathered 23 months previously are worth the same as points gathered yesterday.

What About Existing Ranking Points?
· To ensure continuity, the 2006 year-end ranking points will be carried forward into 2007 and count towards the world ranking for 2007 only.
· The 2006 year-end ranking points will be 'rounded down' to remove all decimal points.
· During this transition year (2007), rankings will be calculated based on the 2006 year-end rankings plus the best 5 point-scoring events.
· As of 1st January 2008 the 2006 year-end rankings will be removed and the 'best 10 point-scoring' rule will come into play. Therefore, those players playing more than 5 events during 2007 stand a better chance of having a higher ranking in early 2008.
· By 31st December 2008 the system will be operating as intended i.e. a player's best 10 point-scoring events over a full 24 month period will count towards their ranking.

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