THE VICTORIAN JUNIOR RANKING SYSTEM (full version) - as at 15 December 2003

Click here for simplified version

The Victorian State Rankings are prepared on the basis of an objective, electronic system using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to allocate points to players for performances in selected events within various phases of the year.
The system was first created to alleviate problems with subjective processes that existed previously and within which players found difficulty in planning their development pathways.

The system went through a number of changes in the early stages as players, coaches and parents found ways to "work" the system or provided other feedback. Hans Kronemeyer took responsibility for running previous years' results through the system at various times to "bench test" the outcomes and the current version appears to achieve all the initial design requirements.

Ranking Phases
State and National Rankings are published four (4) times per year as follows:

In Victoria, we have nominated three ranking Phases to coincide with these dates:

Status of Events
Every selected event is given a point value and it is these points that are distributed amongst the participants based on their finishing position.

Events are nominated at the beginning of the year and their relative value established according to the following table. Note that the relative value of events is based on the concept of a Regional Title being worth 4 local event wins, a State Title being "worth" 3 Regional Titles and a National Title being the equivalent of winning 2 State Titles.

Table 1. Points Allocation for Events of Different Status

Divisor Events
Events are also given "Divisor" status, which means that an event can be specified as contributing to the minimum number of events that players should participate in, during that phase, to give a meaningful ranking. Divisor events are normally only those events played in Victoria so that all Victorian players have access to them.

Once the Divisor Events have been identified, the Ranking System automatically halves the number of Divisor Events in each Ranking Phase and rounds this figure DOWN for 13YAG events and below and rounds the result UP for 15YAG and above.

For example, if there are 5 events in the first ranking phase, then the divisor for that phase will be 5 divided by 2 (2.5) which is then rounded down to 2 for 13YAG and below events or rounded up to 3 for 15YAG events and above.
Other events, such as National Ranking Events (Tri Series, State Junior Titles, Australian Junior Championships) can be included for their point values but are not included in calculating the Divisor.

Distributing the Ranking Points
All events that are included in the rankings (both Divisor and non-Divisor) for that phase then have their points distributed to the players on the basis of a percentage allocation for each finishing position. This percentage was originally based on the PSA and WISPA points allocation. See table 2.

Thus, a player finishing 1st in their event will receive 20% of the event's points - e.g. 400 points for a Regional Championships, 1200 for a State Title and 2400 for a National Title; a player finishing 2nd would receive 240, 840 and 1680 respectively in the same events.

Table 2. Points Distribution as a Percentage of Those Available

Calculating the Player's Average
Having established the divisor for the ranking phase, say 3, the best 3 results for each player are added together and then divided by the divisor (3) to obtain the player's average for the first phase.

If a player was to play all 5 divisor events in the first ranking phase and each event carried Regional Championships status (2000 points) and his finishing position was 1st (400), 2nd (280), 3rd (200), 2nd (280) and 1st (400), then his average would be calculated by adding together his best 3 events (400+280+400 = 1080) and then dividing that by 3 - 360 points.

Based on this average, the player's ranking is automatically calculated and published.

Subsequent Phases (2nd and 3rd Phases)
For subsequent ranking phases, this average (360 in the example) is carried forward as the starting points for each player.

If in the Second Ranking Phase, there are 4 more divisor events, then the divisor for that phase will be 2 and the points for the two best results added to the brought forward points to make a new total - e.g. the player finishes 1st in a Regional Event (280), finishes 3rd in the State Junior Titles (600), 2nd in the State Junior League (560) but doesn't play the last event. His best 2 results (600+560) will be added to the brought forward points (360) to give him a new total - 1520 points but this total will be divided by the Divisor + 1 (to allow for the brought forward points) - 1520 divided by 3, 506.67 points. This is the players average for Ranking Phase 2.

Based on this average, the player's ranking is automatically calculated and published.

For the Third Ranking Phase, an identical process is followed with the Divisor being used to select the best results for that phase, adding the point value to the brought forward points and then dividing by the Divisor +1 to arrive at a new average.

Based on this average, the player's ranking is automatically calculated and published.

National Tri Series
As an example, in 2003, the three National Tri-Series events were played in Victoria - they therefore qualify as Divisor events for that year. As no other events were played in the first Ranking Phase, the ranking system calculates the Divisor for this phase as 1 (for 13YAG and below), and 2 (for 14YAG and above).

This means that players in the 13YAG only had to play in one of the 3 events in order to have their ranking calculated accurately but players in older age groups will need to participate in 2 events to ensure an accurate ranking.

As each event is a National Ranking Event, they each carried 7512 points to be distributed to players in each event within the tournaments according to their finishing position.

In the second Ranking Phase, the Divisor events were the State Junior League (after completion of Round 4 - July 20) and the Melbourne Junior Age Championships - carrying 5008 and 2504 points respectively. This means that the Divisor for Phase 2 was one (1) for all age groups.

Additionally, there were junior events being played interstate - NSW, ACT and QLD Junior Championships in which Victorian players' performances could be used to obtain their "best" result. These events do not contribute to the Divisor but can provide an opportunity for players to obtain significant points if they are particularly successful.

The points allocation for these events (as National Ranking Events) is 7512.

If the points scored by a player in any one (1) of these non-Divisor events is higher than their point score in the State Junior League or Melbourne Junior Age Championships, then those points will be used to calculate their ranking.

Note again that any points earned in Phase 2 are added to the points brought forward from Phase 1 before being divided by the Divisor + 1 as per the previous section.

It is also important to note that if a player does not compete in the first Ranking Phase but participates in the second Ranking Phase, then their best result will still be divided by 2 (the Divisor + 1).

Principles Incorporated
1. Events have differing status - a win in a state or national event (usually against stronger players) is valued higher than a win in a smaller local or regional event (usually with lesser standards of opposition);

2. The Divisor minimises the time commitment of players (and families) to a reasonable level of participation, given the number of events available, but also ensures that players put themselves "on the line" regularly;

3. The continued division of any points accumulated by players ensures that early results must be maintained in order to maintain rankings;

4. Players participating more are given the opportunity to drop off poorer results that may occur from time to time through injury, illness or learning processes;

5. Principles of the Professional Circuit ranking systems have been incorporated to provide a preparatory opportunity for juniors with goals at that level;

6. Players and coaches can spend time developing their players without being concerned about losing in events that are not specified and thus inhibiting broad development.

© NB: This System is subject to copyright law.

THE VICTORIAN JUNIOR RANKING SYSTEM (simplified version) - as at 15 December 2003

To understand the basics of the Victorian Junior Ranking System, firstly read the bold bullet points, then if you need a little more information, go back and look at the comments under each bullet.

The FULL version of the Victorian Junior Ranking System can be viewed by clicking here.

• To get a state junior ranking in Victoria you must compete in selected junior events on the Victorian Tournament Calendar (published by the Victorian Squash Federation who has sole responsibility for determining junior rankings in Victoria).

  Each year the Selection and Rankings Committee determines which events on the Calendar will count.
  
  As well as the selected events on the Victorian Tournament Calendar, any events nominated by Squash Australia as National Junior Rankings Events also count towards our rankings i.e. you can also earn points by playing in the National Junior Tri-Series and the Australian Junior Championships.

• Players receive rankings points based on what their finishing position is in each tournament.

  Events have different status and are worth different amounts of points. The amount of points for each event can vary depending on how important each event is.

  Events can be rated in the following 6 categories: "A", "B", "C", "D", "E" or "F" ("A" being most important to "F" being least important).
  
  The following table shows the different categories for each type of event:

  CATEGORY ("status")	TYPE OF EVENT
  A	National Championship
  B	Victorian State Championships
  C	National Ranking Events
  D	State Junior League
  E	Victorian Regional Events
  F	Other Events

  NB: There are other factors which effect rankings such as 'divisors'. These are explained in the full version of the Victorian Junior Ranking System.

• The year is divided into three Phases (periods) and rankings are produced at the end of each phase.
  

NB: Rankings are also produced on 1 January each year, because many players change age groups.

• To get the best possible ranking, players need to compete in events from each rankings phase.
  

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2005 SELECTED TOURNAMENTS which count towards state rankings

PHASE 1 (1 November 2004 - 30 April 2005)

PHASE 2 (1 May 2004 - 31 July 2004)

PHASE 3 (1 August 2004 - 31 October 2004)

The Squash Australia Policy for National Junior Ranking - Criteria and Procedures can be viewed on the Squash Australia website

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View Rankings:
1 May, 2005

HOW VICTORIAN JUNIOR RANKINGS WORK:

• Full version
• Simplified version
  

last updated by Squash Logic: 20 June, 2005