USAT Launches Robust Rankings Engine

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — USA Triathlon has launched a new rankings engine — with more functionality and a crisper, cleaner look — that will improve the way triathletes can find out where they stack up against others in the their age group in the United States.
 
The rankings have been a valuable benefit for USAT members for several years. The system uses a mathematical formula to rank athletes according to their performances at USAT sanctioned events throughout the year, with the final year-end rankings determining All-America and Honorable Mention honors.
 
See the rankings engine in action at www.usatrankings.com.
 
“We are extremely excited about making this available to our members and the work our staff put in to make this a reality,” said USAT Operations Director Gordon Weldon. “This new engine offers more flexibility and robust functionality than our previous system. I am confident our members will appreciate how they are able to access their results and rankings more efficiently.”
 
Athletes can search on specific events by type, distance, state, region, or category —or by a specific athlete to see individual results — with the reports and queries returned more quickly. Want to know where you stack up against elite athletes? That functionality is available, too.
 
In addition, athletes can filter on “non-ranked” athletes. This means that members can choose to show those that have competed in events, yet not met the qualification standards for a ranking based on number of events. They will also be able to remove them from the view to get a more accurate reflection of their current ranking based on qualification criteria.
 
Though non-USAT members are not included in the official year-end rankings, they can now see where they rank among USAT members at any point of the year and have the opportunity to sign up for annual membership to make their ranking official.
 
The engine is also completely integrated with USAT’s membership and sanctioned races databases, allowing the system to be used to find complete results from every sanctioned USAT race. And race directors and event timers will soon be able to submit their results directly into the database, meaning quicker turnaround of rankings following the completion of events.
 
The system is also enabled for detecting errors, including removing duplicate and mis-assigned results.
 
Plans are in place to add club and collegiate team ranking functionality in 2010.
 
About USAT Rankings
An athlete must be an annual member by December 31 in order to qualify for that year’s final rankings. In addition to membership, one must have competed in three USAT sanctioned triathlons to qualify for the final rankings. Other disciplines such as duathlon, aquathlon, and off-road are available and only require completion of two USAT sanctioned events.
 
About USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the national governing body for triathlon – the fastest growing sport in the world – as well as duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. USAT sanctions 2,500 races and connects with more than 115,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work with athletes, coaches, and race directors on the grassroots level, USAT provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Championships, Pan American Games, and the Olympic Games.
 
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