Cat 3 women's series: Payout options
Feb. 14th, 2007 10:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ninevirtuesI'm now running a cat 3 women's series as well as a cat 4 women's series, and I need to think through how to distribute prizes and find an algorithm for that. (Skip if not interested.)
Background, for those not racing: Cat 4 women (beginners) sometimes have races just for them. In an Open race, they sometimes have bonuses just for them. (Sometimes, they compete alongside all the other women and get dropped, lapped, and creamed.) Specifically, this year I'm running a Cat 4 series again, with a big prize purse at the end.
More background, again for those not racing: When a cat 4 woman upgrades, she may have been doing great against other cat 4 women, but after upgrading she gets thrown into the pro-1-2-3 races, where she may not do very well. For quite some time. Newly-upgraded women commonly get discouraged, and I've known cat 4 women who deliberately avoided upgrading, because it scared them.
So. I started this cat 3 series because cat 3 women need something for them... and because it gives cat 4 women a "place to go". And, because Cat 3 women are a little beyond the racing-for-socks-and-water-bottles stage, I found $600 in cash to give out. So, in open women's races, I would score the cat 3s separately and give them prize money accordingly.
Series objectives: (1) Make cat 3 racing a positive experience (2) grow the pool of cat 3 racers in the Carolinas (3) Grow the pool of dedicated cat 3 or 3/4 races in the carolinas.
Here are my options (now, we get to the thinking part):
Option 1: I can decree a $150 payout for four races, split over 5 places, and publicize the races ahead of time.
Advantages: All the cat 3 women (all 15 of them in the Carolinas) know where the moola will be found. They're good at showing up when they know there's cash to be had. It also makes things easier for me (I don't have any decisions to make on the day.)
Disadvantages: If we have a women's 1-2-3 race in which the organizer already gives a payout (say $200) to five places, and two pro-1-2 women show up and the rest are cat 3's, then the cat 3s have a fighting chance anyway. (This arrangement doesn't do as much as it could to lower the 'discouragement factor'.)
Problems: I don't know which cat 3 women will be at which races.
Option 2: I can decree a variable payout for more races (say six). So, I could show up on race day and scope out the situation, then set the payout accordingly. Examples: If there are ten 1-2 women and two cat 3 women, I could declare a $50 payout, split two ways. If there are two 1-2 women and ten cat 3 women, I could declare a $150 payout (and either set it to start with the top cat 3 women, or set it to start with the cat 3 women who are left out of the official placings.)
Advantages: I can cover more races this way.
Disadvantages: Budgeting could get a little hairy, if more cat 3 women show up than I expect. Also, I (or someone else with the checks) has to show up, size up the situation, and set the prize list accordingly.
Problems: I, or my representative who knows the algorithm, has to show up to size up the situation and personally score the results and hand out the checks.
Hmm, now I have a better handle on the situation. Suppose I set the rule this way:
- Payout size is proportional to the number of cat 3 women racing:
1-2 cat 3 women: $40 payout, split $25-15
3-4 cat 3 women: $50 payout, split 25-15-10
5-6 cat 3 women: $70 payout: split 25-20-15-10
7-9 cat 3 women: $90 payout: split 30-25-20-15-10
10-12 cat 3 women: $125 payout, split 35-30-25-20-15
13-15 cat 3 women: $150 payout, split 45-35-30-25-15
(This is a sample payout; I still need to confirm with USA Cycling officials whether there is, or is not, an official payout structure I need to follow.)
- Series payout will supplement race winnings to bring them up to the total series payout. For example, suppose cat 3 women place 4th and 6th in an open race, and take home $40 and $30 from the promoter, respectively. So, among cat 3 women, these ladies have scored 1st and 2nd. Now, say this race has a $150 series payout, so 1st place gets $50 and 2nd place gets $40. I would give these ladies checks for $10 each, to bring their total winnings to the amount awarded in the series.
Comments?
Background, for those not racing: Cat 4 women (beginners) sometimes have races just for them. In an Open race, they sometimes have bonuses just for them. (Sometimes, they compete alongside all the other women and get dropped, lapped, and creamed.) Specifically, this year I'm running a Cat 4 series again, with a big prize purse at the end.
More background, again for those not racing: When a cat 4 woman upgrades, she may have been doing great against other cat 4 women, but after upgrading she gets thrown into the pro-1-2-3 races, where she may not do very well. For quite some time. Newly-upgraded women commonly get discouraged, and I've known cat 4 women who deliberately avoided upgrading, because it scared them.
So. I started this cat 3 series because cat 3 women need something for them... and because it gives cat 4 women a "place to go". And, because Cat 3 women are a little beyond the racing-for-socks-and-water-bottles stage, I found $600 in cash to give out. So, in open women's races, I would score the cat 3s separately and give them prize money accordingly.
Series objectives: (1) Make cat 3 racing a positive experience (2) grow the pool of cat 3 racers in the Carolinas (3) Grow the pool of dedicated cat 3 or 3/4 races in the carolinas.
Here are my options (now, we get to the thinking part):
Option 1: I can decree a $150 payout for four races, split over 5 places, and publicize the races ahead of time.
Advantages: All the cat 3 women (all 15 of them in the Carolinas) know where the moola will be found. They're good at showing up when they know there's cash to be had. It also makes things easier for me (I don't have any decisions to make on the day.)
Disadvantages: If we have a women's 1-2-3 race in which the organizer already gives a payout (say $200) to five places, and two pro-1-2 women show up and the rest are cat 3's, then the cat 3s have a fighting chance anyway. (This arrangement doesn't do as much as it could to lower the 'discouragement factor'.)
Problems: I don't know which cat 3 women will be at which races.
Option 2: I can decree a variable payout for more races (say six). So, I could show up on race day and scope out the situation, then set the payout accordingly. Examples: If there are ten 1-2 women and two cat 3 women, I could declare a $50 payout, split two ways. If there are two 1-2 women and ten cat 3 women, I could declare a $150 payout (and either set it to start with the top cat 3 women, or set it to start with the cat 3 women who are left out of the official placings.)
Advantages: I can cover more races this way.
Disadvantages: Budgeting could get a little hairy, if more cat 3 women show up than I expect. Also, I (or someone else with the checks) has to show up, size up the situation, and set the prize list accordingly.
Problems: I, or my representative who knows the algorithm, has to show up to size up the situation and personally score the results and hand out the checks.
Hmm, now I have a better handle on the situation. Suppose I set the rule this way:
- Payout size is proportional to the number of cat 3 women racing:
1-2 cat 3 women: $40 payout, split $25-15
3-4 cat 3 women: $50 payout, split 25-15-10
5-6 cat 3 women: $70 payout: split 25-20-15-10
7-9 cat 3 women: $90 payout: split 30-25-20-15-10
10-12 cat 3 women: $125 payout, split 35-30-25-20-15
13-15 cat 3 women: $150 payout, split 45-35-30-25-15
(This is a sample payout; I still need to confirm with USA Cycling officials whether there is, or is not, an official payout structure I need to follow.)
- Series payout will supplement race winnings to bring them up to the total series payout. For example, suppose cat 3 women place 4th and 6th in an open race, and take home $40 and $30 from the promoter, respectively. So, among cat 3 women, these ladies have scored 1st and 2nd. Now, say this race has a $150 series payout, so 1st place gets $50 and 2nd place gets $40. I would give these ladies checks for $10 each, to bring their total winnings to the amount awarded in the series.
Comments?
