beernutz
Hall of Fame
Our local league switched to the topdogsports.biz site in the Spring for managing leagues, collecting league dues from players, and rating players. The first two items in that list have been great so far imo as that site makes it much easier than the old one we previously used for seeing match schedules and player histories, and for registering and paying to play on a league team.
My issue is with the rating algorithm topdogsports uses. In the Spring of 2012 players were asked to signup on the new topdogsport system at their current rating under the old system (e.g., if you were playing 3.5 league under the old system you were asked to self rate as a 3.5 initially in the new system). The old rating system we used, as far as I can tell, was entirely based on self-ratings by players based on their USTA rating at the time they started playing local league. The local league President claims that there were ratings adjustments made under the old system but in the 6 years I played in it I never saw one. Now in the new system, the results of Spring 2012 league matches were used on August 9th to adjust those initial ratings and bump players to higher levels and presumably lower ones though I couldn't find evidence of the latter.
I had a pretty good Spring going 8 and 1 where the only two sets I lost were in the lost match and now I find that out of that Spring league of 13 teams and 169 players I'm one of only two players I see who got bumped to a higher level. The other guy bumped was a self-rated USTA 3.5 who got DQed at that level in the Spring and bumped to USTA 4.0 (I know because he beat me 1 and 1 in singles while on a similar path of destruction that season).
There are however some odd examples of players who didn't get bumped based on their Spring results which lead me to question the effectiveness of the topdogsports algorithm. One guy who was also rated 3.5 went 9 and 0, didn't drop a set, and didn't get bumped. He's a very good player I know well who also went undefeated in USTA league that Spring including 5 and 0 in 3.5 State playoffs. Another player who was a 3.0 playing up at 3.5 local league went 8 and 0 in the Spring and didn't even get bumped to 3.5. Those two guys along with another very good player who went 5 and 0 without dropping a set in the Spring and who didn't get a bump are the worst counter examples. There are many USTA 4.0s who because they haven't self-rated their local league rating to match their USTA rating are still playing on 3.5 local league teams.
I was honored to get the bump because I've been working hard to improve my fitness and technique but now I find that this fall my club isn't going to have a 4.0 local league team (though it does have enough players for two 3.5 teams) so I somewhat SOL. I'm just curious if others out there have had experience with how the topdogsports algorithm works.
I wrote our local league president and she said I could write an appeal letter which I may do even though the last date for fall team registration is Sunday and odds are I'd still be unavailable for Fall play. She also told me the guy who runs topdogsports was a programmer for the USTA for 10+ years and helped design the NTRP algorithm (or at least that was the implication).
I don't want to sandbag but on the other hand I think my Spring record was inflated as one match was me and another 3.5 against two 3.0s (we won 0 and 1) and in two other wins at least one of the players was a 3.0.
Do any of you local league players out there have any experience with the Topdogsports.biz league management site or know anything more about the guy who runs it?
For the tl;dr crowd, why even bother to make a reply? For the thinly-veiled brag crowd, I plead guilty but with extenuating circumstances your honor.
My issue is with the rating algorithm topdogsports uses. In the Spring of 2012 players were asked to signup on the new topdogsport system at their current rating under the old system (e.g., if you were playing 3.5 league under the old system you were asked to self rate as a 3.5 initially in the new system). The old rating system we used, as far as I can tell, was entirely based on self-ratings by players based on their USTA rating at the time they started playing local league. The local league President claims that there were ratings adjustments made under the old system but in the 6 years I played in it I never saw one. Now in the new system, the results of Spring 2012 league matches were used on August 9th to adjust those initial ratings and bump players to higher levels and presumably lower ones though I couldn't find evidence of the latter.
I had a pretty good Spring going 8 and 1 where the only two sets I lost were in the lost match and now I find that out of that Spring league of 13 teams and 169 players I'm one of only two players I see who got bumped to a higher level. The other guy bumped was a self-rated USTA 3.5 who got DQed at that level in the Spring and bumped to USTA 4.0 (I know because he beat me 1 and 1 in singles while on a similar path of destruction that season).
There are however some odd examples of players who didn't get bumped based on their Spring results which lead me to question the effectiveness of the topdogsports algorithm. One guy who was also rated 3.5 went 9 and 0, didn't drop a set, and didn't get bumped. He's a very good player I know well who also went undefeated in USTA league that Spring including 5 and 0 in 3.5 State playoffs. Another player who was a 3.0 playing up at 3.5 local league went 8 and 0 in the Spring and didn't even get bumped to 3.5. Those two guys along with another very good player who went 5 and 0 without dropping a set in the Spring and who didn't get a bump are the worst counter examples. There are many USTA 4.0s who because they haven't self-rated their local league rating to match their USTA rating are still playing on 3.5 local league teams.
I was honored to get the bump because I've been working hard to improve my fitness and technique but now I find that this fall my club isn't going to have a 4.0 local league team (though it does have enough players for two 3.5 teams) so I somewhat SOL. I'm just curious if others out there have had experience with how the topdogsports algorithm works.
I wrote our local league president and she said I could write an appeal letter which I may do even though the last date for fall team registration is Sunday and odds are I'd still be unavailable for Fall play. She also told me the guy who runs topdogsports was a programmer for the USTA for 10+ years and helped design the NTRP algorithm (or at least that was the implication).
I don't want to sandbag but on the other hand I think my Spring record was inflated as one match was me and another 3.5 against two 3.0s (we won 0 and 1) and in two other wins at least one of the players was a 3.0.
Do any of you local league players out there have any experience with the Topdogsports.biz league management site or know anything more about the guy who runs it?
For the tl;dr crowd, why even bother to make a reply? For the thinly-veiled brag crowd, I plead guilty but with extenuating circumstances your honor.
