Frequently Asked Questions About the 2001 New Balance Provincial Triathlon Race Series

Click here to jump to the TriBC 2001 Triathlon Race Series Point Calculator

What is it?

The 2001 New Balance Provincial Triathlon Race Series consists of 9 triathlons throughout the province of BC. Athletes will be ranked and can qualify for Series awards if they are a member of Tri-BC and complete (officially finish) at least three of these races, including one of standard (Olympic) distance or greater.

What are the series rules?

- must complete at least 3 of the 9 races

- one race must be of Olympic/Standard Distance or longer (i.e. one of your races must be: the HalfIron, Crescent Beach, Penticton, Squamish or Kelowna)

- must be a Tri-BC member to qualify for series prizes or awards (* you must become a member before your last race; this year, any races you completed before becoming a member will still count retroactively if you registered for them under the same name)

- Elite series prize money of: $500, $400, $300, $200, $100 to the top 5 males and 5 females - must hold a Tri-BC elite card to be eligible

- Every series finisher (i.e. the 3 races of appropriate distance are completed) will receive a series finisher's award

- Age groups are determined by 5 year boundaries (19-and-under, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34,...). If your birthdate falls during the race series, your age as of June 1st will be used.

How are people ranked in the series?

Athletes participating in the series are assigned points for each race they complete. Participants are ranked by taking the number of points earned in their best standard (Olympic) distance or greater race, plus the points earned in their two best other races. This score will show up in the series standings as your "TriBCscore".

How are points calculated?

For the 2001 series, your finishing time is compared with the fastest individual finisher's time. The winner of a race earns 1000 points. Your points are based on how many seconds behind the winner you are, and on the race "decay factor". The decay factor for a race is the number of seconds faster you have to be in order to earn an extra point. In a shorter race, two racers finishing a minute apart might differ by about 12 points, whereas in a longer race, finishing a minute apart might mean only 2 or 3 points. Last year the decay factor was determined by measuring each race course and somewhat subjectively rating the course difficulty in advance -- this proved to be a labour-intensive task almost impossible to do consistently and accurately, incapable of compensating athletes for all the factors that might affect performance on race day (strong water currents, wind, poorly marked courses, etc). Therefore, this year the winner's time is used to approximate the length and difficulty of the race; the assumption is that when conditions are tough (rainy, cold, strong currents, windy, steep hills, long transition areas), this will be reflected in a slower winner's time. Conversely, if conditions are excellent (tailwinds, sunny) everyone usually benefits, not just the winner.

The formula

The actual formula used is: 

       1000  -  ( YOUR TIME  -  WINNER'S TIME )
                -------------------------------
                   ( WINNER'S TIME  /  600 )

Using the following points calculator you can calculate your points for any race.

The TriBC 2001 Triathlon Race Series Point Calculator

Enter your finish time for a particular race:
hh: mm: ss:

Enter the winner's time, or select a race from the drop-down on the right:
hh: mm: ss:




"Decay factor"= seconds per point.

* Note: Due to a discrepancy between the officially recorded winning time (1:04:56) at the 2001 Kamloops race and the actual winning time, the points for this race were calculated using an adjusted winning time of 1:10:30.

How to interpret the rankings without a Math degree?

If you win a race you get 1000 points. For everyone else, the points fall off linearly from 1000 based on how many times slower than the winner you are. If you take one-and-a-half times as long as the winner, regardless of how long the race is, it will always work out to 700 points. If you take exactly twice as long as the winner, you'll get 400 points. Two-and-a-half times as long earns 100 points. DNFs, RELAYS, and DQs do not earn points.

Strategy

So you want to know how to do well in the race series? The closer in time that you finish to the winner, the more points you will earn. Every second counts, even if you are in 435th place. It doesn't matter where you finish in the results; it only matters how your time compares to the winner's time. Your best strategy (if you want to place high in the series) is to choose routes that favour your strong event (e.g. if you are a strong runner, choose routes with relatively longer runs), or that minimize your weak event (e.g. if you are really slow in transition when you have to wiggle out of your wetsuit, choose pool swims where you don't have to wear a wetsuit), etc. If you think you are fast enough to win a race, by all means choose the races you think you can win. And remember to have fun, and that the most important thing is to participate, which is why TriBC is rewarding every series finisher with a finisher's award regardless of how they place in the standings.

When will awards and prizes be distributed?

Plans currently include acknowledging the winners at the AGM in September where we'll also hand out the prize money to the top 5 male and female elite athletes. Age group prizes and Finisher awards (to be provided by our title sponsor New Balance) will be distributed at the Annual Tri-BC Awards Banquet in January or February 2002.

Copyright @ 2001 Triathlon British Columbia
Last Modified: August 22, 2001