How Scoring Works
Ever wonder how points are calculated? Here's the complete breakdown.
The Scoring Formula
Points = Base + Participation + PR Bonus
Let's break each part down.
Base Points: The Competitive Part
Base points = Number of people you beat (plus 1 for showing up)
Example: 4 Competitors
Rank Name Time People Beat Base Points
1 Alice 14:32 3 3
2 Bob 15:08 2 2
3 Carol 16:45 1 1
4 Dave 17:20 0 0- Alice beat 3 people → 3 base points
- Bob beat 2 people → 2 base points
- Carol beat 1 person → 1 base point
- Dave beat nobody → 0 base points
Why this matters: Even if you're not the fastest, you earn points for beating others. Finishing 3rd out of 4 is worth 1 point!
Participation Bonus: +1 for Showing Up
If you complete the event (have a qualifying activity), you get +1 point automatically.
Example
| Rank | Name | Base | Participation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alice | 3 | +1 | 4 |
| 2 | Bob | 2 | +1 | 3 |
| 3 | Carol | 1 | +1 | 2 |
| 4 | Dave | 0 | +1 | 1 |
| — | Eve | — | 0 (no ride) | 0 |
Eve didn't ride, so she gets 0 points total. Everyone else gets at least 1 point for participating.
Why: We want to reward effort and participation, not just podium finishes.
PR Bonus: +1 for Personal Records
If your time is faster than your previous best on that segment, you get +1 bonus point.
Example
Rank Name Base Participation PR? PR Bonus Total
1 Alice 3 +1 ✓ +1 5
2 Bob 2 +1 ✗ 0 3
3 Carol 1 +1 ✓ +1 3
4 Dave 0 +1 ✗ 0 1- Alice beat everyone AND set a PR → 3 + 1 + 1 = 5 points
- Bob beat two people but no PR → 2 + 1 + 0 = 3 points
- Carol beat one person AND set a PR → 1 + 1 + 1 = 3 points
- Dave beat nobody and no PR → 0 + 1 + 0 = 1 point
Notice: Carol beat only one person but tied Bob in points because of her PR!
Putting It Together
Total Weekly Points = Base + Participation + PR Bonus
Complete Example (5 Competitors)
Imagine an event with 5 people riding "Lookout Mountain":
| Rank | Name | Time | Base | Particip. | PR? | PR Bonus | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alice | 14:32 | 4 | 1 | ✓ | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Bob | 15:08 | 3 | 1 | ✗ | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Carol | 16:45 | 2 | 1 | ✓ | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Dave | 17:20 | 1 | 1 | ✗ | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Eve | 18:00 | 0 | 1 | ✓ | 1 | 2 |
Alice wins the week with 6 points!
Interesting: Carol and Eve tie with 4 and 2 points respectively because of their PRs, even though they didn't place as high.
Season Points
Season Total = Sum of all weekly points
After 4 weeks with the above scoring:
Alice: 6 + 5 + 6 + 4 = 21 points (WINS SEASON!)
Carol: 4 + 3 + 5 + 3 = 15 points
Bob: 4 + 4 + 3 + 2 = 13 points
Eve: 2 + 2 + 2 + 4 = 10 points
Dave: 2 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 6 pointsThe person with the most total points wins the season.
Special Case: Multipliers
Some weeks may have a multiplier to make them more valuable (e.g., finals).
Total with Multiplier = (Base + Participation + PR Bonus) × Multiplier
Example: Finals Week with 2× Multiplier
Same 5 people, but the finals have a 2× multiplier:
| Rank | Name | Base | Particip. | PR Bonus | Subtotal | Multiplier | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alice | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ×2 | 12 |
| 2 | Bob | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ×2 | 8 |
| 3 | Carol | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ×2 | 8 |
Alice gets 12 points in the finals (double) instead of 6!
This makes finals worth playing hard for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can points be negative? A: No. Minimum is 0 (if you don't ride). Everyone who participates gets at least 1.
Q: What if 2 people tie in time? A: They share the same rank. Both would be "1st" with the same points.
Q: Can I lose points? A: No. Points only accumulate. Bad weeks don't subtract from your season total.
Q: Is there a maximum points per week? A: Technically unlimited, but with N competitors, the max is:
- Base: N-1 (beat everyone)
- Participation: 1
- PR Bonus: 1
- Max = N + 1
So with 10 competitors, the max per week is 11 points.
Q: What about weekly multipliers? A: If a week has a 2× multiplier, max = (N + 1) × 2
Q: Can a participant earn the PR bonus twice? A: Not in the same week. You get 1 PR bonus per week max, even if you set multiple PRs.
Why This Scoring System?
This system rewards:
✅ Performance - Beat others, earn points (base) ✅ Participation - Show up and ride (participation bonus) ✅ Improvement - Get faster over time (PR bonus) ✅ Consistency - Accumulate points across the season
It discourages: ❌ No-shows - Miss an event, get 0 that week ❌ Sandbagging - You can't hide; your best time is visible ❌ Gaming - All calculations are automatic and transparent
Technical Note: Computation Timing
Scores are computed fresh every time the leaderboard is viewed. This means:
- If data changes, scores recalculate automatically
- If a participant deletes their data, remaining scores adjust
- Historical results stay accurate
This is different from storing scores in a database. We calculate on-the-fly, ensuring fairness.