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RMR Girl's Rankings at TruVolley will be published HERE
Girls Rankings go live Feb 11 (see below)
(Boys rankings are live)
Discussions of "which events count" and "how rankings are calculated" appear below.
The 25-26 Girls Season is underway!
The rankings process began with "Initial Seeding" based on our "Cumulative Individual Strength Ranking" (CIPSR) program. There, we use last year's RMR standings to give EACH ATHLETE her own personal strength rating. As teams formed up for the current season, we added up all those Individual Strength Ratings, and divided by the number of members on the team. In early December, all Club Directors were given the opportunity to review and offer feedback on the resulting Initial Team Seeds. After the appeals process, the "Initial Seeding" rosters were finalized, and used to seed teams into each of our pre-season and early-season events.
We've played two "Friendship" events. These are designed as "warmups" and will not count towards teams eventual rankings.
The Qualifier Series Seeding Tournament on Jan 10-11 was our real season-opener. All teams were allowed to register for that 2-day event, with the top finishers enjoying an invitation into our elite two-event "Qualifier Series." All contests in the QSST are counted towards eventual RMR Rankings.
On Jan 17-18, we hosted another two-day event, the RMR Classic. Again, results from Classic will be counted towards eventual season rankings... as will results from the RMR Power Series and the RMR Showdown!
WE WILL BEGIN TO POST GIRLS RANKINGS ON MONDAY FEB 9TH, following the conclusion of Power 1 (Odd and Even).
Ranking systems are only as good as the data that they rely on. Usually, we'd like to see each team play in at least three events, before we publish their rank, so that the algorithms have "enough good data" to work from. Of course, we also understand that everyone will be eager to see rankings as soon as possible, even though some teams will not have played in three RMR events yet!
The "confidence rating" associated with your team's ranking is an indicator of how trustworthy we think your ranking is. Certainly, the more you play in the RMR, the more accurate your ranking will become!
Most RMR teams consider the Zelinkoff Bid Tournament, where top teams play for the right to go to the USAV National Championship, to be the most important event on the RMR calendar. RMR rankings will help determine how each team starts in the ZBT! But we do accept all teams that completed their ZBT eligibility requirements (completed competition in the Qualifier Series, or participated in at least 3 RMR regular season events). So, even if your team's RMR rankings still seem a bit low in March, you can still "win your way to the top" at the ZBT!
Come back to this page on Feb 9th to see where your team stands!
Each week, our event management system automatically computes each team's "final finish" for that event. This is a great way to celebrate your team's success!
Special Note: Many events in RMR, including the RMR Classic, utilize "Gold Crossover Matches" as part of the pathway to the Division Title. If you played in a GCM, we have to manually calculate your team's final finish. So, if your team seems to be missing from the Final Finish posting (usually positions 3rd through 12th or so) stand by for an updated report!
How does "Final Finish" vary from "RMR Ranking?"
"Final Finish" only looks to how your team succeeded against the teams in THAT event. Which teams actually played in the event can have dramatic effect. And so for example, you might finish 10th at QSST in your age group, then come in 2nd at the Classic... perhaps because some of the "bigger" teams played elsewhere while you played at the Classic. You get a great "Final Finish" but you're not yet at the top of the rankings.
The RMR rankings will look at your team's entire body of work, and also at the strength of the opponents that you face. If you beat a top team, or even just take a big team to three sets, then you'll see improvement in your overall score. If you play "even" with a team of similar rank, neither will experience much change in score. But if you lose to a team that has a lower rank than you, that will affect your overall score negatively.
To visualize the difference between RMR Rank and Final Finish, imagine a multiple day event, where you happen to lose a set or even a match to a lesser opponent, but then you "fight back" to win the entire event. This would lead to a great "1st Place Final Finish" but the results at your season score would include both positive and negative effects.
Season Rankings are a complex process with literally millions of variables. Your score might increase a bit at an event, but if the team below you also has a strong event, they might pass you in the overall rankings! (this can happen even if you played them head to head that week, and won)
Take the long view... and Good Luck out there!
The RMR
TruVolley ranking algorithms were originally designed for beach doubles teams. The program was based on the Elo/Glick system of statistical rankings, as discussed HERE.
Today, TruVolley is looked to by both the FIVB and by the NCAA . We're proud to bring TruVolley Rankings to the RMR!
TruVolley adapted their rankings algorithms to help serve the RMR in the fall of 2024. We ran TruVolley rankings through the 25-26 season, "behind the scenes," then adopted the program formally, for the 25-26 season.
A basic discussion of how the program operates follows:
Rating & Confidence
TruVolley uses a modified Glicko algorithm to rate teams, with two main components:
Rating: A numeric value representing a team's skill.
Confidence: Indicates the certainty of the system about a player's rating. At 100% confidence, the rating is stable, while lower confidence leads to faster rating changes. As a team plays more matches, the system will become more confident in their current rating.
Next, we get to the match by match updating that the algorithm is based upon. The following are the main points considered in each match that happens:
How Matches Affect Ratings
Expected Result: The system calculates an expected result for each match based on team ratings, adjusting for confidence levels. When the team’s ratings are the same, that implies a 50% win probability for each team. If a team has an average rating of 1 point higher than the other team (and all confidence is 100%), that implies a 75% win probability for that team, and 25% for the other team. A team rated 2 points higher (with all confidence at 100%) has a 95% win probability.
Actual Match Result: Based on the score of the match and the points scored by each team, the actual match result is calculated. Winning teams get a 66.67% match result for a win in 3 sets, and anywhere from 75-100% win credit for a win in 1 or 2 sets. Forfeits reward 0% win credit to the forfeit team but do not adjust ratings for the winning team.
Match Value: The difference between expected and actual results determines the impact on ratings. It's possible to win a match but lose some rating points if the victory was less decisive than the system expected. (For example if the system expected a team to win in 2 sets, but the match went 3).
The system is designed to maintain fairness and accuracy, with regular upsets expected as a natural part of competitive play. It also creates a more accurate representation of each team's relative ratings over time as more matches are played.