This list is super late, late-issimo, inexcusably late and I apologize. A couple factors collided to delay them – starting a new job and compiling an unprecedented amount of Worlds data. The result: the rankings are a little more than a month late, and another, newer rankings list for September will be announced in the next few days (fingers crossed).
I wanted to do a lengthy analysis of these rankings because they are pretty earthshattering, but that would delay them even more, so I’ll just summarize some of the highlights:
– We have a new Women’s #1. Congratulations to Mary Lowry for taking over the #1 spot! Her win in Women’s at FPAW allowed her to squeak by Lisa Hunrichs and reign supreme.
– Tom Leitner remains the Open #1 player. With two world championships titles in the past 2 years plus a second (FPAW2006 pairs) and a fourth (FPAW2006 co-op), he maintains a healthy lead over all other players.
– There is a youth invasion in the top 10. Fabio Sannam Matt Gauthier and Andrea Meola all enter the top 10. A note about youth, though. The top 5 players are all 40+ years old, but the spirit of one of them is younger than us all – Clay Collera, who reaches a career high of #4. In some sports, being 40 is a problem, but it’s really an asset in freestyle. Our sport is one for a lifetime. It keeps us young. The more we play, the more we embrace the wonder of flight, the energy of creativity, the glow of athleticism. And remember, those creaking, old 40+ year old veterans have had a lot of time to build up their skills, think about freestyle and develop the competitive mind that earns them the megapoints needed for the top 5. The new generation will eventually take over, but the old geezers won’t go down without a fight. 😉
– Randy Silvey and I fall out of the top 10. That’s what we get for not playing at a worlds.
– Toddy Brodeur drops 9 spots despite winning another world title. This is because his first co-op win in 2004 expired with this list, so he kind of broke even on those points. The big change was that Toddy ruled the summer of 2004, winning four or five tournaments in a row leading into the worlds. Those points all went away this month, ironically lowering his points even though he rocked this worlds. It’s a reminder that the rankings are a reflection of the entire two years of play, even though the worlds tends to make a big contribution to the point total.
– The size of the rankings list is actually smaller this month than last because many summer tournaments from 2004 expired. The next list should get bigger as there were a lot of August events this year. The October list should be even bigger with all the September European events.
– It seemed like the top finishers earned more bonus points this year than in previous years because there were so many players from the Top 200 at Berlin. That helps the top finishers, but if you didn’t progress through many cuts at the Worlds, your points might be lower than you expect. In fact, we reached the limit of the current point scale with this year’s worlds, so I will be revising the point scale to reflect the new definition of a huge event. Thanks again, Kolja, the entire Berlin planning team, and everyone who attended FPAW2006!
Please add your observations in the comments. Brag about your ranking. Speculate about next month. And as always, if you think there’s a mistake, just contact me. Mistakes happen, and I’ll fix them.
Wow! What an amazing rankings! Congrats to Fabio/Matt for making the Top 10! And everyone else who moved up!
I just wondered, Will the 2006 EFC’s be rated as a ‘Major’ tournament or a ‘Pro’ one in terms of ranking points? The WFDF, World Disc Games and US Open are the only ones listed as ‘Major’ at the moment but haven’t the EFC’s been just as big this year (if not bigger)?
Thanks,
Keep up the Good Work Arthur!
Johninho
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Yo !! from Johninho !!
Great job with the rankings Arthur, we appreciate the list and the work it takes!
Just to join in on John’s comment which followed from a discussion we were having: I appreciate the Pro status – now having been justly taken away from many European tournaments – and obviously the FPAW status, but then there is the rather mysterious in between ‘Major’ status (listed Majors being the WFDF Overall, the World Disc Games, and the US open).
Is this status being actively used in the Rankings at the moment? If so, surely the size, strength and depth of the EFCs in 2006, as well as its status as a continental championship, should allow it to qualify for this? Finally, there’s the point that no ‘major’ tournaments are actually in Europe.
I know its a merely a (bit of a picky) technicality, but it would be great if you could clear it up!
Thanks agian,
Joe
Well, the whole structure of categorizing tournaments is evolving, and I think
now it probably the time for a big shift away from the 4 categories now used.
Currently, EFC would be categorized as a Pro event, meaning there will be
substantially more points, but not as much as the traditional Majors (US Open
and WFDF).
Over the past few years, I have actually streamlined the categorization of
tournaments, and that’s probably the direction I will continue to go. The
worlds is probably weighted a little too much compared with all the other
available tournaments, so my prediction is that a new categorization would
recognized the increased importance of events like EFC an FPAW without
giving them so many points that they dominate all other events.
Dear Arthur,
GREAT WORK! Your hard work is really appreciated!
I would like to congratulate Fabio, Andrea and Matt for (finally) reaching the top 10! Good job guys! Keep it up!
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“If the ball could choose, it would be a frisbee”
Sounds Good, Thanks!