Choosing a new method

[jnettleton]

We've used double elimination in the past with about 50 scouts and it seems too many scouts get eliminated quickly. My problem in selecting a new racing method is most people don't like change and I expect it to be somewhat difficult to explain the 'fairness' of the Stearns or Perfect-N scheduling.

How would you describe the Stearns method in a few sentences to parents? Why does it seem to be so popular?

Can I still keep it to about 2 hours?

Is is easy to determine who wins the den and pack trophies?

If I use a computer program, could I run it manually if a problem occurs?

Thanks,
Jerry

[Cory]

How would you describe the Stearns method in a few sentences to parents?

* Everyone gets to race a lot
* Everyone gets to race a lot of different opponents
* Everyone gets to race at least once in each lane
* Everyone gets to race throughout the competition

Why does it seem to be so popular?

See previous answer.

Can I still keep it to about 2 hours?

Is it easy to determine who wins the den and pack trophies?

If I use a computer program, could I run it manually if a problem occurs?

You can run heats faster with Stearns/Perfect-N because the contestants for each heat are known in advance. A rate of one heat per minute is certainly achievable if you do things right.

Tabulating results is straight-forward, although a bit tedious if done by hand. If you race all 50 at once, then Pack trophies will be "accurately awarded", but not Den trophies.

There are alternatives. You might consider racing Dens/Ranks individually, then letting the Den/Rank winners return for the Pack finals.

I've done it with and without a computer. Much easier with a computer, obviously.

[jnettleton]

Thanks for the description of the Stearns method. I'll use it at my race tomorrow...

Do you have any software preferences or recommendations? I'm leaning towards DerbyMaster.com since it seems a little simpler but GrandPrix is high on my list, too.

Jerry

[Cory]

Thanks for the description of the Stearns method. I'll use it at my race tomorrow...

Do you have any software preferences or recommendations? I'm leaning towards DerbyMaster.com since it seems a little simpler but GrandPrix is high on my list, too.

Jerry

Sorry, I haven't used any of the standard software offerings. I use a home-grown thing I built for MS Excel these days.

Best of luck, "tomorrow" doesn't you give a whole lot of time!

[Darin McGrew]

You can run heats faster with Stearns/Perfect-N because the contestants for each heat are known in advance. A rate of one heat per minute is certainly achievable if you do things right.

We use a similar scheduling method, and we average roughly one race every 30 seconds. With a 4-lane track and scheduling 8 races per car, we figure a minute per car.

[Darin McGrew]

Thanks for the description of the Stearns method. I'll use it at my race tomorrow...

If at all possible, do a dry run using whatever system you end up choosing. You don't want to be sorting out little niggly details with a crowd of kids and parents waiting for the race to happen.

[Cory]

We use a similar scheduling method, and we average roughly one race every 30 seconds.

What do you do about the competitor who wants 20 seconds every time just to stage his/her own car?

[Darin McGrew]

We use a similar scheduling method, and we average roughly one race every 30 seconds.

What do you do about the competitor who wants 20 seconds every time just to stage his/her own car?

All cars are staged by an impartial adult. We do it this way in part because "we've always done it that way", and in part because the starting gate of our new track is so high that it would be impractical to have children climb a platform/ladder tall enough for them to stage their cars.