iClays ratings are based on comparisons of shooter performance over events shot at NSCA Tournaments run under iClays. Each shooter has a different rating for each of the following shotgun disciplines.         English Sporting         FITASC         5 Stand         Sub Gauge         Combined Overall Each shooter has the above ratings for both National and State level. This gives you ten different rankings. The differences between National and State Rankings. Lets say you go to a tournament with 51 shooters in Houston TX, and 46 are from texas and 5 are from Louisiana. For this example we will make you one of the texas residents. Everyones National ranking score will be used for computing the National points. All entrants are compared against each other, and points assigned. Another seperate comparison pass is made for each state. Your Texas State ranking score will be compared against the other 45 Texans, and points assigned. You will not lose or gain any points from any of the shooters from Louisana. The 5 entrants from LA will have their LA state ranking scores compared against the other 4 LA shooters, and since there are few LA shooters, this tournament will have only a nominal impact on their State Ranking. The basic concept is simple, ranking points are added or taken away based on performance, there are a fixed number of ranking points and those points are "redistributed" based on head to head style shooter comparisons. The iClays ranking is not a ladder. Our ranking system is soundly based on the ELO Ranking Formula used in Chess, college football and Major League Baseball. A very basic example:         A tournament with only 5 shooters.         Shooter A has a rank of 1000 and shoots 89         Shooter B has a rank of 900 and shoots 90         Shooter C has a rank of 800 and shoots 82         Shooter D has a rank of 700 and shoots 81         Shooter E has a rank of 600 and shoots 80 each shooter is compared against each other and points are either gained or lost in proportion to the current ranking Formula: Shooter A Rank / ( Shooter A Rank + Shooter B Rank) gives you the likelyhood of A scoring higher than B (Results listed for Shooter A only) Shooter A lost to Shooter B = Shooter A loses .52 points Shooter A beats Shooter C = Shooter A gains .44 points Shooter A beats Shooter D = Shooter A gains .41 points Shooter A beats Shooter E = Shooter A gains .37 points This formula is applied over and over until each shooter has been compared against every shooter at the event. So in a 100 person event, it is as if you have had a head to head competition with each and every shooter. As the spread between the rankings increases, the points get multiplied or divided by a factor. example:         Shooter A has a rank of 3000         Shooter B has a rank of 900 So if (A beats B) (as anticipated) he will only gain .11 points while shooter B loses .11 points. but if (B beats A) 1.53 points and shooter A loses 1.53 points for being beaten by such a lower ranked shooter. As you can see from this example, Shooter B only needs to beat shooter A one time out of 14 to stay in balance. In this ranking system, it is far more important to be consistant than to win one week and finish substantually lower the next. Under the All American Points system, if you were to break a perfect 100 targets at one tournament and only break 80 at the next You would gain large amounts of AA points for the one, and no recourse for the 80. Under our ranking system a pair of 90's would have served you better. Common Questions Will I get more points by shooting more events? Good question! if you are performing above your rated level you will be gaining points. But no matter how much you shoot, if your performance is below your ranking level, you will remain where you are or be reduced in rank. Volume shooting does not necessarily increase your rank, but it will make your rank more accurate. I see shooters that I know should be ranked higher than you have them listed, why is this? iClays is growing fast, but obviously not all clubs are using it. As mentioned above, the more NSCA tournaments you shoot that are run on the iClays system, the more accurate your ranking will be. If a shooter has only shot a few tournaments under iClays they are still moving up, it will take more results to properly evaluate them. iClays has no way of obtaining the results for tournaments not scored under our system. To help shooters understand the placements, next to the ranking is the number of events that were used to calculate their rank. Does the size of the tournament make a difference in the points I will gain/lose? Yes, the more shooters that are in an event, the more individual comparisons that are made. Performing well at a shoot with 400 people will earn you more points than the same performance at a shoot with 50. Does the actual score or the course difficulty affect anything? No, the actual number of target broken does not matter, the only thing being compared is if your score is higher or lower than the shooters you are being compared against.