The Ratings Advisory Committee

The Ratings Advisory Committee is appointed by CASPA (the Council of the Australian Scrabble Players Association). It was first established at the CASPA AGM in March 2005. Current members are Barry Harridge (convener), Alistair Kane (National Ratings Officer), Harry Malcolm, Karen Richards, Trevor Halsall, Martin Waterworth and Chris Hall.

The role of the Ratings Advisory Committee

• Liaison with National Ratings Officer
• Rapid response team to deal with one-off tricky situations
• Development of protocols for ongoing tricky problems. These protocols need to be ratified by CASPA.
• Research and development

Qualification Criteria

• Trans Tasman
• World Scrabble Championship
• Causeway Challenge
• Youth Scrabble

Liaison with the National Ratings Officer

The National Ratings Officer will sometimes refer tricky or unusual situations to the Ratings Advisory Committee. Protocols have been developed for several of these.

Protocols

• Treatment of nongames (eg byes and forfeits)
• Players with no recent ratings
• 
  

Archive of administrative decisions

Research and Development

The algorithm

• The shape of the ratings curve
• Multipliers
• Bonus and feedback points
• The initial rating for an unrated player
• The first 50 games for a new player
• The first 50 games for a rusty player

Issues which may be addressed by modifying the algorithm

• Ratings deflation
• Ratings volatility
• Regional disparities

Issues which may be addressed by intervention

• Ratings deflation
• Regional disparities

The software

• Misspelled names and change of name after marriage
• Overseas players
• Players with no recent ratings
• Byes and forfeits

Liaison with the Council of the Australian Scrabble Players Association

Liaison with State Ratings Officers and tournament directors

Liaison with the National Web Coordinator

Liaison with overseas and international ratings bodies