A new sports ratings system: The tiddlywinks world ratings

Patrick Barrie

Journal of Applied Statistics, 2003, vol. 30, issue 4, 361-372

Abstract: A system for calculating relative playing strengths of tiddlywinks players is described. The method can also be used for other sports. It is specifically designed to handle cases where the number of games played in a season varies greatly between players, and thus the confidence that one can have in an assigned rating also varies greatly between players. In addition, the method is designed to handle situations in which some games in the tournament are played as individuals ("singles'), while others are played with a partner ("pairs'). These factors make application of some statistical treatments, such as the Elo rating system used in chess, difficult to apply. The new method characterizes each player's ability by a numerical rating together with an associated uncertainty in that player's rating. After each tournament, a "tournament rating' is calculated for each player based on how many points the player achieved and the relative strength of partner(s) and opponent(s). Statistical analysis is then used to estimate the likely error in the calculated tournament rating. Both the tournament rating and its estimated error are used in the calculation of new ratings. The method has been applied to calculate tiddlywinks world ratings based on over 13 r 000 national tournament games in Britain and the USA going back to 1985.

Date: 2003
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DOI: 10.1080/0266476032000035403

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