USAR PLAYER STATUS

PLAYER STATUS IS LIVE!

USA Roundnet is excited to launch a new initiative aimed at better connecting all players, communities, and events nationwide: USAR Player Status.

This is a BIG change, and we want to hear from you!

WHAT IS IT?

Player Status will have four levels: Pro, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. These statuses will be earned based on performance in sanctioned events and will function as a milestone achievement and also a tool to better connect the level of competition throughout the US.

Note: While these four statuses may be earned by any player as they progress in skill and USAR Ranking, there will also be USAR-Ranked Players that do not yet hold any USAR status.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Players will compete in USAR sanctioned events to build their ELO rating — this will be a new Ranking model and is live as of April 2024!

Based on this new USAR Ranking Model, players will rise and fall based on their performance in sanctioned events. A key change is that a player’s rating will only change when they participate in sanctioned events, improving the accessibility for players to follow their progress over time. To earn this USAR status, they will need to achieve either a specified ranking (hypothetical: a top 30 women’s player would earn Gold status, or a top 300 open player may earn silver status).

Promotion and Relegation: At the beginning of each month, players will have their ratings updated based on the most recent sanctioned events they played. ELO Promotions will occur on a monthly basis, while ELO Relegations will happen quarterly. More on that below.

HOW MANY PLAYERS CAN QUALIFY FOR EACH STATUS?

These ranges are subject to change and will be adjusted on the number of players actively participating in sanctioned events and the distribution of ELO ratings over time. The initial ranges for player rankings and status are:

Open:
1. Pro: Ranks 1-40
2. Gold: Ranks 41-120
3. Silver: Ranks 121-300
4. Bronze: Ranks 301-600

HOW LONG DO YOU RETAIN YOUR STATUS IF YOUR RANKING DROPS?

Status promotion will occur on a monthly basis, but status relegation will occur only on a quarterly basis (January, April, July, October).
As noted for the status cutoff minimums, meaning you cannot lose your status in less than the corresponding number of months. These timeframes may be adjusted based on continuous review by internal data analysis and community conversations.
Pro - 12 months
Gold - 9 months
Silver - 6 months
Bronze - 3 months

The purpose of a player status being retained for a longer time at a higher level is two-fold.

1. If a player achieves a specified status, being able to utilize it for longer periods of time allows them to benefit from their individual achievement and have sufficient time to retain their spot instead of being leapfrogged over a short timeframe.

2. It prevents status relegation from happening too quickly, as restricting a higher-level player from utilizing their USAR player status may result in a negative experience for the development of other players ascending the rankings.
   
   Some example scenarios:

   1. If you earn Bronze Status in March, you will not lose that status any earlier than July (4 months) because you reach the 3 month mark in June.

   2. If you earn Silver Status in April, you will satisfy any Silver qualification until at least October (6 months)

   3. If you earn Pro Status in August, you will not lose Pro Status until October (14 months)

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Communities: running more sanctioned events adds a layer of connectivity to your state, region, and the whole country, where players can more easily visit your local community and translate their rating and status (as applicable) to participate in the division that best suits them.

Players: This is a new milestone that can be earned and built on top of a numeric ranking. Especially for many players in the 100+ ranking range for open divisions, it can be challenging to assess how USAR rank impacts your individual experience and promote more competition between players near your level. By adding this layer, we aim to promote more player retention by offering additional milestones to achieve and maintain both for you and the players in your community.

WHY PLAYER STATUS AND NOT DIVISIONS?

Every tournament is different. It has different goals, needs, and in particular, players! Because there are four different statuses, it will not always be fruitful to restrict divisions to just a single status, but instead allow events to utilize different qualification criteria to promote inter-level competition to ensure proper mobility between levels.

SAMPLE DIVISIONS:

1. Gold+ — both players on a team must have Gold status

2. Pro — at least one player on a team must have Pro status

3. All-Silver — a division that requires both players on the team to have active silver status (i.e. Gold and Pro players would not be permitted to play down)

Read more below about when and how these types of divisions may be implemented.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

USAR Player Status may be a new initiative, but it is built on years of ideas developing and community feedback voiced on the best ways to balance individual player milestones, tournament divisions having qualification requirements, and also maintaining flexibility in how requirements can be applied.

HOW WILL IT BE USED?

2024: The US National Championship will feature the following divisions at a minimum:

1. 5.0+ Women’s Division (no status required)

2. Gold+ Open Division (both players on team must have Pro or Gold status)

3. Bronze Open Division (at least one player must have Pro, Gold, Silver, or Bronze status)

Note: Both the Gold+ Open Division and the Women’s Division will utilize power pools based on auto-qualifications from the National Series.
2025: All sanctioned events (both within the National Series and additional ones hosted locally throughout the country) will be used to plan division requirements for future National Series events, and may also be a tool useful for other sanctioned events in 2025.

We’re in the early stages of implementing the framework for USAR Player Status. Because we do not anticipate utilizing player status in 2024 (with the exception of the US National Championship), additional updates will be shared anecdotally throughout the year.

This is an exciting but new initiative intended to promote more growth and connection across the national community. For that reason, we have every expectation this program will evolve through trial and error in tandem with thoughtful discussion and feedback. If you want to get in touch, reach out to us at info@usaroundnet.org — we will answer additional FAQs in the space below.

FAQs

HOW DO THE SKILL DIVISION RATINGS COMPARE TO PLAYER STATUS?

This is not down to a science (yet), but the general skill estimate for each division would be as follows:
Pro: 6.0+ | Gold: 5.5+ | Silver: 5.0+ | Bronze: 4.5+

WHAT EVENTS COUNT TOWARDS PLAYER STATUS?

All USAR Sanctioned Events - any USAR member can get certified to run a tournament, and there is no team minimum for an event to be sanctioned - learn about how to become a USAR-certified TD and sanction your event here.

HOW DO I IMPROVE MY USAR RANKING TO IMPROVE PLAYER STATUS?

In short, win your games! This includes all secondary and placement bracket encounters — beginning in 2024, forfeits will be penalized for your USAR player ranking. If you don’t win a tournament, you may still have a great chance to climb rankings and achieve USAR Player Status by winning additional matches.

AM I ALREADY GOLD-QUALIFIED FOR NATIONALS IN 2024?

USAR does have active rankings running year round but will not begin tracking Gold qualifications based on ranking until April. Any player who places top 12 in an open division at Regionals will automatically earn Gold status heading into Nationals.
All USAR Sanctioned Events - any USAR member can get certified to run a tournament, and there is no team minimum for an event to be sanctioned - learn about how to become a USAR-certified TD and sanction your event here.

WHEN DO YOU EARN STATUS?

Status will be earned on a monthly basis when rankings are updated (exception: sometimes automatic qualifications can occur, for example, at Regionals).
An active status is a player’s highest status they have achieved in a recent timeframe (e.g. if you earn silver status one month but your ranking decreases in the next month pushing you into the bronze level, you may still be able to qualify to participate in a Silver division). Player status may be earned at a specific moment in time but will not necessarily be used only in the month it is earned. Depending on the level, a status may be used and defended for as long as one year.

IF I AM NOT PLAYING IN THE HIGHEST DIVISION, CAN I STILL IMPROVE MY RANK?

Yes. All divisions at USAR Sanctioned Events will be included for ranking purposes. A new focus of an ELO-based rankings model will be ensuring there is enough mobility to allow players to improve and earn progressive status but not so much mobility that National Rankings are too volatile. Continuous feedback and input from the community (as well as more sanctioned events) will help us determine that goal and reach it together.

HOW CAN I HELP KEEP TRACK OF ALL THESE PLAYER STATUS UPDATES

We’re looking for a few volunteers to help manage the flow of information and ensure players can review changes to their status with confidence. Apply here!