[Az-Geocaching] Team Rankings

RopingThe Wind listserv@azgeocaching.com
Wed, 21 Jan 2004 21:55:18 -0800


>From: "Rob Brinkerhoff" <brinkerhoff@cox.net>
>Reply-To: listserv@azgeocaching.com
>To: <listserv@azgeocaching.com>
>Subject: Re: [Az-Geocaching] Team Rankings
>Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2004 21:11:09 -0700
>
>Here is a question for the group. Why are teams ranked by
>the total number of caches found? Would not a more valid
>metric be Score (Totals of Difficulty and Terrain Ratings of
>Found and Hid, as defined by azgeocaching.com)? Suppose that
>there were 1005 locationless caches located in Arizona. If
>one logged all 1005 locationless caches (I am not ragging on
>locationless caches, just an example) and only those 1005
>locationless caches they, per definition, would be the top
>AZ geocaching team. The top spot could feasibly be had
>without cracking open a single ammo can or peering into a
>still minty fresh altoids tin!  Okay, now replace
>locationless with virtuals or 1/1 urbans, a more viable
>possibility. Does that really define the top caching team?
>Maybe it does. Clearly some folks prefer and/or are limited
>to urbans or ammo cans or locationless or puzzles or
>whatever. Don't get me wrong. I am very impressed with the
>routine 30+ finds in a day. I have yet to find more than 10
>or 15 in a day. Though I have on several occasions spent a
>full and exhausting day only to find 5 or so caches. Also on
>several occasions I have spent days-on-end only to find one
>cache.
>
>Personally, I would like to see the top team ranked in terms
>of Score. I think that it gives a more well-rounded view of
>a teams ability. Of course that is only my opinion. What do
>the rest of you folks think?
>
>-Rob (Wily Javelina)


I would not disagree with Rob's comments. That would seem valid to me as 
well. I too think that a well rounded score by result of doing the easy 1/1 
urban caches as well as the tough 4 and 4.5 terrain rated caches would 
certainly prove the top team.

However, on the other hand.. I also feel that to be a top team, you 
eventually have to do them all. AZSaluki is currently the top team. If you 
look at their list of found caches, they not only did the easy urban ones 
(for the numbers), but also made the steep climbs up to some of the tougher 
AZ caches. Wyle E didnt tend to do the most difficult of hiking caches, but 
with a really good off road vehicle, he is always able to get back to some 
of the caches that would limit others to hiking longer distances (or not 
doing them at all).

I beleive a team can stay around town and eventually rack up a few hundred 
caches in no time at all, but in the end, they will run out of caches to 
find and will then have to head out of town for some of the more difficult 
ones. Yea, new ones are popping up in urban areas every other day. But, 
again.. the top teams will go out and do some wilderness caches, then get 
the new urban ones and go right back out and do more hiking/wilderness 
caches when there arent any more in the urban areas to do. While the other 
guy is still just doing the urban caches and then sitting around for another 
urban cache to pop up to go get.

Now, if you want to arrange the rankings around, there are multiple ways of 
doing so. I am not sure what all the different scores on the rankings are... 
D score, T score, and score... but, if you click on each of those, you will 
re-arrange the rankings again. I clicked on 'score' and re-arranged the 
rankings and although there was some change, pretty much the same teams are 
still on top.

Perhaps Brian or Jason (snaptek dudes) can fill us in more on what each 
'score' means in the rankings.

Scott
Team Ropingthewind

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