Rally uses USATT-style initial ratings and point exchanges, adapted for club play.
This is a Rally rating, not an official USATT rating. Club standings use club results; All clubs combines visible results.
Two established players rated 800 play a regular club match. The winner gains 8 and the loser loses 8: 808 and 792. The same matchup in a single-club tournament exchanges 16, or 24 in a cross-club tournament, before repeat-opponent discounts.
A player rated 1000 faces someone rated 700, a 300-point gap. If the stronger player wins, they exchange 0 points. If the 700-rated player wins, they exchange 50 base points. In a club match, before any event-day adjustment, that means 750 and 950. A sixth meeting within 30 days halves the exchange to 25.
These examples assume established initial ratings, no event-day adjustment and recent results. The detailed rules below explain initial estimates, adjustments and aging.
Rally ratings are internal to this app. Similar numbers do not guarantee the same skill level as an official USATT rating. Rally does not import, verify, or submit official ratings. We keep one player pool, without age or gender divisions.
Players are shown as Unrated until they have verified played results. A club owner, administrator, or board member can set an initial estimate from 200 to 4000 in the club roster. A recent USATT rating may be used as a reference; it remains an organizer estimate in Rally. Estimates apply across Rally. Only a site administrator can correct an existing estimate, and changes require a reason and are recorded.
Organizer estimates anchor the rating scale. For a player without an estimate, results against previously rated opponents help establish the initial rating. With wins and losses, Rally uses USATT's best-win / worst-loss calculation. With only wins or only losses, the organizer estimate is bounded by the strongest defeated or weakest defeating opponent. Initial ratings are at least 200. Without an estimate or rated opponents, Rally uses a provisional 400 estimate to bootstrap the pool. This fallback is not a proven skill level.
Existing match histories are recalculated under this model. Initial estimates remain the baseline when older point changes expire; already locked tournament draws are not reseeded.
Only verified, played matches count. The rating difference, rounded to the nearest point, selects the base exchange below. An upset earns more points; a predictable win earns fewer. Games won and point margins do not change the exchange.
| Rating difference | Higher-rated player wins | Lower-rated player wins |
|---|---|---|
| 0–12 | 8 | 8 |
| 13–37 | 7 | 10 |
| 38–62 | 6 | 13 |
| 63–87 | 5 | 16 |
| 88–112 | 4 | 20 |
| 113–137 | 3 | 25 |
| 138–162 | 2 | 30 |
| 163–187 | 2 | 35 |
| 188–212 | 1 | 40 |
| 213–237 | 1 | 45 |
| 238+ | 0 | 50 |
Regular club matches use 1× the base exchange. Single-club tournaments use 2×; cross-club tournaments use 3×. Before repeated-opponent discounts, equally rated players exchange 8, 16, or 24 points respectively. Byes, walkovers, pending and voided results earn no points.
Within the selected rating scope, each pair shares a rolling 30-day window across clubs and tournaments. The first five verified played matches count at 100%, the sixth at 50%, the seventh at 25%, and further matches at 0%. A match exactly 30 days old leaves the window. Reversing player order or switching tournaments does not reset the count. The same discount applies to both players after tournament weighting and low-rating loss caps.
Every result still counts toward match records, win rate and the five-match provisional threshold, including matches worth no rating points. Profiles and standings show the number of distinct opponents faced in verified played matches within the last 24 months and the selected scope. This describes the breadth of results; it does not certify a skill level or change ranking order.
Rating adjustments require wins against at least two distinct opponents. Their net-point thresholds use the repeated-opponent discount, and best-win / worst-loss evidence counts each opponent once per outcome on the event day. An isolated group still needs organizer estimates or matches against other groups to establish its level.
Results are grouped by tournament and played date, or by club and played date for regular matches. Point exchanges use the ratings at the start of that event day, after initial-rating and underrated-player adjustments. Matches and event days replay in date order, with creation time and ID breaking ties.
Following USATT's adjustment rules, rated players can receive an upward adjustment after gaining 60 base points, or 40 with two wins worth at least 20. Stronger adjustments apply at 150 base points, three 50-point wins, or two 50-point wins with a combined rating gap of at least 700. Adjustment thresholds use base points discounted for repeated opponents, without tournament multipliers; tournament multipliers apply to the final match exchanges. Adjustments are included in history and age like other changes.
Rally's adaptation caps losses at 3 points for players below 200 and keeps current ratings at least 100. Any loss cap also reduces the winner's gain. These safeguards apply after tournament weighting.
Point changes and upward adjustments count fully for 12 months, at half weight for the following 12 months, and expire at 24 months. Wins and losses age equally. Your rating is your initial rating plus those weighted changes. History remains visible after changes expire.
Five verified played matches within the last 24 months establish a player. Established players rank above provisional players. Within each group, current rating determines order, then eligible matches and wins. A newcomer with one win remains provisional.
Club standings use that club's results; All clubs combines visible results. Season ladders use matches in the season. Tournament seed suggestions use the host club's history. Owners can still review seeds before locking the draw.
A single game to 11, win by two, carries 33% of the rating exchange of a best-of-three match. The same discount applies to adjustment qualifying points, alongside repeated-opponent and age weights. Best-of-three, five and seven retain their normal weight.
Choose Unaffiliated when recording a match without a club. Both players need Rally profiles, and the opponent must confirm the result. No club membership is created. These results count in overall ratings.
A tournament receives 3× weight when at least two entrants have active, non-guest memberships spanning two approved clubs when the draw starts. The weight stays fixed for the draw. Unaffiliated players count with the host club for weighting and do not make an event cross-club. Guests, pending memberships and unapproved clubs do not qualify as a second club.
The exchange table, initial-rating calculation and adjustment thresholds follow USATT's rating calculation guide. The time windows are adapted from the separate USATT ranking system. Daily processing, fallback estimates, repeated-opponent limits, distinct-opponent adjustment requirements, tournament multipliers, safeguards and the five-match provisional rule are Rally choices. USATT ratings and tournament-point rankings are separate systems.