USAU Approximated Club Rankings: A First Look

Ultiworld’s Cody Mills has put together a statistical tool to approximate the USA Ultimate rankings by using publicly available score data and applying the algorithm that USA Ultimate uses to run their numbers. While the results below are unofficial and could include some scores which are liable to be altered or removed from the official rankings, they are a good representation of the what the current rankings would look like.

Throughout the remainder of the club season, we will be running this USAU ranking approximation and, later, possibly applying different algorithms and/or ranking methods to test alternatives to the existing algorithm.

For more information about the USA Ultimate algorithm, ranking system, and some of its perceived flaws, see this FAQ from last year.

Men’s Division

The rankings below include only teams with at least five sanctioned games.

RANK TEAM RATING #1 Machine 2512.75 #2 Sockeye 2492.57 #3 Ironside 2490.26 #4 Revolver 2371.78 #5 GOAT 2310.20 #6 Florida United 2290.84 #7 Patrol 2171.72 #8 Chain Lightning 2154.85 #9 Madison Club 2152.79 #10 PoNY 2065.96 #11 Johnny Bravo 2049.00 #12 Sub Zero 2020.39 #13 Floodwall 2013.00 #14 High Five 1921.50 #15 Guerrilla 1913.25 #16 Freaks 1872.91 #17 Turbine 1855.15 #18 Rhino 1849.88 #19 Condors 1802.61 #20 Inception 1796.94 #21 Smokestack 1765.96 #22 Ironmen 1748.92 #23 Garden State Ultimate 1705.14 #24 Medicine Men 1653.77 #25 Mad Men 1653.15

Implied Bid Allocation

Great Lakes: 2 bids

Mid-Atlantic: 2 bids

Northeast: 3 bids

Northwest: 1 bid

North Central: 2 bids

South Central: 1 bid

Southeast: 3 bids

Southwest: 2 bids

Discussion

With few games on the books at this point in the season, there isn’t a ton to draw from these early rankings, but there are some early stories to keep an eye on. A slow start for Rhino has the Northwest sitting with just one bid, and strong performances from Southeast teams have them sitting with three bids (Freaks is at the cutoff at #16, but these rankings do not yet include Ring of Fire!). It’s too early to make much of a single South Central bid, and even though Floodwall will drop out, Truck Stop will certainly claim a 2nd bid for the Mid-Atlantic.

Mixed Division

The rankings below include only teams with at least five sanctioned games.

RANK TEAM RATING #1 Steamboat 2079.91 #2 Slow White 2027.97 #3 AMP 1965.49 #4 The Chad Larson Experience 1962.12 #5 Seattle Mixtape 1941.55 #6 Bang! 1912.80 #7 Alloy 1901.12 #8 Drag'n Thrust 1873.64 #9 BFG 1852.96 #10 Metro North 1807.28 #11 Blackbird 1806.82 #12 NOISE 1771.30 #13 Bucket 1709.96 #14 Wild Card 1688.61 #15 Mischief 1682.15 #16 UPA 1644.62 #17 Charlotte Storm 1644.30 #18 shame. 1638.19 #19 Cosa Nostra 1626.64 #20 Pegasus 1624.93 #21 7 Express 1621.34 #22 Dub Club 1586.16 #23 Love Tractor 1577.20 #24 Polar Bears 1565.94 #25 Birdfruit 1547.81

Implied Bid Allocation

Great Lakes: 1 bid

Mid-Atlantic: 3 bids

Northeast: 3 bids

Northwest: 2 bids

North Central: 3 bids

South Central: 1 bid

Southeast: 1 bid

Southwest: 2 bids

Discussion

The same caveats in the Men’s Division apply here: these are early rankings and should change quite a bit. The Mid-Atlantic has to be thrilled, though, with three teams in the top 10. On the other hand, the Southwest has to be sweating with just two bids in hand at the moment. Revolution, a big Southwest tournament, sent a lot of points up to the Northwest for BFG as SW teams cannabalized each other1 with mixed results. Mischief is the second bid earner for the Southwest, and they are on the bubble at #15.

Women’s Division

The rankings below include only teams with at least five sanctioned games.

RANK TEAM RATING #1 Brute Squad 2392.15 #2 Seattle Riot 2243.59 #3 Molly Brown 2177.06 #4 6ixers 2110.21 #5 Scandal 2107.57 #6 Fury 2080.89 #7 Nightlock 1989.48 #8 Wildfire 1924.51 #9 Phoenix 1868.81 #10 Underground 1806.51 #11 Schwa 1781.13 #12 Heist 1773.70 #13 BENT 1727.32 #14 Ozone 1696.32 #15 Green Means Go 1676.25 #16 Rival 1668.28 #17 Siege 1643.94 #18 Huck the Patriarchy 1639.20 #19 Nemesis 1631.33 #20 Showdown 1622.57 #21 Fusion 1511.86 #22 Stella 1464.83 #23 Hot Metal 1453.49 #24 Zephyr 1385.76 #25 Viva 1380.27

Implied Bid Allocation

Great Lakes: 1 bid

Mid-Atlantic: 2 bids

Northeast: 3 bids

Northwest: 3 bids

North Central: 1 bid

South Central: 1 bid

Southeast: 2 bids

Southwest: 3 bids

Discussion

As it stands, New York Bent is the big winner coming out of the Elite-Select Challenge, as they float above other bid hunters like Green Means Go, Rival, and Siege. With Vancouver Traffic still to join the rankings (and they will almost certainly be a top 10 team by the end of the season), GMG’s bubble bid for the Mid-Atlantic could disappear.