Reynella Handicaps

The handicaps for the Reynella Gift can be found here https://www.saal.org.au/index.php?id=27

More entries for the 120m Women's than 120m Men's, also more entries for the 300m Women's than 300m Men's.

Action begins 5:30pm Friday night at Reynella Sports and Social Club.

Yikes.... 22 entries in the Mens 120... 4 don't show you end up with only ~3 heats worth of runners or 4 with barely 5 runners in each heat! Hope there's not semis or everyone's making it

What is as bad are the number of athletes on single digit handicaps, 6! Never mind Bay Sheff demise, SAAL is in demise, handicaps a mess are one, numbers are another, quality of the field are the repercussions.
75% of the mens field are 10m +
The womens has 23 off 10+ with only 11 running under 10m.

If we go back to 2017 to the Marion meet on Jan 15th.
32 entrants in the mens 120m. Only 11 ran with handicaps 10m+ the other 21 ran off under 10m! Back then this was considered a poor showing, how would you label it now?

Reynella Gift this Friday.....
Only 22 athletes entered in the 120m feature event with a mere 6 handicapped on a single digit mark.

Backmarkers - Semmler and Bayliss probably the only two in close to best shape but they wont be competitive due to the inflated marks of others that have been plonked out too early and too far.

The rest are mainly juniors and veterans. Many of these have been given lifts due to wallowing in mediocrity. One of those athletes had a season off due to injury. He ran in first gift of the season on 7.50m. Runs many metres below his best and now he suddenly plonked out on 11.25m. For goodness sake!!! Embarrassing!

Comparatively the VAL had Geelong on the weekend ...
There were 69 entered in the 100m open feature event. 24 athletes made the 3 semi finals and the only athlete on a double digit mark was a regular and established mark athlete Tim Rosen.
There were 23 athletes on marks between 2.50 & 9.25 with very close racing from handicaps that have evolved slowly and not been plonked out there rapidly. That’s what a decent gift field should look like and good handicapping process creates.

Nothing like the SAAL plonking system!!

The Whisper around the traps is, that the initial figure when nominations closed was pretty embarrassing. Im not saying the final nomination figures have been fudged but there seems some athletes entered in races that they would normally not run in.
When you have entered for a 70m, 300m and 800m on the same program the bells begin to ring.
If you are coming back from injury and 120 is your speciality, why enter the 300 and not the 120.
If you never run 300 but always run 800 and 1500 why enter the 300.
Just so many odd , very odd nominations.

Go back to Marion Jan 15th 2017 total nominations were 311, Reynella this year 291 entrants.
Marion had 69 scratchings total competing athletes was 242
Again Marion numbers are not considered great.

They may have been fudged, who knows? I was told it was 170 a couple of days ago, after nominations had closed!

Lets see how the entrant numbers stack up after Friday night.

T.S........Gossips told me that some of the nominations have no intention of running.And some are more focussed on the bigger prizemoney at Victor.
Two things that wont suprise me is 1/ the number of athletes that dont run and 2/ Chief Steward will rate the track as STANDARD.

Straight off the saal facebook

Acceptances are open for Reynella.
Please ensure you have accepted or scratched before Thursday 3pm. http://www.saal.org.au/index.php?id=105.
You will be automatically scratched if you do not accept however, if you know you will not be running, please scratch yourself to save us following you up on Thursday.

So if you do not accept you will automatically be scratched
But if you dont scratch we will follow up with you Thurs.
Talk about a Flip Flop message.
Sounds very confusing to the old Whisperer.Maybe the Chief Stewards written it.

Why are they making athletes accept in the first place SA Whisperer? I understand if it's a big event like the Bay Sheffield or Stawell then you'd want athletes to accept, but even at Stawell you accept on the day, let alone a day before.. seems like a lot of extra work for no real reason. Maybe you or someone could clear it up for myself

Whitey wrote:Why are they making athletes accept in the first place SA Whisperer? I understand if it's a big event like the Bay Sheffield or Stawell then you'd want athletes to accept, but even at Stawell you accept on the day, let alone a day before.. seems like a lot of extra work for no real reason. Maybe you or someone could clear it up for myself

The league doesnt like fields being reduced to one or two runners on the day and having virtually run throughs to go through to the semis.
They think that if you accept before race day they will have full fields , reduce the heats by perhaps one or two or three over all and reduce the program time.
Bay in 2019 , if you remember , the complete field scratched on the day and it was pretty embarrassing.
Like you said Whitey , a lot of extra work for no reason, and if you look at all the of paremeters that have been implimented to the new system , a lot of extra work.
Vic system works really well, only one reason why athletes dont turn up and run and the saal is slow of the mark to realise what that is.
Its called xlotto.

The phrase of the day for the handicapping is ... "The calculated handicap includes a significant novice reduction and,
based on previous performances, the handicapper believes a
discretionary lift is needed so that the athlete is more competitive.".........Im confused Novice mark vs previous performances? why is a novice reduction being used?

Also quoted from the only handicapping review  "Thanks for your handicap question. Certainly, it can seem quite perplexing."

Also notice we have one less committee member..................................................................................


120m mens has 20 entries!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
120m Womens 22!

These messages are contradictory in objective of each other!!!
For Goodness sake. They have no idea!!!

I was told 170 nominations for Reynella, SAAL say 298 and already the program has that number dropped back to 233. With more scratchings to come!

13 guys ran in mens gift in the end. This was the final. Williams Z Score and Z Score 1U/1D were both red, does that mean he gets DQ'd from the race?

Position Name Colour Mark Time Adj Time Z Score Z Score 1U/1D
1 Jayden Chambers White 7.75m 13.011 12.579 0.34 0.27
2 Cooper Williams Blue 9.75m 13.157 12.725 2.38 2.38
3 Tomas Semmler Red 4.25m 13.196 12.764 0.74 0.72
4 Nicholas Krznaric Green 10.75m 13.568 13.136 -1.23 -1.23
5 Matt Camacho Yellow 10.25m 13.752 13.320 -0.77 -0.77
6 Jarrad Dartnall Black 14.00m 13.781 13.349 -1.32 -1.47

Not likely Donatello, Prize money isnt significant enough? Only matters on the larger prize pools.
They also changed the rules so that if you ran at Reynella you wont be penalised for the bigger meets. Winner gets no penalty and still in it for Victor or Camden and Loxton.
But they can now celebrate the worse streak in SAAL history of 9 120m open winners off greater than 11m. in a row.

Surely its a blanket rule though...no matter prize money OR heat semi final.... also, a nearly half second adjustment?!? What were they running into? A fan?

Further more on those running red. What happens on the day if an athlete or a group of athletes run red in the heat, steward wont re-handicap them or DQ them so they go through to a semi, run red again, still no re-handicap or DQ then progress to the final and run red again, still nothing on the day, SAAL takes some nice pics for FB and 3 days later DQ's them?
If they have any faith in the system which you have to wonder if they do, why allow those that run red progress to the final.
Take Reynella's Under 18's boys 3 ran red in the heats then progress to the final only to run red again.
If this happens in a major event what will happen?
We have also seen an event where 5 of the 6 ran red.
What a mess this lot have made, way to make something shit more shit!

donatello wrote:13 guys ran in mens gift in the end. This was the final. Williams Z Score and Z Score 1U/1D were both red, does that mean he gets DQ'd from the race?

Position Name Colour Mark Time Adj Time Z Score Z Score 1U/1D
1 Jayden Chambers White 7.75m 13.011 12.579 0.34 0.27
2 Cooper Williams Blue 9.75m 13.157 12.725 2.38 2.38
3 Tomas Semmler Red 4.25m 13.196 12.764 0.74 0.72
4 Nicholas Krznaric Green 10.75m 13.568 13.136 -1.23 -1.23
5 Matt Camacho Yellow 10.25m 13.752 13.320 -0.77 -0.77
6 Jarrad Dartnall Black 14.00m 13.781 13.349 -1.32 -1.47

This is very sad indeed. Only 13 running down the track.

Top Sport wrote:
But they can now celebrate the worse streak in SAAL history of 9 120m open winners off greater than 11m. in a row.

Am I missing something here TS? Did Chambers win off 7.75m?

Another disappointment apparently Reynella had 298 nominations, yet only 185 competed, 113 scratched!

mex wrote:

donatello wrote:13 guys ran in mens gift in the end. This was the final. Williams Z Score and Z Score 1U/1D were both red, does that mean he gets DQ'd from the race?

Position Name Colour Mark Time Adj Time Z Score Z Score 1U/1D
1 Jayden Chambers White 7.75m 13.011 12.579 0.34 0.27
2 Cooper Williams Blue 9.75m 13.157 12.725 2.38 2.38
3 Tomas Semmler Red 4.25m 13.196 12.764 0.74 0.72
4 Nicholas Krznaric Green 10.75m 13.568 13.136 -1.23 -1.23
5 Matt Camacho Yellow 10.25m 13.752 13.320 -0.77 -0.77
6 Jarrad Dartnall Black 14.00m 13.781 13.349 -1.32 -1.47

This is very sad indeed. Only 13 running down the track.

Top Sport wrote:
But they can now celebrate the worse streak in SAAL history of 9 120m open winners off greater than 11m. in a row.

Am I missing something here TS? Did Chambers win off 7.75m?

Thats correct, Chambers won off 7.75 prior to his win there had been 9 successive winners off 11m or greater in the 120m gifts.

0.44 wind adjustment is totally not realistic.. The basic rule is .05 adjustment for 1m of wind. For a negative 0.44 wind that would have to be tail winds of +9. Surely that was t the case.... that basically never happens.

The only real reason I can see for such a huge adjustment to slow the times down was to ensure that the entire final field didn’t fall into the red zone z scores and thus avoid disqualifying the entire final.

It seems they are fudging adjustments to serve their own purpose and try and maintain/create credibility for the stewarding and handicapping system that in reality is a farce and an embarrassment.
This is another example of the abysmal display of the structures and procedures that the SAAL are entertaining to create the facade that everything is ok. When in fact it’s all a complete shambles!

[quote="mex"]

donatello wrote:13 guys ran in mens gift in the end. This was the final. Williams Z Score and Z Score 1U/1D were both red, does that mean he gets DQ'd from the race?

Position Name Colour Mark Time Adj Time Z Score Z Score 1U/1D
1 Jayden Chambers White 7.75m 13.011 12.579 0.34 0.27
2 Cooper Williams Blue 9.75m 13.157 12.725 2.38 2.38
3 Tomas Semmler Red 4.25m 13.196 12.764 0.74 0.72
4 Nicholas Krznaric Green 10.75m 13.568 13.136 -1.23 -1.23
5 Matt Camacho Yellow 10.25m 13.752 13.320 -0.77 -0.77
6 Jarrad Dartnall Black 14.00m 13.781 13.349 -1.32 -1.47

This is very sad indeed. Only 13 running down the track.

Top Sport wrote:
But they can now celebrate the worse streak in SAAL history of 9 120m open winners off greater than 11m. in a row.

Quick Quick , bring in non penalty for Reynella or else it will be a straight out final,. The saal are getting very desperate.