At-large list and rankings

we are in the process of adding the “at large” lists to the website. these should be of great interest in several ways.

first is that they will show your world ranking for each year.everyone achieving 24 or more yards in an affiliated backyard race will be posted.as in many sports the year does not exactly match the calendar year,but rather begins when the qualifying period opens on August 16and ends with the qualifying period ends with races starting on August 15.

the current year is 2021-2022 and started in August.

Since the championships take place every other year 
(alternating team/national championships in even years and the individual championships in odd years)the qualifying period for each is two years long.

so, the next championship coming up is the satellite team/national championships.each nation will field a 15 man team of the best backyarders in that countryrunning a backyard race on their own home venue.

all of the races will be held simultaneously,linked by the miracle of the internet.the selection of those teams will be happening this year.some of the places will be captured by winning silver ticket races.the remainder of the spots will be filled from the at large list.

the at large list contains two years worth of results,so all of last year’s results already have created an at-large list.

perhaps an example will make this easier to understand:

USA Bracket

for the US team the spots on the team will be filled thus:

1. winner of the 4 for 30 infinity
2. winner of the ohio’s backyard
3. winner of the tartarus backyard
4. winner of the capital backyard
5. winner of the ode to laz
6. winner of the bob’s big timber
7. at large
8. at large
9. at large
10. at large
11. at large
12. at large
13. at large
14. at large
15. at large

the top end of the current at large list (after the 2020-2021 results)

if this was the final at large list,and the 6 golden ticket winners were included in the top 15 runners,then it would take 39 yards to make the team.this being only the first of two years,i think it is obvious anyone thinking of making the team will need to thinking in terms of something north of 40 yards.big’s individual championships coming up next month will probably change the at large list a lot.

of course the most certain path to the national team is to win one of the six silver ticket events.it might be hard to get one of the entries into those events,but there is a path to achieve that also.if you look at the USA brackets,you will find a number of bronze ticket events feeding into each silver ticket event.if you win a bronze ticket event,you will have an entry to the corresponding silver ticket event.

in the backyard you can control your destiny.

every country has its own brackets and its own at large list.you can look at your country to figure out how to make the national team.smaller countries,and those that have only recently entered into the backyard familythe task is less daunting.the powerful teams will be more difficult to make.

when the satellite team/national championships are held,you have your opportunity to earn a place in the field at big’s the winners of each of those races (up to the top 50)will have a place in the field.only 37 countries have championship teams right now,although i know several more are working on it.59 countries have backyard ultras.

the other 25 places at bigs can be earned off of the at large list.being the beginning of the cycle, the current at large list is still small. but here is the at large list from the last two years,(the one for the 2021 Bigs individual championships)to give you an idea what it would take to get in that way: