Russell Sherwood Thursday, December 27, 2018
In preparation for the WCCF AGM I started some preparation, which due to pressures of work I was unable to complete, I will release this in a few articles over coming weeks.
A friend always tells me he has a plan with regard to Norms and ratings. An area I examined was that of where IM Norms are generated. This data was gathered from all of the Titles awarded in the last few years - so is not a full data set but a data set of those who have been successful in there quest to achieve the ICCF-IM Title.
By Category
| Row Labels |
Count of 1 |
Min |
|
| 1 |
1 |
2251 |
CCM-A |
| 2 |
3 |
2276 |
| 3 |
7 |
2301 |
MN-B |
| 4 |
11 |
2326 |
| 5 |
8 |
2351 |
MN-A |
| 6 |
10 |
2376 |
| 7 |
8 |
2401 |
SIM-B |
| 8 |
18 |
2426 |
SIM-A |
| 9 |
6 |
2451 |
GM-B |
| 10 |
3 |
2476 |
GM-A |
| 11 |
1 |
2501 |
|
| Grand Total |
76 |
|
|
Here I added the approximate rating bands of the new Title Tournaments. What does this tell us? Draw your own conclusions but few Norms are achieved below Cat 3 Tournaments, so these should be avoided if the Norm is your primary objective. The New Master Norm-A event looks to be a happy hunting ground for the IM Norm
When the type of event is examined some interesting results appear
| Row Labels |
Count of Open |
| Inv |
12 |
| CL |
11 |
| WC SF |
9 |
| Zonal Ch |
7 |
| Zonal TC |
7 |
| Master Norm |
5 |
| Open |
5 |
| WC PR |
4 |
| GM Norm |
4 |
| Oly P |
3 |
| Memorial |
3 |
| Inter Z |
2 |
| Oly F |
2 |
| Inter TC |
2 |
| Grand Total |
76 |
The majority of IM Norms do not appear in open entry events! This was a big driver for the new Norm events!
So looking at this the aim, to make your path slightly easier is to get to a rating of 2380+ to be able to enter Master Norm A events (or higher), or ensure you are on your National Federation's radar (and in good standing!) when Team selection time comes around.
Next Time we look at these SIM Norms
