The CC co-captain from EVGA (Xavier), has asked I post here to show this Chimp Challenge format and point protocol, to your CC captain.
It has the following as givens:
1) The CC is primarily for fun for us non-medical researchers. It's not rocket science here - it's a simple race, for fun.
2) The rules need to be minimal. Keep it simple, keep it fun. You start the race HERE, you finish the race THERE, and between times, you fold like mad. Unenforceable rules, rules that are ambiguous and a general PITA, are fun killers.
If the EVGA captain wants to run around in the park at night with his britches on fire - I don't care.

If you guys want to time your wu's, I don't care. You time yours, and I'll time mine - and a good time will be had by all.
It's a race, it's simple.
3) Nothing is more fair to establish a handicap basis, than to use your last race performance (or performances), as the basis for that calculation. It's been used for handicapping races and games, since before the time of the Pyramids, for gosh sakes!
Note how well it handles situations like the NCIX team racing with the HWC (Beavers) team, like last year.
That would NOT work at all if all you measured was the average ppd of the HWC team, and used that for the handicap basis!!
4) Having two brackets seems logical, given the disparity of the teams sizes, in the race. An unlimited (straight point) race for the bigger teams (like yours perhaps), and EVGA . Each team is free to compete in either bracket of course, but not in both.
My communication with the EVGA CC co-captain was:
Quote:
(He asked for a recommendation)
OK, this is my recommendation.
Format:
two brackets, unlimited (straight points race), and a handicap bracket. The handicap basis point score for each team would be taken directly from their average day in the CC, last year.
If you believe it favors smaller teams a bit too much, then give each team a 50% penalty for the *increase* - sounds diabolical, but it cuts down on the advantage of the smaller teams percentage being a smaller quantity, compared to the same percentage increase, in a larger team.
(I'm not sure this is needed since the smaller teams will undoubtedly be in the handicap bracket, and the larger teams will be in the unlimited bracket.)
It's fair, it handles any problem of teams merging (like NCIX and HWC last year), and has a leveling effect on the competition.
Points:
Points in this format would be:
Unlimited bracket:
race points earned = total FAH pts.
Handicap bracket:
race points earned = total FAH pts - average days total FAH pts taken from last years CC.
Teams that are new to the CC and racing for the first time need a simple tweak to the points formula:
race points earned = total FAH pts - team daily average for the last six months.
It's important to remember in the midst of all this, that this is just a FUN race. It's not life or death -- it's more important than that!

I don't need rules about EVGA having contests during the race, or any team "timing" work units so they score the most points, etc.
It's a race!
I don't care if EVGA wants to set their britches afire, and run around the park - if it helps them fold, then it's a win -- for Folding@Home. Maybe EVGA will get some time on a super computer -- Go EVGA! You time your work units, and I'll time mine.
It's a race!!
We may melt a server HD at Stanford, but that's THEIR CC challenge!

It's simple, and we need to keep it that way. You start the race here, you end the race over there, and in-between, you fold like crazy.
Keeps it simple, keeps it fun and gets LOTS of folding done.
And isn't that why we have a CC?
A handicap bracket for the rest of the teams, just adds to the fun, since they have no chance against the large teams.
I've been racing in the CC, and on the race teams, since the very first one. Seen the good, the bad, the ugly, the fantastic in the CC. If you have concerns about the above format, speak up please, and let's get this solved pronto.
I have little patience with idea's like using logarithmic interpolations of previous years folding, excluding Wednesdays and leap years, and days when mars was in (apparent) retrograde. I can't "sell" that kind of a race protocol, to any teammates, (nor would I try to). It completely shatters the idea of a simple race.