This page is a summary of our most recent posts about FourTwentySix – the stories behind the stats

FourTwentySix: Who are the most consistent paddlers? 🤔 (aka the “B-Team World Rankings”)

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

Welcome back to the ‘FourTwentySix,’ the oddly-named new column on SUP Racer that aims to find the “stories behind the stats” by performing deep analysis of the world rankings database.

One of the main goals of the SUP Racer World Rankings is to find the world’s number one paddler. It’s a complex system that uses a lot of algorithms and a lot of results from around the world. There are currently 6000+ paddlers and 100+ events in the system, but underpinning the entire leaderboard is a simple idea: That a paddler’s “Best 5” results of the year will determine their total world ranking points.

But the “Best 5” method only tells part of the story…   → READ MORE

Introducing ‘FourTwentySix’ — SUP Racer’s new column that looks for the stories behind the stats

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

One of my favourite daily reads is FiveThirtyEight, an American blog that’s become a bible for sports fans and data geeks alike. FiveThirtyEight analyses everything from NBA playoffs to the Presidential election, and every story has one thing in common: stats.

FiveThirtyEight is a leader in the new school of data journalism, which uses analytics to uncover trends and produce interesting stories. If you like numbers and love sports (or politics), it’s an addictive blog.

So I figured I’d start the “FiveThirtyEight of SUP” as a weekly column here on SUP Racer. Because now that the world rankings include a database of 6000+ paddlers and 100+ events, I’m going to start looking a little deeper to find some interesting stories behind the stats.   → READ MORE

Behind the Rankings: The ‘King’ and ‘Queen of Europe’ – who are the best European paddlers *in* Europe? 🤔

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

Who were the best-performing European paddlers in Europe during season 2019?

Given that Europe is now the epicentre of our sport, and considering it produces about half of the world’s best athletes, I thought it might be fun and interesting to analyse which Euro paddlers ranked highest at their “home” events.

So I’ve taken the World Rankings, trimmed all the non-European athletes and races, and come up with a new leaderboard to determine the “King” and “Queen of Europe”.    → READ MORE