NetAthlon League Guidelines

Last Updated: November 17th , 2006

Purpose

The intent of this document is to define a set of guidelines for online cycling league competitions using the NetAthlon software by Fitcentric (www.fitcentric.com). The guidelines have two primary purposes: First, they are intended to provide prospective new riders with the necessary introductory and background information for them to be able to quickly and easily join an online league with a minimum of hardship. Second, they are intended to foster fair and equitable competitions among all riders.

Many of the guidelines contained in this document are readily enforceable. That is, it is relatively easy for a league administrator to recognize when an infraction has occurred and to impose a penalty based on the infractions. However, some of the guidelines are not easily recognizable or enforceable. As such, much of the impetus is on each rider to compete honestly and honorably in abiding by the guidelines in competition.

• In all respects, these guidelines are superceded by any rules, policies, guidelines or procedures established by any particular league as applied to its own competitions. Riders are strongly encouraged to read all of the rules for any competition in which they participate.
• League administrators may freely cite this document in part or in full to cover any topics that their own league does not specifically cover.
• Penalties for infractions are at the sole discretion of the league administrator and are not all covered in this document. League administrators are encouraged to state the penalties for rule infractions in their league signup forms.

• The weight setting in each competitor’s “profile” in software settings must match his/her actual body weight plus an allowance for the weight of his/her bicycle.
• Regardless of the weight of your actual bicycle and anything else on it (water bottles, etc), use an 8 kilogram (17.6 pound) allowance for the weight of the bicycle.
• For league competitions featuring multiple rounds and/or days of competition, each competitor’s weight is “locked in” upon the first day of competition and cannot be altered through the duration of the competition.

• 3A. Recognizing that the NetAthlon software is compatible with a wide array of trainers, there is no recognized “standard” calibration procedure.
• Riders are expected to be able to calibrate their trainers in the manner that will produce their best possible result. In this way, calibration procedure is at least “equalized” among competitors who own the same trainer hardware.
• NetAthlon Provides “NUGS” NetAthlon universal Grade Simulator. Use this setting for your rides as it will equalize different trainers making a better competition.
• Recognizing the difference in resistance levels of various different types of hardware, league administrators may choose to impose penalties on riders who ride trainers that yield less resistance than others in competition. It is not known whether a formal chart exists showing these differences, but one may be created using a power meter.

• The NetAthlon software can record the heart rate of each competitor. A working heart rate monitor is required to be worn for all rides submitted for league competition.
• In general, HRM data should be present and readable in at least 80% of the associated file for the ride to be acceptable.

• The NetAthlon software can record the cadence of each competitor. A working cadence sensor is required for all rides submitted for league competition (for trainers that support this).
• In general, cadence data should be present and readable in at least 80% of the associated file for the ride to be acceptable.

• A rider must not stop or pause the software/trainer during the ride for it to be accepted in competition.

• In general and unless declared otherwise by the league administrator (for solo time trials, e.g.), drafting of other competitors is permitted in all league competitions.
• Drafting on UltraRabbit, Constant Speed, or Constant Wattage pacers for league competitions is not permitted.
• Drafting on replays of yourself or others completed outside the time scope of the current competition is not permitted.
• Drafting on multiple replays by the same individual (whether yourself or someone else) completed during the time scope of the current competition is permitted with the caveat stated below.
• All replays that represent your best time on the course should be uploaded to the league site for use by other competitors. I.e., do not draft your own replay if you have not uploaded it and do not upload it or draft on it if it does not represent your best time submission to date (for the current competition).

• Some trainers support steering. For the purpose of league competitions, turn your steering function off. This allows the drafting to work similarly for everyone.

• The NetAthlon software supports flying starts. That is, it is possible to begin pedaling at any rate before the start of a race. Riders should wait for the countdown to end and begin each race at a full stop.

• In NetAthlon, two files are created for each ride: a .NAP file and a .RAW file. These files should be zipped into a single file using the naming convention established for the league and subsequently uploaded.
• Riders are given 18 hours maximum to submit ride results to the league upload site.
• The naming convention for NetAthlon uploads is generally TimeFirstLastCourseDate. For example, 4113JoeBloeHOC20060422 indicates a time of 41 minutes, 13 seconds by Joe Bloe on Head of the Charles on April 22, 2006. This format provides for automatic sorting of results in the correct order and allows for easy cut and paste into the pacer fields of NetAthlon.
• Riders should ride under their real names and name their files accordingly.
• Do not tamper with either the NAP or RAW file in any way other than to rename them.
• The NAP file is generally in c:\Program Files\Fitcentric\NetAthlon\Courses\BK2-(Course Number)
• The RAW file is generally in c:\Program Files\Fitcentric\NetAthlon\Raw Files (or in UltraCoach directory)

• In general, there is no limit to the number of times that any rider may race a particular stage unless the league specifies one.
• In general, riders are encouraged to ride as early and as often on each course as possible. While not against the rules, it is generally considered to be in poor taste to frequently submit “first try” league results on the last day while having passed your pacing riders who had made many attempts on the course.
• The official time result for any ride can be found at the end of the RAW file. This time should have displayed when you crossed the start/finish line.
• When riders will be unavailable to ride due to extenuating circumstances, league administrators are encouraged to allow the rider to ride a solo time trial on the course in advance. This ride would then be available for drafting to all other competitors upon the start of the stage.
• When riders wish to join competitions in progress and have missed a stage, this is left to the discretion of the league administrator. A suggestion is to allow a solo time trial on the missed course (no pacers) or to impose some time penalty if pacers are allowed.

• New ruling to state that only one race file upload per day to the table. No mulitple rides will be allowed at any one time.