Handicap Mark Math

How woodchopping handicaps work

A handicap race uses staggered starts to give competitors of different expected cutting speeds a meaningful chance of winning. The faster expected competitor waits longer before starting. In a championship or scratch race, everyone starts together and raw cutting speed decides the result.

Mandatory domain reading. This is the shared domain reference for STRATHMARK contributors. Read it before changing predictions, marks, start sheets, simulations or results. Association rulebooks govern their competitions; the explanations here define handicap meaning within this project.

Start marks

The starter calls increasing numbers, usually seconds. A competitor begins when the count reaches their mark:

• Smaller mark: earlier start.
• Larger mark: later start.
• Frontmarker: usually the slowest expected competitor, with the smallest mark.
• Backmarker: usually the fastest expected competitor, with a larger mark.

A smaller mark starts earlier; a larger mark starts later. The handicap changes the start time. Everyone still cuts the assigned wood.

Two clocks

Raw cutting time runs from the first legal strike or saw movement to completion. Completion on the starter's count includes the wait before starting:

start mark + raw cutting time = completion on the common count
18         + 27 seconds       = 45

A mark of 18 is not an 18-second prediction or a bonus deducted after the race.

A worked example

For a simple gap handicap:

mark = frontmark + slowest predicted time - competitor's predicted time

With a frontmark of 3:

Competitor	Predicted cutting time	Start mark	Expected completion
Frontmarker	60 s	3	63
Middlemarker	45 s	18	63
Backmarker	30 s	33	63

If everyone cuts exactly as predicted, they finish together on count 63. The backmarker starts 30 seconds after the frontmarker because they are expected to finish the cut 30 seconds faster.

This example explains the geometry. The versioned engines use their own prediction and optimization methods; it is not a rule requiring every system to use simple gaps.

Rebasing a field

Adding or subtracting the same constant from every mark preserves the race. If the example starts at 15 instead of 3, add 12 to every mark:

Competitor	Original mark	Rebased mark
Frontmarker	3	15
Middlemarker	18	30
Backmarker	33	45

Everyone's expected completion moves from 63 to 75. No competitor gains an advantage. Rebasing changes the origin of the count, not the estimated ability.

A displayed mark is therefore relative to its field. Mark 12 in one heat and Mark 12 in another heat do not prove equal ability when the fields used different bases. Form a final from the underlying ability estimates, then calculate and rebase the complete new field. Do not copy the displayed heat marks into it.

Book marks and conversions

A traditional book or reference mark records ability over time. It may be converted for an event, timber class or log diameter before a field's displayed marks are set:

recorded ability -> event/log conversion -> common field offset -> displayed mark

Book marks, conversion scales, panel marks, limits and adjustment rules vary between associations. A book mark is not necessarily the number announced in every heat.

Standing Block, Underhand, sawing and other disciplines are different tasks. Diameter and timber properties matter too. Put performances into a common event and material context before comparing ability. A 250 mm Standing Block time and a 325 mm Underhand time are not interchangeable just because both are measured in seconds.

Heats and finals

Advancement decides who reaches the next round. Handicapping decides when those competitors start. These are separate decisions.

Later fields may combine competitors from independently rebased heats. Reconstruct their handicap on one common basis. How an engine admits new results between rounds is a versioned software decision; see V2 and V3.

Fairness and real performances

A fair handicap compensates for the best available estimate of ability; it does not claim everyone has equal skill. A deterministic estimate aims to align expected completions. A probabilistic estimate also considers comparable chances of winning.

Actual cuts vary. Technique, break behavior, wood variation and integer-second marks mean that a close finish or dead heat cannot be guaranteed. A close finish created using evidence that was unavailable before the race is not a valid pre-race handicap. See fairness assessment.

Honest effort

Deliberately concealing ability through a slow performance—often called foxing or sandbagging—undermines the evidence used for future handicaps. A slow result alone cannot establish intent: an ordinary poor cut can look similar.

Faster and slower valid performances both provide ability evidence. A fast cut matters even if the competitor is eliminated or does not win. Placing alone does not describe how far someone exceeded their expected performance.

Traditional books record results, winnings, recent form and adjustments. Associations may use success penalties, minimum-effort rules or handicapper discretion. Their specific prize thresholds, X systems and penalties are association rules, not universal requirements of a woodchopping handicap.

Officials and software

The handicapper constructs or reviews the start sheet. The starter controls releases. Judges decide legal completion and placings. The governing body controls eligibility, protests, penalties and event rules.

A predicted time, proposed sheet, issued marks and official result are different records. Calculation software assists officials; a number alone does not authorize a competition, prove dishonesty or change an issued race's winner.

Background

This explanation was checked against the Australian Axemen's Association's Competition Rules and Code of Conduct (August 2024), the supplied Queensland Axemen's Association bylaws and conversion tables, and these race examples:

• Underhand handicap
• Standing Block handicap
• Example 3
• Example 4
• Example 5

Consult the applicable rulebook for the competition's actual procedures.