Today the IATF is posting the first tournament rank results from Tournament Circuit Points awarded to date during the 2025-2026 qualification period. Moving forward, the ranking will be updated as Circuit event results are confirmed (typically in the days following an event).
Competitors in the IATF Tournament Circuit have been awarded Tournament Circuit Points based on their finishing position in tournaments. These points serve as a measure of tournament participation and success.
Eventually participation in Tournament Circuit Points will be linked with IATF mobile app subscription. When subscription becomes available, subscribers will be eligible to be awarded Tournament Circuit Points and appear on the Global & Regional Tournament Rank leaderboards. Until that time, competitors will continue to be awarded Tournament Circuit Points and appear on the leaderboards. This time will serve as a beta test for the Tournament Rank System.
Tournament Circuit Points awarded to a competitor at a tournament will remain in their Past 12 Months tally until the tournament is run again, typically the following year, or 12 months elapses (in the case where the tournament is not scheduled to recur as a Circuit event).
The Tournament Rank page is here: AxeScores.com/tournament-rank
Recognizing Access to Circuit Tournaments
The IATF Tournament Circuit does have geographical variation, i.e. not all geographical areas have an equal number of planned events. Each IATF Region has its own leaderboard to reflect these regional differences. Each regional leaderboard includes Tournament Circuit Points awarded only at tournaments hosted in that region. Tournament Circuit Points awarded at IATC tournaments are excluded from the regional leaderboards, but included in the Global leaderboard.
Tournament Rating Points Awarded
Competitors in circuit tournaments will earn points as follows:
Major Marquees
Finish position | Double-elimination points | single-elimination points |
|---|---|---|
1st | 500 | 500 |
2nd | 250 | 250 |
3rd | 175 | 150 |
4th | 125 | 150 |
5th/6th | 65 | 60 |
7th/8th | 50 | 60 |
9th-12th | 30 | 30 |
13th-16th | 25 | 30 |
17th-24th | 15 | 15 |
25th-32nd | 10 | 15 |
Grand Slam Marquees
Finish position | Double-elimination points | single-elimination points |
|---|---|---|
1st | 2,000 | 2,000 |
2nd | 1,000 | 1,000 |
3rd | 700 | 600 |
4th | 500 | 600 |
5th/6th | 250 | 225 |
7th/8th | 200 | 225 |
9th-12th | 125 | 115 |
13th-16th | 100 | 115 |
17th-24th | 65 | 60 |
25th-32nd | 50 | 60 |
33rd-48th | 35 | 30 |
49th-64th | 25 | 30 |
IATC Wilson Cup
Finish position | points |
|---|---|
1st | 3,000 |
2nd | 1,800 |
3rd | 1,600 |
4th | 1,400 |
5th/6th | 1,200 |
7th/8th | 1,000 |
9th-12th | 900 |
13th-16th | 800 |
17th-24th | 700 |
25th-32nd | 600 |
33rd-48th | 500 |
49th-64th | 400 |
65th-96th | 300 |
97th-128th | 200 |
129th-192nd | 100 |
193rd-256th | 20 |
Tournament Rating Points by Discipline
Tournament Points will be categorized by throwing discipline. Tournament Points from Standard and Premier tournaments will be aggregated and totaled separately from Big Axe and Knife tournaments. Because this category of points is separate, tournaments can award points as Marquees do. Should a player compete in tournaments of each discipline, they will have separate Tournament Point totals, one from Standard and Premier tournaments combined, one from Big Axe tournaments, and one from Knife tournaments.
Tournament Rating and Tournament Eligibility
Tournament Points earned in tournaments where the registration is restricted to competitors who meaningfully identify as a woman, non-binary person, or other marginalized gender (together called Slayer tournaments) will also earn Tournament Points. Because this category of points is separate, similar to Big Axe or Knife tournaments, tournaments can award points as Marquees do. These Tournament Points will be aggregated and totalled separately to better highlight achievement in these tournaments, as well as to recognize access parity in Open eligibility tournaments.
Tournament Rating and Average Limited Tournaments
Competitors in tournaments where the registration is restricted by average will also earn Tournament Points. The points awarded by these tournaments will be scaled by the limiting average.
A limit of 70+ Standard Average will award 75% (rounded) of a Marquee.
A limit of 60-69 Standard Average will award 65% (rounded) of a Marquee.
A limit below 60 Standard Average will award 60% (rounded) of a Marquee.
Tournament Rating Points from Tournaments in the Same Discipline
Circuit events may include more than one tournament that award points in the same discipline category, be it Hatchet, Big Axe, Knife, Slayer tournaments etc. Generally, one of the tournaments will award points as described in the tables above, and the other(s) will award points rounded (to avoid decimal points) to 75% of the points awarded. This is likely an unusual case, but could happen, for example, if there are a Premier hatchet tournament and a Standard hatchet tournament scheduled during the same event.
Tournament Rating and Doubles Tournaments
To date, Doubles tournaments have not awarded Tournament Points. Starting in the 2026-2027 qualification period, Doubles tournaments will award Tournament Circuit Points to each team. The points awarded will be as described above, depending on whether the tournament is a Marquee or Feature, the Discipline, any limits by average, and registration eligibility.
Collins Rating vs Tournament Rank
The Collins Rating System (CRS) provides players with a relative sense of where they stand against an opponent. Higher rated players tend to win against lower rated players. Because ratings adjustments are possible following every match, the system is self-correcting, meaning ratings following a match more closely align with the match result. Understanding how a rating has changed over time gives a sense of development as a competitive player.
Beginning with the 2025-2026 Integrated Tournament Circuit calendar, the IATF will award Tournament Points based on performance in tournaments. Given the IATF already has a rating system, let’s examine how Tournament Rank adds another dimension to measurement of competitive development.
Recall the Collins Rating Key Principles:
- Head-to-head competition should be used to assess skills and determine ratings.
- Winning against lower rated players is less valuable than winning against higher rated players.
- Higher levels of competition should raise the stakes by allowing larger adjustments, if required, to better reflect players’ relative skill. ie. Wilson Cup has higher stakes than Grand Slams and Majors, which in turn has higher stakes than league playoffs.
- Throwing an 81 and winning the tiebreaker should never result in a downward adjustment.
- Throwing more frequently should not disproportionately inflate ratings.
The introduction of the Integrated Tournament Circuit and feedback on the CRS prompted the development of another system that rewards performance on the tournament circuit and is stable over a longer period of time.
Tournament Points Design Considerations::
- Participation in a variety of tournaments is rewarded
- Strong performance in a tournament setting is rewarded
- Tournament Points are earned only when Integrated Tournament Circuit events occur, so the ranking is less volatile than with CRS
- Higher levels of competition should raise the stakes by allowing more points to be earned, ie. Wilson Cup has higher stakes than Grand Slams and Majors, which in turn has higher stakes than league playoffs.
- Further integrates the circuit
- Creates a new option to seed tournaments
- Similar to points systems used in other sports (tennis, golf, motor sport, etc), which makes the system more accessible and simple to understand
Tournament Points and Ranking provides a new view of player performance and further integrates the IATF’s Tournament Circuit.
Under discussion for IATC 2027, some Wilson Cup Round 2 reserved bids will be allocated to top Tournament Rank players. These bids will be for players who have performed well on the Tournament Circuit, but have not yet earned a bid from a top finish on the Circuit.
Collins Rating and Tournament Ranking provide independent ways to look at competitive development.
