A lot of work has been put in to a scoring process that will make it easier for the scoring team and more enjoyable to the riders. While use of this system is not mandatory this year, it is HIGHLY encouraged! Give it a few minutes and I think you will see it is an improvement.
First off, a few guidelines for using the system:
- Send the picture from the email account you used to register for the tour. The system needs the correct sending email address to correctly identify the rider.
- Send the picture to
. We recommend adding this address to your contacts to make sure it is easy to find and to make sure the replies you get are not lost forever in the spam folder. - The code from the listing (i.e. “GT01”) must be the first thing in the subject line. Hint – all of the codes contain two letters and two numbers (in GT01, the “0” is a zero).
- Send one picture. You can take as many pictures as you want, but we need the best one that you took. If you send more than one in, the scoring team won’t see them anyway.
Now, you may be thinking, “That’s all well and good, but just to be safe, shouldn’t I send in 28 pictures, you know, just to be sure? You know this email thing is has only been around for 52 years. They’re still getting the kinks worked out. I once had an email that just disappeared.” If your email doesn’t make it, don’t worry! Just send it again.
Once your one picture is emailed in, the scoring team sees it along with a sample image for comparison. They will score it either good or not good. Either way, you will receive an email with the results in the subject line. If it is not good, that email will also contain a reason for why the picture wasn’t good enough (not the correct code, maybe your flag is not in the picture, etc).
Here’s an example of a good picture email reply. Note that it gives you the code and a green check mark meaning it was accepted.
And here’s an example of a rejected picture email reply. Again, note that the code is included in the subject line and the email has a reason given for why the picture was not accepted. We will try to be as descriptive as possible. Hint – if the wrong code (or a type) was the reason for rejection, we will try to remember to tell you to resubmit using the correct code.
Once scored, the scoreboard is automatically updated. Here’s an example of what you will see when you visit the new “Scoreboard” page (linked in top menu of website).
You can see the rider’s name and the number of locations in each state. If you click on a rider’s name, you get more information.
Now you can see a list of all the locations the rider has received credit for! The pictures rejected do not show up here (or anywhere else for now).
We are working to add more functionality to the Scoreboard like the overall rally stats and other stuff. It will continue to be a work in progress for a while, but the bones are in place and need to be tested, so start firing away!