The specifications for the ranking system from 1st January, 2009 are as follows:

a) Determine the points available for distribution

The SAGA determines the importance/strength of rated tournaments and publishes the tournament schedule (please see www.saga.co.za for details) for each year together with the points the winner will receive for each tournament. This figure represents 14% of the total points available for distribution and allows the total points available for distribution to be calculated by multiplying by 100 and dividing by 14.

c) Distribution of points to the top 50 players

Every player in the top 50 is now allocated a percentage of the available points pool. From 14 percent for first, 10.8 percent for second and 8.4 percent for third right down to 0.155 percent for 50th position.

d) Determine the current ranking position

When calculating the current rankings, the points received by a player is aged by subtracting 4 percent for every 1 month the tournament is old. The 20 highest current values of a player's performances are then totalled and divided by 20 to establish the average points for the player. If a player has less than 20 tournaments his total is still divided by 20 thus creating an inertia until such time 20 tournaments has been played.

Please note that in order to be considered for national selection a player must participate in at least two coastal tournaments and two inland tournaments. Participation in at least one of the SA Amateur or the Cape Province Open or the Northern Open is also required.

While the ranking of a player is an indication of his playing strength, other factors are also considered when national teams and/or representatives are selected.