Timely Information for Takedown Scoring and Stats Users

Takedown App 3/15/19 Takedown App 3/15/19

Update: New Video Features

Last summer we added to video recording, review and sharing to Takedown Scoring and Stats.

During this past high school season (2018-2019), about 40% of Takedown users recorded video in the app and produced more than 17,000 match videos. Of these recordings, roughly 13,000 were uploaded to the cloud (team YouTube accounts). Of the videos uploaded to YouTube, roughly 20% were also posted to Takedown LIVE so that fans can view the scoring transcript and video in a single app. Takedown Scoring and Stats, by virtue of a robust and committed user community, is most likely the leading publisher of scholastic wrestling videos on the Internet.

The Cost of Breaking the Top Twenty in Division I Wrestling

How expensive are team points in the NCAA Division I Wrestling Champsionship?

Expenses associated with men's college wrestling are publicly available from the US Department of Education. Team points earned at the championship, as a measure of program performance, is also available. We wondered if there's a relationship between investment and performance using these two available metrics. And we also acknowledge that these metrics can be problematic. There are many ways to measure success and investment, some of which are difficult to quantify. We chose these two metrics because they're available and, in the case of expenses, consistently surveyed and reported. Many would agree, we think, that team points earned in the championship is a measure of program success.

Team points and program costs over the period 2013-14 through 2016-17 for the Top 20 Division I teams in 2018:

Total Expenses

We used four years of expenses to smooth out any year-to-year aberrations. We also wanted to account for the multi-year effort required to earn team points at a specific championship.

Here's a look a the total expenses sorted in ascending order, least to most expensive:

Team Points for Top Twenty

And, here's a look at team points earned for this group:

Cost per Team Point

Dividing expenses by team points earned at the 2018 championship, we get:

Wow, the cost for a team point is all over the map.

Investment v. Performance

Perhaps a better way of looking at costs v. team points is:

Eyeballing the data (and you might eyeball differently), looks like there's a set of teams for which increased investment is resulting in higher performance measured by team points:

Another eyeballing shows a set of teams that are spending way more than South Dakota State and achieving roughly the same results:

Admittedly, as we said in the intro, this is just one way to look at cost-effectiveness of a Division I wrestling program. There are other, perhaps better ways. We used available data, reliably collected and reasonably applied which is a good start.

Click here to get all these charts in PDF format.

Takedown App 3/3/19 Takedown App 3/3/19

Notice of Planned Obsolescence: 50 and 200 Match Purchases

Changes coming to the Takedown Store on September 1, 2019

On September 1, 2019, we will obsolete the 50 and 200 match purchase options in the Takedown Store. Any matches you’ve purchased will be use-able in the app. However, the ability to purchase additional matches in 50 or 200 match increments will no longer be offered. Starting on September 1, 2019, the Takedown Store purchasing options for scoring matches and video recording will be via subscription only, either seven days or a full year as currently implemented.

Why are we doing this?

When we first shipped Takedown Scoring and Stats back in 2013, our intention was to offer a subscription-only app. However, at that time Apple did not permit non-media, e.g. magazines, newspapers, etc., apps to offer subscriptions so we eventually devised the 50 and 200 match purchase options. Since 2013, Apple has revised their developer policies permitting non-media apps such as Takedown Scoring and Stats to use subscription-based in-app purchases.

Importantly for our users, Apple’s subscription service allows for (1) price-protection and (2) multi-device support, neither of which is available when offering what Apple calls “consumable” in-app purchases. Our current 50 and 200 match options are categorized by Apple as “consumable” in-app purchases.

We also believe that reducing the number of purchase options in the Takedown Store will make our offering easier to understand for new users. Lastly, we are able to reduce development investment associated with offering 50/200 match in-app purchases and use those resources on other features and projects.

What this Means for You

Between now and August 31, 2019, 50 and 200 match options will be available for purchase in the Takedown Store. Starting on September 1, 2019, 50 and 200 match options will not be available for purchase in the Takedown Store. Plan your purchases accordingly.

This announcement does not impact subscriptions in any way.

For more information about Takedown Scoring and Stats pricing, see this page.

Takedown App 2/22/19 Takedown App 2/22/19

Video + Stats

We’re excited to deliver video recording, playback and cloud sharing features.

Video + Stats Now Available

Takedown Scoring and Stats newest exciting feature is integrated video along with our marketing-leading scoring capability.

Now, Takedown users can simultaneously record video while scoring a match.

In addition, Takedown will upload match video to the cloud and share to your team with a few taps.

Video can be reviewed from within Takedown or on any desktop, laptop or mobile device.

ScoreSeek(TM) allows the user to advance or rewind to a specific scoring activity or shot attempt.

For a FAQ on this new and exciting feature, click here.

For a list of all tutorials and support articles for this feature, click here.

Takedown App 2/21/19 Takedown App 2/21/19

Paperless Weight Management

Safe weight management is healthy for wrestlers and wrestling. Now, you can do it with minimal effort and time investment.

Our newest feature — Paperless Weight Management — is built into Releae 2.11. More information on this feature here: https://www.levelchanger.com/weight-management

Download this release from the App Store. Recommended for all users.

Does Wrestling Have A Concussion Problem?

Wrestling may or may not have a “concussion” problem in the form of unhealthy or extreme weight loss, perceived by prospective wrestlers or the parent community. To be sure, parents are more attentive to health-related risks associated with contact sports and guide their children accordingly. It is also a fact that high school wrestling participation has been trending down for a number of years.

Fortunately, in most states “official” weigh ins — those associated with competition — are tightly monitored and controlled. On the other hand, how wrestlers manage their weight between competitons is loosely monitored and uncontrolled. Extreme weight loss — up or down — can and does occur in the inter-competition period. Stories abound — and parents are aware — of wrestlers gaining a lot of weight post-competition and losing too much weight just prior to competition. This is risky and potentially unhealthy behavior, especially at pre-college levels. Yet, sanctioning bodies — state or national — exercise no oversight of between competition weights.

Impractical for Many Teams

Coaches are in a difficult spot. Recording weight for each wrestler before or after wrestling practice is time-consuming and labor intensive. Further, , organizing, interpreting and sharing the data is non-trivial. Lastly, alerting wrestlers (and parents) to unhealthy weight excursions is yet another task. Most teams don’t have the time or resources to undertake this effort in a systematic way. Some teams avoid the systematic approach by cherry-picking which wrestlers to monitor or checking weights only as needed or both. In a huge leap of faith, about one-third of coaches delegate to the wrestler the task of keeping their parents apprised of weight-related issues.

Paperless Weight Management is Here

We’ve had paperless weight management in our development plan for a few years but it never made the cut. Late last spring, Befour, a leading supplier of wrestling scales, approached us about a partnership to integrate paperless weight management into Takedown. The timing was right as we were finishing up video and having a heavy-weight (sorry) partner made the opportunity attractive. Befour has proven to be a reliable and helpful partner.

Takedown’s paperless weight management feature makes it easy and time efficient to record weights. In addition, our Reports now include three visualizations — a table and two graphs — that make it easy to identify unhealthy or non-compliant weight loss. These visualizations, like all Takedown Reports, can be emailed or exported in spreadsheet format from within the app. For the first time, a systematic, time-efficient approach to weight management is possible for any wrestling team.

For more details about Takedown’s paperless weight management, see: https://www.levelchanger.com/weight-management .