maybe in prem but it wasn’t that strict at the community level and you had a whole week’s notice. i don’t know if they even bother conducting them anymore at the community level
I think you have to optimize for the masses not the few here.
I still dont understand how only giving someone the option to enter inaccurate information is a step forward?
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I wouldn’t want to exclude the minority of people who lose a lot of weight quickly - they deserve support. But having some kind of reasonable limit would be helpful and I think it’s possible without excluding people who are working hard to lose weight. I suggest the best way to do that would be to have small limits on weight changes in higher categories, and large limits on weight changes in lower categories. It would help to have some science behind the limits on larger changes, and have some fudge factor to allow for hydration and constipation (sorry, had to go there).
Wouldn’t that mean that weight cheating will be worse in the lower categories? I think the lower categories have had enough sandbaggers, and to make the rules less strict for them, will give the wrong signal.
Absolutely, cheating would be more possible in the lower categories, but the assumptions about max weight loss are probably weaker in the lower categories, so it’s reasonable (my opinion) to have more relaxed requirements. An A category rider probably won’t experience massive weight loss, relative to someone who is just gaining fitness. It’s a compromise that reduces exclusion while enforcing something instead of nothing.
Jesus… what crash or poop yourself silly diets are these?! I don’t know if a raw weight would be acceptable at 2 kg on my daughter or wife is a lot different than myself, my father or LeBron James. But maybe a percentage say swings greater than 5% of your previous stated weight and a red flag get raised or a “are you sure this is correct” pop up happens.
If you check my zwift profile, you will see a lot o variation on my weight.
I don’t now the kg value or pourcentage for limitation.
But I think a lot of rider don’t take time to change there weight.
Will be good to have something like :
- In game message to all zwifter performing a race to update their value according to real life.
- automatic popup can be sent every week to user highlighting the fiel weight asking confirmation or update
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Similar here… I lost 38kg in 9 months. I started on Zwift halfway through this…
P. S. I’ve kept the weight off too.
That’s fair, and I’m guessing you had some weeks much different than others. But 38kg in 39 weeks is under the 2kg/week proposal
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Well, the first 22kg came in 6 weeks
The point is that if you restrict the weight loss that can be entered, you’re disincentivising people that are using the platform within their weight loss plan.
Not all Zwift users are good amateur to elite status, some are people just trying to do something to make their lives a bit better.
2kg is too small a margin, I’d even suggest 5kg is
Tim, mega kudos on the weight loss.
However, I can’t agree with the disincentive side.
Losing 5kgs a week is quite severe but for us big lads, it is manageable so a 5% fluctuation would suffice.
If you’ve lost more than that, you would soon get caught up by making the maximum change available each week.
In the meantime, a 100+ kgs rider losing 5% will notice a massive difference in their avatar’s on screen performance which will keep them bouncing all week for sure.
Weight doping, in my humble opinion, is the biggest issue with Zwift and it needs to addressed.
Restricting fluctuations to a specified maximum will help even though it needs to have been implemented from the very beginning.
Based on what evidence please?
Which part, James?
Weight doping…on today’s ride doing Triple Loops in London gave me a perfect example.
I passed lots of avatars that were in workout mode and I could see their ‘screens’ in front of them showing their actual power and I could also see their w/kgs in the leaderboard on the right of my screen.
Very simple maths and it is amazing how many people weigh less than 60kgs…but then look at their profile pics and they are most definitely not a photo of a 60kgs person.
Is it a real problem?
I honestly don’t know but it is enough of a problem for me to doubt most performances on Zwift.
On the rare occasions that I win a podium position, I am incredibly chuffed because my avatar accurately reflects my physical self in height and weight and I monitor my weight on a regular basis, adjusting my avatar up or down as necessary.
You have recently commented on another thread, Cat Enforcement, and seen that someone’s avatar had changed as much as 20kgs in less than week.
It happens and it destroys any validity to Zwift and fair competition.
One problem that is impossible to cancel out is an avatars starting weight.
If someone has already input a disingenuous weight, then a restriction on fluctuations means nothing.
When I first started on Zwift, I also had ‘friends’ in real life.
We organised a Zwift group ride one cold, wintery morning and I got absolutely mullered by the rest of the group.
They disappeared off into the distance and there was nothing I could do about it.
In real life, they can’t touch me so I wasn’t sure what was wrong.
I am quite naive and far too honest for my own good but someone mentioned weight and therein was the explanation.
A quick glance at their profiles and it all becomes clear.
It happens.
Impossible to eliminate.
I just need to remember that Zwift is an online game.
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As long as people can change their weight as they like, we will see subtile changes to stay in a category, or blatant cheating from those who are playing a game.
Yes, it could be that big losers are discriminated by restrictions, but what about all who have to race with cheaters?
With a 5kg limit, you can just as well forget the restrictions.
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I think what frustrates a lot of people is Zwift’s seeming reticence about tackling weight doping. It’s as if they don’t want to go there for fear of alienating people.
Obviously it can’t be eliminated totally, but anything that makes it more of a challenge to perpetrate can only be a good thing, surely.
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@William_Harrison1 did you see this thread 
, we as users can’t event get agreement to limit weight changes.
I am sure if there was a easy fair solution Zwift would go that direction.
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They are probably just detaining it, hoping to have result/ranking based categories out zoon.
Sorry - I should have been more clear. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen and I’m not saying that it’s not a problem, but I think that misconfigured trainers / bad calibration is more of an issue than weight doping.
Similarly, I don’t have any evidence to prove that and just a gut feeling.
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