Powerlifting is one of the most popular sports in the athletic industry. It aims to provide a fair basis to evaluate the raw strength of a powerlifter. To do so, a standardized scoring system is required, as lifters belonging to different weight classes and age groups have distinct muscular strength [1]. The DOTS (Dynamic Object Team Rating System) Score is used for this purpose.
What’s My DOTS Score?
The DOTS Score addresses a fundamental challenge in powerlifting – a way to compare performance across different genders, ages, and weight classes. Without a standardized system of scaling, the results might be skewed and unfair in favor of taller, larger men.
To fix this, DOTS scoring takes into account factors like body weight and gender to provide a more accurate representation of an athlete’s strength relative to their peers and competitors.
For example, a muscular 6’2’’ man will find it much easier to lift 200 pounds as against a smaller athlete. Comparing their performances without taking into consideration their physical and demographic characteristics would lead to flawed and unfair results.
The DOTS score, therefore, uses a dynamic formula to make the competition fairer and more inclusive.
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What is DOTS Score?
DOTS stands for Dynamic Object Team Rating System. It is a scoring system used in the sport of powerlifting to compare the performance of various athletes belonging to different age groups, weight classes, and genders.
The use of a DOTS calculator is a relatively new affair in powerlifting. It quickly rose to popularity and was ranked 2nd in the IPF’s 2020 evaluation of scoring models, behind only the IPF GL formula.
Today, the DOTS score is the go-to scoring system for many powerlifting federations, including USAPL and USPA, for evaluating their best lifters in the non-master category.
In addition to the amount of weight lifted, the DOTS Calculator also takes into consideration the athlete’s body weight and gender. It is mostly used to measure relative performance in the squat, bench press, and deadlift [2].
By considering and including these factors in the formula, the DOTS score levels the playing field and eliminates any advantages or disadvantages that athletes might enjoy because of their physical characteristics.
How are DOTS Scores Calculated?
The DOTS scoring method is highly sophisticated and precise. It basically measures the amount of weight lifted by an athlete relative to their overall body weight.
The DOTS score formula is given as follows:
Dots Coefficient=500/(a+bx+cx2+dx3+ex4)
Where,
- x = the overall body weight of the athlete
- A, B, C, D, and E = fixed standardizing coefficients
In the DOTS equation, the weight of the athlete and the total weight lifted are two key important factors. However, the coefficients play a big role too.
These coefficients are based on the gender of the athlete, making the comparison fair between men and women too. This is vital for standardized comparison, as many pieces of scientific research have concluded that men tend to have more muscular strength compared to women [3].
Based on the gender of the athlete, here’s how you can get the value of the A, B, C, D, and E coefficients:
|
Coefficient Variable |
Men |
Women |
|
A |
-307.75076 |
-57.96288 |
|
B |
24.0900756 |
13.6175032 |
|
C |
-0.1918759221 |
-0.1126655495 |
|
D |
0.0007391293 |
0.0005158568 |
|
E |
-0.000001093 |
-0.0000010706 |
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What is the Difference Between Wilks and DOTS?
The Wilks Score is another method of standardizing the performance of powerlifters across different demographical characteristics [4]. However, it is slightly different compared to the DOTS score.
The first Wilks Coefficient was introduced in 1995. At that time, it was the most widely used formula for comparing the relative strength of different lifters. However, the popularity began to diminish in 2019, when newer methods like the IPF Points system were developed.
The main concern with Wilks scores is that they favored powerlifters on the extreme ends of the spectrum – very light and very heavy (large) lifters.
To fix this criticism, Wilks developed another variation of the method and called it the Wilks 2 or Wilks 2020 coefficient. Despite the update, the formula was not very widely used as IPF had already started using the IPF GL points system.
The formula of Wilks 2 is given as follows:
Wilks Coefficient =600/(a+bx+cx2+dx3+ex4+fx5)
The difference between DOTS and Wilks lies in the formula. While they are similar, the Wilks Score uses 600 as the constant value for standardizing powerlifting performance. In addition, a new coefficient ‘F’ is introduced to eliminate any gender disparity.
The Wilks formula involves dividing a constant by a fifth-degree polynomial with respect to body weight, while the Dots formula entails dividing a constant by a fourth-degree polynomial with respect to body weight.
Is DOTS or Wilks Better?
On the basis of accuracy, acceptance, and consistency across different demographical characteristics, the DOTS Formula is considered to be superior when compared to the Wilks Coefficient.
The main difference between Wilks and DOTS is that the DOTS scoring formula provides a more even distribution of coefficients across different weight classes and genders. So, there isn’t any uneven favoritism towards extremely heavy or light weightlifters.
Overall, the DOTS Score comes second in the overall list of methods used for evaluating powerlifting performance, behind only the Goodlift (GL) formula. There is a huge gap between the second and the third, with the third spot reserved for both Wilks formulas.[5]
Thus, DOTS is generally considered to be superior because its coefficients and constants provide a more accurate value for standardizing outliers or athletes who are extremely small or large.
Wrapping Up
Many methods and formulae have been devised to standardize the comparison of different powerlifters on the basis of their age groups, weight classes, and genders.
Among them, the DOTS (Dynamic Object Team Rating System) is one of the most efficient and accurate. Having already been used by many powerlifting federations, it evaluates powerlifting performance relative to the weight and gender of the athlete.
The dynamic DOTS formula is superior because of the carefully calibrated coefficients and constants that give a fair and accurate representation of a powerlifter’s strength relative to their peers.
With the help of these methods, powerlifting can become more inclusive by eliminating any advantage that certain people might have previously enjoyed.
References
- Role of body size in the relation between muscle Strength: Exercise and Sport Sciences reviews. (n.d.). LWW. https://journals.lww.com/acsm-essr/Fulltext/2003/01000/Role_of_Body_Size_in_the_Relation_Between_Muscle.3.aspx
- Ferland, P., & Comtois, A. S. (2019). Classic Powerlifting Performance: A Systematic Review. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 33(1), S194–S201. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0000000000003099
- Thibault, V. (2010, June 1). Women and Men in Sport Performance: The Gender Gap has not Evolved since 1983. PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3761733/
- Validation of the Wilks powerlifting formula : Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. (n.d.). LWW. https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/1999/12000/validation_of_the_wilks_powerlifting_formula.27.aspx
- Oleksandr Kopayev, Borys Onyshchenko, and Anatoliy Stetsenko (2020) Valuation of Wilks, Wilks-2, Dots, IPF and Goodlift formulas for calculating relative scores in ipf powerlifting competitions https://www.powerlifting.sport/fileadmin/ipf/data/ipf-formula/Models_Evaluation-I-2020.pdf