STRATHMARK

STRATHMARK predicts raw woodchopping times and calculates handicap start marks. STRATHEX is the application judges use to set up events, review marks and enter results. Use STRATHMARK directly when you need the Python library or an API for another application.

Which version should I use?

The current Linux pair is STRATHMARK 3.0.0rc7 + STRATHEX 7.4.2. Judges choose V2 or V3 when creating each event or tournament. A tournament's events and rounds keep that choice. See engine selection.

Run a competition

Start with STRATHEX's quick start. For Linux V3, follow the competition setup guide. It covers the separate Python 3.13 environment, trained model, signing key, backup location and judge workflow. Private models and competition data are supplied by the operator; they are not included in the public package.

The Linux runtime uses Formula and ML. Its LLM council is unavailable, so judges must explicitly review affected fields. The Windows V7 service has different installation and qualification requirements.

Install the V2 library

Use Python 3.10–3.13; Python 3.13 is recommended. In your virtual environment:

python -m pip install "strathmark==2.0.1"
python -c "import strathmark; print(strathmark.__version__)"

Version 2.0.1 preserves the 2.0.0 numeric engine. STRATHEX keeps its reviewed 2.0.0 source dependency. Follow the Python example to calculate a small synthetic field, or Installation for API setup.

For the latest library release candidate, use a separate virtual environment:

python -m pip install --upgrade --pre strathmark

New package versions publish to PyPI automatically after successful main CI. See the package release policy for versioning and recovery.

Try the source-build demo

From this repository, on Linux:

python3.13 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install -e .
strathmark demo

Or on Windows PowerShell, with Python 3.13 installed:

py -3.13 -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
python -m pip install -e .
strathmark demo

The demo calculates a synthetic V2 field and opens no competition database. It is included in the current source build; it is not a command in the older V2 PyPI release.

Understand the marks

A smaller mark starts earlier. A faster expected competitor gets a larger mark and waits longer. Marks are calculated for the complete field, so a heat's displayed marks cannot simply be copied into a final with different competitors.

How handicaps work explains cutting time, start counts, rebasing and the role of officials with worked examples.

Accuracy Preview

The separate preview program is implemented. Its frozen candidate reduced average error from 23.12 to 22.47 seconds on 278 previously examined historical results. That 2.81% improvement misses the 5% qualification target and has no independent future validation. The changes are available in the preview; they are not enabled in competition predictions.

More help

• Wiki: installation, examples and explanations.
• V2 and V3: detailed engine specifications.
• Onboarding: contributor instructions and test isolation.
• Deployment: service qualification and recovery requirements.
• Changelog: release history.

Apache 2.0 license.