"Crazy Pips" Contest Rules

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  Registration and Terms.

  1.1 Participation in the contest is open only to clients of Alpari. Clients with more than one micro.mt4 live account with Alpari may only participate in the contest on one account.

  1.2 Alpari staff, their relatives, and trading accounts registered in the "Formula FX" contest are not allowed to compete.

  Note: If your trading account is already registered in the "Formula FX" contest, you need to open a new micro.mt4 account to participate in "Crazy Pips".

  1.3 You must register to participate in the contest. You may only register once. Registering once will automatically register you in all four rounds of the contest.

  Note: In order to change any personal information that you entered incorrectly during registration, you will need to send a scan of your passport/ID (two-page spread with photo) to contest@alpari.ru. Please note your nickname and any errors in your registration in the email. A contestant can change their personal information up to 2 (two) weeks after their registration in the contest.

  1.4 When registering, every Alpari client must enter the login and password to their micro.mt4live account, as well as a nickname to participate in the contest.

  Note: Your password will be used for authentication only at the moment of registration. You may change your password as soon as the registration is completed. All information in the registration form is protected by a 128-bit encryption key using HTTPS protocol, which prevents access by unauthorized persons.

  1.5 Alpari is obliged to keep all contest contestant information confidential. Only the nickname, country, and city of each contestant is published in the current and overall ratings.

  1.6 After successfully completing registration, the client's account is entered into the register of accounts participating in the "Crazy Pips" traders' contest.

  1.7 To participate in the contest, an Alpari client must register on the company website. To participate in the following rounds, a client does not need to re-register: registration for the current round is possible at any time while the round is in progress. Refer to the schedule indicated in clause 1.12.

  1.8 micro.mt4 accounts can participate in the contest if they use one of the following deposit currencies:

  • USD (US Dollar);
  • EUR (Euro);

  1.9 The minimum deposit on a contest account is:

  • 100 USD or
  • 70 EUR

  1.10 At the beginning of each round (22:00 GMT, when the daily report on completed transactions (Confirmation) is generated), accounts are checked to determine if the equity is greater than or equal to the required minimum deposit. If it the account is determined to have sufficient equity, it is moved to the list of "Active Accounts" and is not subject to being checked again for the duration of the round. Accounts with an equity lower than the required minimum deposit are listed as "Inactive Accounts". Inactive accounts are checked daily at the moment the Confirmation is generated. A contestant whose account is on the "Inactive Accounts" list may deposit funds to his account during the current round. When the account is checked again and shows a sufficient level of equity, the account becomes eligible to re-enter the contest.

  1.11 A contest contestant should read these rules carefully and adhere to them during throughout the contest. Not knowing the rules will not be considered legitimate grounds for a complaint.

  1.12 Date and time information for registration and each contest round is detailed below:

  ROUND 1	Registration from 01.18.2010 to 04.02.2010.	Start — 22:00, 01.18.2010. End — 22:00, 04.03.2010.
  ROUND 2	Registration from 04.03.2010 to 06.25.2010.	Start — 22:00, 04.12.2010. End — 22:00, 06.26.2010.
  ROUND 3	Registration from 06.26.2010 to 09.17.2010.	Start — 22:00, 05.07.2010. End — 22:00, 18.09.2010.
  ROUND 4	Registration from 09.18.2010 to 12.17.2010.	Start — 22:00, 09.27.2010. End — 22:00, 12.18.2010.

  
  

  Note: All time is indicated in GMT.

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  Making Transactions on a Contest Account.

  2.1 Contest contestants shall carry out all operations on their personal micro.mt4 live accounts.

  2.2 Contest contestants have the right to open positions of any size (as is allowed by the free margin on the trading account and restrictions on micro.mt4 accounts).

  2.3 All transactions must be made in accordance with Alpari's "Terms of Business" and other related documents.

  2.4 Refer to the Contract Specification page to familiarize yourself with the instruments that will be traded in the contest.

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  Contest Results, Winners and Prizes.

  3.1 Round winners are determined as follows.

  3.1.1 The Final Rating is determined by two indices:

  • Recovery Factor (Priority A);
  • Minimum Margin Level (Priority B).

  The Recovery Factor index has top priority, followed by the Minimum Margin Level. Index calculation is accurate to the fourth place after the decimal point.

  Note: The formulas for index calculation can be found in the commentary to the contest rules (Commentary #1).

  3.1.2 There are four indices that make up the Plus Ranking:

  • Percentage of Profit (Priority #1);
  • Percentage of Maximum Relative Drawdown (Priority #2);
  • Minimum Margin Level (Priority #3);
  • Profit Factor (Priority #4).

  The Percentage of Profit index is considered first, followed by the Percentage of Maximum Relative Drawdown, Minimum Margin Level, and Profit Factor, respectively. Index calculation is accurate to the fourth place after the decimal point.

  Note: The formulas for index calculation can be found in the commentary to the contest rules (Commentary #1).

  3.1.3 The final rating of a contest contestant is calculated using the following method:

  • a) The Plus Ranking- includes contestants with a positive result, i.e. the current liquid balance is more than the initial deposit (BeginningEquity). The Plus Ranking is formed in accordance with index priority level (see clause 3.1.2). If the Percentage of Profit reading of two or more contestants is the same,placement in the Plus Ranking is determined by the Percentage of Maximum Relative Drawdown (Priority 2). If both the Percentage of Profit and Percentage of Maximum Relative Drawdown readings are the same for two or more contestants, then Plus Ranking placement is determined by the Minimum Margin Level index (Priority 3). If the first three priority readings are the same for two or more contestants, then placement in the Plus Ranking is determined by the Profit Factor index (Priority 4). If ALL the priority readings are the same for two or more contestants, the contestant with the smaller login number to MetaTrader 4 takes a higher place in the rating.
  • b) The Final Rating is calculated for each contestant in the Top 25 of the Plus Ranking, which earns them rating points on each index from clause 3.1.1.
  • c) The contestant who is in first place in the final rating of the Recovery Factor index (i.e. has the best reading of that index) gets 25 points, the contestant in second place 24 points, and so on. The contestant in 25th place gets 1 point. If two or more contestants have the same Recovery Factor reading, the contestant who has a higher standing in the Plus Ranking takes the higher ranking.
  • d) The contestant who is in first place in the final rating of the Minimum Margin Level index (i.e. has the best reading of that index) gets 25 points, the contestant in second place 24 points, and so on. The contestant in 25th place gets 1 point. If two or more contestants have the same Minimum Margin Level reading, the contestant who has a higher standing in the Plus Ranking takes the higher ranking.
  • e) The sum of all points becomes a contestant's Final Rating (IR).

  Note: An example of the Final Rating calculation can be found in the commentary to the contest rules (Commentary #2).

  3.1.4 If two or more contestants have the same Final Rating, the contestant with the highest reading of an index (in order of priority) takes the higher place (see clause 3.1.1). For example, if the Final Rating of two or more contestants is the same, then their placement in the rating is determined by the Recovery Factor index, which is Priority A. If the Recovery Factor reading is also the same, placement in the rating is determined by the Minimum Margin Level (Priority B).

  3.2 The determination of the overall winner from the results of the entire contest is carried out as follows.

  3.2.1 A list of the top contenders is formed from all contest contestants who have a Final Rating from a previous round that is larger than zero.

  3.2.2 An Overall Rating (SR) is calculated for every contestant included on the list of top contenders. The Overall Rating is the sum of final ratings from each round:

  • SR=IR1+IR2+IR3+IR4,
  • where
  • SR — Overall rating;
  • IR1 — Final Rating for the first round;
  • IR2 — Final Rating for the second round;
  • IR3 — final Rating for the third round;
  • IR4 — Final Rating for the fourth round.

  3.2.3 If two or more contestants have the same Overall Rating, the contestant with the higher sum of high priority index readings (see clause 3.1.1) will be ranked higher.

  Priority A is the total sum of the Recovery Factor index:

  • RFtotal=RF1+RF2+RF3+RF4,
  • where
  • RFtotal — Final Recovery Factor reading for all four rounds;
  • RF1 — Recovery Factor reading for the first round;
  • RF2 — Recovery Factor reading for the second round;
  • RF3 — Recovery Factor reading for the third round;
  • RF4 — Recovery Factor reading for the fourth round.

  Priority B is the total sum of the Minimum Margin Level index:

  • MMLtotal=MML1+MML2+MML3+MML4,
  • where
  • MMLtotal — Final Minimum Margin Level for all four rounds;
  • MML1 — Minimum Margin Level for the first round;
  • MML2 — Minimum Margin Level for the second round;
  • MML3 — Minimum Margin Level for the third round;
  • MML4 — Minimum Margin Level for the fourth round.

  If the total sums of the Recovery Factor and Minimum Margin Level reading are the same, first place in the Overall Rating is determined by drawing lots. The method for drawing lots will be determined by the Contest Administration.

  3.3 The overall contest winner is the contestant who has the highest standing in the Overall Rating in accordance with clause 3.2.

  3.4 Alpari publishes the preliminary results (without disclosure of the transaction register) on the company website within four days of the end of a contest round.

  3.5 Preliminary results are subject to appeal for six days after the end of the contest round, after which they become final and are no longer subject to appeal.

  3.6 Winners must request to have their prizes credited to their accounts within 60 days of the end of a round.

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  Prizes
  

  4.1 According to the results of the round, the following contestants will receive prize money.

  4.1.1 Participants ranked in the Top 10, in accordance with clause 3.1, will receive cash prizes in one of the following sums (determined by their ranking), which Alpari credits to the contestant's live account used in the contest:

  Place	Prize
  1st	3,500 USD
  2nd	2,500 USD
  3rd	1,800 USD
  4th	1,200 USD
  5th	600 USD
  6th	350 USD
  7th	250 USD
  8th	200 USD
  9th	150 USD
  10th	100 USD

  
  If two or more contestants end up in with the same ranking (for example, two contestants finish in second place), the prize pool reserved for that place is shared evenly between those contestants.

  Note: There is an example of two or more contestants splitting a prize pool in the commentary to the contest rules (Commentary #3).

  4.2 According to the results of the entire contest, the Top 3 contestants are awarded in accordance with clause 3.2. They receive cash prizes in one of the following sums (depending on their ranking), which Alpari credits to the contestant's live account used in the contest:

  Place	Prize
  1st	8,500 USD
  2nd	6,000 USD
  3rd	3,500 USD

  
  

  If two or more contestants end up with the same ranking (for example, two contestants finish in second place), the prize pool reserved for that place is shared evenly between those contestants.

  Note: There is an example of a split prize pool in the commentary to the contest rules (Commentary #3).

  4.3 A contestant who is awarded with a prize is not allowed to credit the prize to another live account, in particular an account that is not in the name of the contestant. The prize will only be credited to the live account used by the contestant during the contest round.

  4.4 Prizes are credited to a client's live account according to Alpari's internal exchange rates, which are published daily in myAlpari inside the Conversion Rates and Fees section.

  4.5 A contestant can withdraw the prize at any time after the prize is credited to the live account, in accordance with clauses 4.1, 4.2 using any of the withdrawal methods listed on the website.

  4.6 Winners and runners-up are obligated to participate in Alpari promotional events, interviews, photo essays,and public announcements on current promtions. This being said, Alpari is obliged to not to mention any personal information (including full names) of any contestants without their consent.

  4.7 In the case of refusal to participate in promotional events, interviews, public announcements, etc., the Contest Administration has the right to disqualify a contestant and give the prize to the contestant who placed next in the Overall Rating.

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  Complaints and Disputes.

  5.1 All complaints that arise during the contest which are associated with operations on a trading account are considered in accordance with the "Terms of Business".

  5.2 All complaints addressing the results of a round or the entire contest should be sent to contest@alpari.ru noting the contest: "Crazy Pips". Complaints sent by another method (particularly on the Alpari Forum), will not be taken under consideration.

  5.3 In the case that a contestant has a complaint about the incorrect, in his opinion, reflection of his contest account in either of the ratings (Grey or Final), the contestant must, along with all the requirements described in clause 5.2, include their version of the rating calculation, on the basis of which the contestant thinks that their account rating was published on the Alpari website incorrectly.

  5.4 The Contest Administration has the right to reject a complaint in the case that it does not conform to the terms specified in clauses 5.2, 5.3.

  5.5 In any disputes, the Contest Administration will be the sole authority to make final decisions based on common market practice.

  5.6 If it is revealed that a contestant is intentionally using mistakes or inaccuracies in the rating formula calculation or the contest rules to raise the rating of their account, the Contest Administration has the right to warn this contestant of their potential disqualification, and in some cases, disqualify the contestant. Also, in the event of any fraudulent actions by the contestant in their relationship with the Company in general, or in other circumstances, the Contest Administration has the right to disqualify this contestant.

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  Force Majeure.

  6.1 The Contest Administration has the right to suspend or terminate the contest if a situation arises where the conditions are unfair for most contestants.

  6.2 The Contest Administration has the right to suspend or terminate the contest if its continuation is rendered impossible due to extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the Contest Administration (natural disasters, war, political conflict, etc...)

  6.3 In the case of suspension or termination of the contest, the Contest Administration may resume the contest with the same contestants (having saved or restored account data at the moment the contest was suspended), or begin registration again and start the contest again from the beginning. In all cases, the final decision will be made by the Contest Administration and all information on this decision will be posted on the website with reasonable advanced notice.

  6.4 If the contest is not resumed and completed, the results at the moment of suspension will not be used to as a basis for the awarding of prizes.

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  Changes to the Contest Rules.

  7.1 If there is any glaring error in the criteria for selecting a winner, Alpari will make necessary changes in the formulas for the rating calculation.

  7.2 The Contest Rules may be supplemented with any necessary explanatory documents.

  7.3 The final results of each round are not subject to revision.

Commentary to the Contest Rules

• Read Close 1

  Index Calculation Formulas.

  Recovery Factor.

  The Recovery Factor index describes the relationship between the Percentage of Profit and the Percentage of Maximum Relative Drawdown.

  • Recovery Factor = Percentage of Profit / MaxRelativeDrawdown

  Percentage of Profit (%).

  • Percentage of Profit = (EquityDaily-BeginningEquity-(Deposit-Withdrawal)) / (BeginningEquity+Deposit)*100(%),
  • where
  • BeginningEquity — the initial deposit (Equity at the time the Confirmation is generated);
  • EquityDaily — funds (Equity) at the time the Confirmation is generated;
  • Deposit — funds deposited to the account during the round;
  • Withdrawal — funds withdrawn from the account during the round (at absolute value);
  • Equity — current account balance;
  • Equity = Balance + Floating Profit- Floating Loss,
  • Floating Profit/Loss — non-fixed profits/losses on open positions under current rates. 

  Note: Depositing funds worsens the Percentage of Profit index.
  
  

  Percentage of Maximum Relative Drawdown (%).

  

  Drawdown is the difference between one of the highest peaks on the EquityDaily movement chart and the closest lowest peak.

  • Drawdown = MaximumPeak — NextMinimumPeak,
  • where
  • MaximumPeak is the high extreme on the EquityDaily movement chart;
  • NextMinimumPeak is the closet low extreme to the high extreme on the EquityDaily movement chart.

  An example of the Drawdown calculation for the EquityDaily movement chart (Figure 1) is shown below:
  
  DrawDown1 = H1 — L1 = 10012 — 9580 = 432
  DrawDown2 = H2 — L2 = 10036 — 9534 = 502
  DrawDown3 = H3 — L3 = 10404 — 9590 = 814
  DrawDown4 = H4 — L4 = 10772 — 9952 = 820

  Note: Withdrawing funds worsens the Percentage of Maximum Relative Drawdown index.

  MaxRelativeDrawdown (%) determines which maximum losses will be fixed on the account.

  In Figure 1, the main stages of the Relative Drawdown movement are shown in numeric form . The final value of the Relative Drawdown is the drawdown under number "3".

  • MaxRelativeDrawdown (%) = Max of (Drawdown / MaximumPeak * 100) (%),
  • where
  • Max of — "the maximum of";
  • Drawdown — drawdown;
  • Maximum Peak — the high extreme on the EquityDaily movement chart.

  An example of the Relative Drawdown calculation for the EquityDaily movement chart (Figure 1) is shown below:
  
  PercentDrawDown1 = (H1 — L1) / H1 х 100 = (10012 — 9580) / 10012 х 100 = 4.31%
  PercentDrawDown2 = (H2 — L2) / H2 х 100 = (10036 — 9534) / 10036 х 100 = 5%
  PercentDrawDown3 = (H3 — L3) / H3 х 100 = (10404 — 9590) / 10404 х 100 = 7.82%
  PercentDrawDown4 = (H4 — L4) / H4 х 100 = (10772 — 9952) / 10772 х 100 = 7.61%
  Relative Drawdown = 7.82%

  Note: In this example, Relative Drawdown "3" has a lower absolute value than the absolute value of Drawdown "4", but a higher percentage value.

  Minimum Margin Level

  Minimum Margin Level reflects the minimum margin level at the moment a position is opened for the duration of the contest round.

  • MinМаrginLevel = Min of (МаrginLevelDeal),
  • where
  • Min of — "minimum of";
  • МаrginLevelDeal — expresses the relationship of Equity to necessary margin at the moment a position is opened (immediately after opening), or at the start of a round;
  • МаrginLevelDeal = Equity / Margin * 100 (%);
  • Equity — current account balance;
  • Equity = Balance+ Floating Profit- Floating Loss;
  • Floating Profit/Loss — non-fixed profits/losses on open positions under current rates;
  • Мargin — current total deposit.

  Profit Factor

  Profit Factor shows profitability, the relationship between total profits and total losses:

  • Profit Factor = Gross Profit / Gross Loss,
  • where
  • Gross Profit — total profit, the sum of all daily profits;
  • Gross Loss — total loss, the sum of all daily losses;
  • Daily profits/losses = EquityDaily (n) — EquityDaily (n-1);
  • n — date of Confirmation generation.

  Note: Deposit or withdrawal of funds registers on the next day.

• Read Close 2

  Example of the Final Rating Calculation.

  Place	Account	nickname	Recovery Factor (Score)	Min. Margin Level% (Score)	Final Rating
  1st	12345	Gatti	33.93 (18)	729 (21)	39

  
  

  • IR = RFp + MLp = 18 + 21 = 39,
  • where
  • IR — Final Rating;
  • RFp — Number of points (score) for Recovery Factor;
  • MLp — Number of points (score) for Minimum Margin Level.
• Read Close 3

  Example of prize calculation in the case of the Final Rating and Recovery Factor and Minimum Margin Level readings being the same.

  Place	nickname	Recovery Factor (Score)	Min. Margin Level% (Score)	Final Rating	Prize
  1st	Gatti	-	-	45	6,000 USD
  2nd	Gatti1	-	-	43	3,600 USD
  3rd	Gatti2	-	-	39	2,400 USD
  4th	Gatti3	-	-	36	1,800 USD
  5th	Gatti4	-	-	33	1,200 USD
  6th	Gatti6	-	-	30	850 USD
  7th	Gatti7	-	-	29	600 USD
  8th	Gatti8	-	-	28	350 USD
  9th	Gatti9	33.45 (9)	828.03 (18)	27	250 USD
  10th	Gatti10	33.45 (9)	828.03 (18)	27	150 USD
  11th	Gatti11	33.45 (9)	828.03 (18)	27	-

  
  

  In this example, contestants Gatti9, Gatti10 and Gatti11 have the same Final Rating and absolutely equal points for both the trading indexes. Accordingly, the prize pool that is designated for their prizewinning places (9th and 10th) is shared equally between three contestants.

  Prize = prize pool / number of contenders.

  In this example, each contestant receives a prize in the amount of (150 + 250 + 0) / 3 = 133 USD.

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