What does DNC mean?
| Meaning | Did Not Compete |
|---|---|
| Category | Sports & recreation |
| Type | Code |
The code DNC means Did Not Compete in results tables that define it that way. Equestrian Sports New Zealand uses that legend in its Tokyo Olympic results. It describes participation status, rather than a numerical score or a reason for nonparticipation.
Read the legend before treating a three-letter mark as a value. The cited equestrian results explicitly define DNC as Did Not Compete. That does not make the code a zero, a ranking or an injury report. In our fictional table, one row contains a measured score and another contains DNC. Converting the second row to zero would change a participation marker into a measurement the table did not supply. Keep it as a status when transcribing the record. A second invented summary says a competitor was injured solely because the row is marked DNC. The code supplies no such reason. A fuller explanation would require the event’s own report or another documented source. It is also useful to retain the event and discipline with a copied code: different publishers can use the same letters with different full descriptions. Sailing’s A10 table, for example, specifies starting-area circumstances rather than offering a general result label for every sport. The exercises help preserve the table’s actual information and leave missing information visible.
Meaning in context
- Did Not Compete
- The explicit legend used by the cited equestrian publisher.
- Status and measurement
- A participation marker is not automatically a numerical result or an explanation of absence.
Practical examples
Preserve the status
- Before
Invented table: one score is 8; another cell is DNC. Draft: transcribe the second score as 0.
- After
Retain DNC as a nonparticipation status; the cell supplies no measured score.
Replacing a code with a number adds a value that was not recorded.
Leave the reason unstated
- Before
Invented row: DNC, with no accompanying report. Draft: the competitor was injured.
- After
The row records Did Not Compete; the reason is not supplied.
Nonparticipation can be recorded without the table documenting its cause.
Original illustrative examples, not quotations or reports of actual events.
Read a participation marker
Does DNC in this results table supply a performance value or only a participation status?
See all guidance
Transcribe a result
Keep a code distinct from a measurement.
DNC remains a status in the copied table.
Explain an absence
Find a separate reason record.
The results row alone does not give the reason.
Compare publishers
Retain the event and legend.
A code’s full description belongs to its source table.
Keep Did Not Compete as a participation marker unless the source separately provides a score, placing or reason.
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By AcronymIndex Editorial Team · Editorial policy