The Inside Edge - So what's the point?
• Shiffrin podiums again — Mikaela Shiffrin had another good week, this time at Lienz, Austria where she took Silver in Slalom and Bronze in Giant Slaom, proving she’s a two-event threat for the upcoming Olympics. On the Men’s side, the top US finish in the Bormio Downhill was Travis Ganong at 10th.
• So what’s the point? — The Edge considers it our duty to create informed readers. What good is it to hear that someone “improved his points” if you don’t get the point? So today we’re repeating our tutorial on the US and international points ranking systems. Non-ski coaches will find this interesting as well, since this is the fairest ranking system the Edge has seen in any sport. BCS, look to your laurels…
Youth Ski League racers (14 and under) race in their region, searching largely for individual medals. There are no national “standings” per se, and even if there were, those standings would offer little benefit. However, once a racer reaches “Junior” status, (age 15) it’s all about standings and points. Medals mean little unless they’re earned in a major championship. There are two very similar point systems, one for USSA (US athletes) and one for FIS (international athletes). US athletes are ranked exclusively in the USSA points list at age 14 to 15 years-old. From 16 through adulthood, our athletes are rated on both lists.
So why are points important? Many races are over-solicited, so the entries are screened based upon points standings (lower points are better). Also, the start order is based upon points, with the lower point athletes starting sooner. Obviously, the sooner one starts, the better the course conditions, and the greater the likelihood of finishing well.
How are points earned? Points are earned using an intricate formula that computes the existing points of the fastest ten entrants and the existing points of the fastest 10 finishers, yielding what is called a point penalty. Once the penalty for the race is computed, each finisher receives the penalty plus race points based upon the percent behind he or she finishes — the larger the margin, the more race points assigned.
For instance, if the penalty for a race was 30 points and I won that race, I would leave with a point result of 30. Let’s say you finished in 9th place, 1.2 seconds behind me, you might get penalty points of 30 plus race points of 11 for a 41 point result. Our results are then entered in the database and averaged with our previous best points finish for the type of event. So, if I earned a 30 today and my previous best was a 38, my new points profile would become 34.
So far so good, but why aren’t medals important? Because if a racer seeks races with weak fields and wins every race his or her points would never improve. Instead, racers seek events where the competition is better than them. That way the point penalty is lower than their own profile, and if they ski well they can lower their profile. Every racer starts his career with a 990 point profile. Racers on the US Ski Team have points in the 20’s or below. Racers on the World Cup have points in the single digits. It’s a long road to the top, but it is eminently fair.
• Junior Race Series begins Friday — The registrations are in and the racers meet tomorrow, Friday Jan 3, for the first night of fun. Please be there by 5 p.m. this first night so we can assemble the teams and get any final signatures. There are no late registrations. If you haven’t signed up yet, then you’ll have to wait for next year.
• NW Cup FIS — SARS is hosting FIS racing this weekend on Zip Down. Come watch top 16 and older racers in Super G and Giant Slalom competition. Better yet, come volunteer and be part of the action. Best seat in the house! Call Jamie Landewehr at 946-7859 for further information.
• Potpourri — Any comments, recommendations or contributions to this column may be sent to Shep Snow by e-mail at shep@thesnowschool.com. Negative feedback should be sent to someone else.
The Inside Edge runs every Thursday during ski season in the Daily Bee.