Inside Edge: Let's explain skiing's point system

World Cup results – The men are starting to get it rolling. Tommy Ford posted a fifth place GS result at Alta Badia, and also finished 16th in the Parallel Giant Slalom. Ryan Cochran-Siegle was close behind with 16th in GS and 17th in the Parallel. Bryce Bennett is quickly proving himself to be a player in Downhill, narrowly missing the Podium and finishing fourth at Val Gardenia. He was followed closely by Steve Nyman in fifth and Travis Ganong in sixth.

Russ Read Memorial – More than 150 athletes from across the Northwest competed in Giant Slalom at Mount Bachelor last weekend. Both SARS and Independence sent contingents. Top local finishers were Quincy Evans, who finished fourth and fifth overall in the women’s race, and Baden Brenner who posted 25th and 30th place finishes for the men. Other competitors were Lara Boge, Slate Fragoso and Wesley Simko, all of whom lowered their points. Speaking of points...

So what’s the point? — The Edge considers it our duty to create informed readers, so we’ll rerun this piece from two years ago that is still relevant today. What good is it to hear that someone “improved their points” if you don’t get the point? Here’s 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, take notes.

Youth Ski League racers (aged 11 years old 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 at age 12, it’s all about standings and points. Medals mean little unless they’re earned a major championship. There are two very similar point systems, one for USSA (US athletes) and one for FIS (international athletes). U.S. athletes are ranked exclusively in the USSA points list from ages 12 to 15. 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 — and lower points are better. The start order is also 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 five entrants and the lowest existing points of five of the top ten 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 the leader 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 1.2 seconds behind me in ninth place. 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 (ranking, if you will) 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, then his or her points will 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 twenties or lower; racers on the World Cup often have points profiles in the single digits. It’s a long road to the top, but it is eminently fair.

Junior Race Series sign-up – Fliers for the January Independence Junior Race Series are at the local ski shops. This popular series features free coaching, lots of prizes, lots of kids and lots of fun! Racers meet four Friday evenings in January from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Historically we get an 80 percent participant return rate, so you better register now. Registration closes Jan. 1st. Forms are at the Alpine Shop and Sandpoint Sports, or can be downloaded at www,independenceracing.com.

Potpourri — Schweitzer is in full operation now, with more snow forecast. Holiday celebrations start this weekend with hot chocolate, carolers, Santa in the village, and even Mr. and Mrs. Claus will be cruising the slopes! Any comments, recommendations or contributions to this column may be sent to Shep Snow by e-mail at shep@thesnowschool.com.