National Points - What are they?

NATIONAL POINTS SYSTEM – “POINTS TO PONDER”

Nothing is more confusing to newcomers to ski racing than "POINTS"...
In part this is due to the fact that the simple expression "points" can refer to RACERS CURRENT POINTS VALUE in each discipline (slalom, giant slalom, super G and downhill) as shown on the NATIONAL POINTS LIST or FIS LIST or we could be referring to RACE POINTS or to PENALTY POINTS. POINTS will be used here to refer to the points a racer has in each discipline and we will lead the reader through the names of points, their use and the various expressions using or referring to points.
Without a thorough understanding of POINTS, race entry forms cannot be completed, the start lists produced and race results cannot be made. Expressions like "chasing points", "point fixing", "no result", "and giving away points" and "good or bad penalty" cannot be understood. It is important that ski officials understand points. That is why POINTS figure, prominently in Level II and higher officials courses.
What follows is a basic primer on POINTS. It is intended for both those who need to know (coaches and race officials) as well as for those who want to know (parents and new racers).

Points - Who Needs Them?

Most sports have devised methods of turning athlete’s performance into numbers. The numbers tell us the times taken to walk, run or swim specified distances, heights cleared and distances the javelin; shot-put or discus has been thrown. The golfer’s handicap and the ball player’s batting average are also examples of evaluation of performance and can be compared on a one to one basis. Points in skiing numerically compare the ability of one racer to another by converting the times taken to complete the race: to a numerical value then adjusting that value to reflect the quality of the race.

Meet John & Judy Mogull

Our discussion begins with the twins John and Judy MOGULL (born June 1998). John and Judy are leaving the Nancy Greene Husky Snow Stars Program and entering the K1 program. All competitors must have a Competitors Card; therefore it is extremely important that parents complete the ACA Form which is included in the Registration process. The ACA Form is required for insurance purposes, for tracking of every competitor on the NATIONAL POINTS LIST and for entry into any sanctioned race. The WSRC Administrator makes the application to Alpine Canada for each athlete. Once the application has been processed, John and Judy's names will appear on the National Points List but, as new racers, they will have a points value of 999.99 shown against their name for all disciplines. This means that for the National Points List they have no earned points at all.
For the rest of their skiing career, John and Judy will be trying to REDUCE or LOWER the number of points they have in each discipline in which they participate. Remember the lower the point’s value, the better the racer.  What follows is how they do it!

Entering a Race

John and Judy’s Coach enters them, along with the other first and second year K1s, in their first race, a Slalom (SL). The race entry is usually faxed or emailed to the Race Secretary for the event at least a week in advance of the race. John and Judy are eligible CARDED racers (i.e. have a registered competitors card) and appear on the National Points list. The Race Secretary puts all the entries into a computer and prints both boys and girls list of competitors in order of points - low points through 624.99, then all those athletes with no points value, 999.99. Remember the lower the point’s value, the better the racer. Since this is their first race, John and Judy are in the last group of racer’s, those with no points earned.

The Coaches (Team Captains) Meeting

The Coaches or Team Captains meeting is held the evening before the race. The Race Organizing Committee (ROC) for the event also attends this meeting and the Technical Delegate (TD) appointed to the race. There are many matters are dealt with at this meeting including things that will affect the competitors’ POINTS, therefore, our focus is on the draw.

The Draw

The Draw is the procedure used to create the start lists for the first run of the boys and girls races. It begins with a careful review of the race entries prepared by the Race Secretary to confirm that all names and points are correct. Errors, if any, are corrected and any last minute changes are made. John and Judy, as expected, appear in alphabetical order among athletes with no points earned, 999.99, at the end of their respective lists - at the Back of the Pack!
A computer program (Measures) now does the actual draw which was once done by hand. There are different ways of generating a Start List, but the following is the most commonly used. Whatever method is chosen, the ROC, Coaches, and Technical Delegate have agreed to the process. The computer takes the 15 athletes with the lowest points (the First Seed) and assigns them randomly to the first 15 start positions. The remaining racers, except for those with no earned points (999.99), are assigned start positions from 16 and up according to their points - lowest point holders to the highest point holders. The computer then does another random draw for all 999.99 athletes and assigns them to the remaining start positions.
Coaches and officials then check the start lists and if everyone is satisfied, the Start Lists are approved and each racer is given a Bib number, which corresponds with their start position on the Start List.

The Race

Since this is a slalom (SL), the race consists of two runs with the winner having the lowest combined times. Generally, each run is on a different course. In most races, all racers ski the same course with the girls racing first. Racers start in the order they appear on the first run Start List which was approved at the Draw.
The time each racer takes to complete the first run is recorded to the nearest 100th of a second. These times are normally posted on the scoreboard so that racers and coaches have that information. John and Judy complete their first run successfully.
After the first run has been completed, there is a break during which the racers warm up and eat lunch, the course for the second run is set and the Race Secretary produces the second run start list or bib order. This is again normally done on the computer.
Remember that the start order for the first run was based on the points of all entries with random assignment of numbers for the lowest 15 point holders and for new racers at the end of the pack. However, the start order for the second run is based on the Times from the first run. Racers generally appear on the Start List for the Second Run in order of their finish result from the first run - lowest time to highest time - except for the first fifteen who are listed in reverse order of finish on the first. Thus the boy and girl with the fastest time on the first run start in the 15th position on the second run and the boy and girl finishing 15th on the first run are the first to start the second run. The remaining racers are sorted according to their time in the first run - lowest through highest - and start in that order.
Judy was the 25th fastest girl in the first run and therefore starts 25th in the second run. John was 63rd and starts in that position for the second run.

Closing the Loop

At the end of the race, the ROC and TD complete all of the calculations for that race. Most of these are done electronically through the Measures program; however, before this is completed, the TD has the responsibility of ensuring that all of the calculations are correct, in addition to ensuring that all of the racers on the Start list started and finished the race, and were not disqualified by a Gate Judge. Once this is completed, the Race results are generated and the points associated with the race are also determined. The race results are then sent to Alpine Canada and based on these results the National points for each athlete who competed in the race are calculated. This is a mathematical calculation, and the formula is available on the ACA Points website. The National points are updated weekly on Tuesday nights throughout race season. The Race CODEX/Results page on the ACA website provides the final race results for each race. Until this information is on the ACA website, the National Point calculation for the athletes is not updated. That is how Points are calculated and how racers try to reduce their National Points in each discipline in which they race.

Conclusion

Race Points Rank Competitors in a Particular event. National points rank competitors across Canada for each discipline, for all age groups, for males and females. That's it.... all you need to know (for now) about Points. Reviewing a race result package with your coach or official is a good idea.
John and Judy will be surprised and pleased when you ask about their points or whether a race had a good (low) penalty.
Now you can help introduce new racers and ski club members to the wonderful world of Points!

For more information on points, please go to the Alpine Canada ACA Points website.  www.acapoints.ca

At this site you can see the Points Profile for your racer. You can further see where your racer ranks against other athletes of the same sex and age category, in your club, in their division, in your province, and in Canada.  The data is available in a number of ways and can be manipulated by copying and pasting information into an Excel spreadsheet.  This allows you to sort information by discipline, and will allow you to include racers from more than one province in your information gathering.  Alpine Canada views Atlantic Canada (Canada East) as one group for purposes of determining quota for National events, therefore athletes from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland are ranked as a group when making quota decisions. More information on this is available from your Coach and at www.alpineskinovascotia.ca