Scoring Rules

The description provided here of the scoring rules used at regional and national masters events is excerpted from the USSA Masters Competion Guide.

Regional Championships Scoring

The 2007 Skier's Edge Regional Championships are open to masters competitors from all regions of the USA and Canada.

Race Awards

Regional championship medals are awarded to the top 3 finishers in each age class for each of the disciplines contested at the regionals.

Regional Champions

The regional championship team is selected based on the results of each competitor within their age class for the three disciplines of SG, GS, and SL contested at the regional championships. The combined scoring for the regional class champions uses the World Cup Points system, which awards points for finish position (25 points for 1st, 20 for 2nd, 15 for 3rd, 12, 11, ... 1 for positions 4 through 15).

The class champion is determined by total World Cup points accumulated in their age class by each competitor in the three events. Ties are broken by the best finish record. If the tie cannot be broken by the best-finish criteria, lowest total race points may be used as an additional criteria.

Combined class winners at the regionals are awarded an embroidered vest recognizing their membership on the regional championship team. In addition to the class champion vest, the regional combined champion in each age class will be granted an automatic slot for entry to the Masters National Championships at Big Sky, Montana . These entries will not count against the members' home division Nationals quota.

National Championships Scoring

The 2007 Skier's Edge National Championships are open to masters competitors from all regions of the USA and Canada. All participants must have a current USSA membership as of Jan. 15, 2007 to be eligible for the nationals. Each division is allocated a quota determined in part by their membership of licensed USSA masters competitors and may determine qualification of their members for the national championships based on differing criteria.

Race Awards

National championship medals are awarded to the top 3 finishers in each age class for each of the disciplines contested at the nationals.

Age Class Combined

The age class Combined results are awarded based on the lowest total race points score accumulated by a competitor for the three events of Slalom, Giant Slalom and Super G. Race points are calculated as the ratio of the competitor's time to that of the class winner, adjusted by a discipline-specific normalization factor set by the FIS which produces a time-based "closeness" ranking that can be compared across events. Because of the time-based scoring formula, competitors must finish all three events to be eligible for the combined.

The class winner anchors the rankings scale in each race with a 0.00 race points score, with the race points of the other finishers in the class increasing relative to their finish time compared to the winner. The lower the competitor's race points, the closer they were to the winner. In very competitive classes, the cumulative race points score can be extremely close and sometimes produces a ranking different than what one might expect when simply considering the finish positions.

Divisions Cup

The Division's Cup winner recognizes the division with the best ratio of results per competitor. A division's score is determined by a formula which takes the total number of Divisions Cup points earned by competitors in a particular division accumulated in the super G, slalom, and giant slalom events, divided by the total number of starts of all competitors in the division in the three scoring events of the national championships.

Points are assigned for competitor finish positions in each class: 5 points for 1st, 4 points for 2nd, 3 points for 3rd, 2 points for 4th, 1 point for 5th. Points are adjusted if there are less than 5 starters in a class so that the maximum number of points awarded in a class is no greater than the number of competitors in that class. In addition, each team must have a minimum of 10 competitors start during the championships to be eligible.

Spyder Masters National Team

The Spyder team is selected based on the total World Cup points accumulated by each competitor for the three events of Slalom, Giant Slalom and Super G at the National Championships. Ties are broken by the best finish record. If the tie cannot be broken by the best-finish criteria, lowest total race points may be used as an additional criteria.

National Speed Series

The 2007 Molecule F National Speed Series will consist of 8 speed events (SG and DH) held in 3 divisions.

Series awards will be presented at the series finale during the national championships to the overall fastest lady, younger man (59 and under), and and older man (60+). Custom belt buckles will also be awarded to the top 3 finishers in each age class for the series. Series scoring is determined by the total World Cup Points accumulated by each competitor in any events of the series (25 points for 1st, 20 for 2nd, 15 for 3rd, 12, 11, ... 1 for positions 4 through 15).