Alpine Points
The ability to measure one competitor's performance against another is the heart of competitive athletics. In a country as large as the USA, it's important to have measurement tools to evaluate the performance of skiers around the nation. Athlete performance is evaluated through various ranking lists. Athletes competing in scored competitions earn points, which are calculated mathematically to allow ranking lists to be developed. Ranking lists, in turn, are used by U.S. Ski & Snowboard for selection to teams, entry into higher-level competitions and development projects.
Alpine Ranking List Overview
Ski racers are: 1) scored by total points for each seeded competition in which they finish without disqualification, 2) ranked nationally and internationally according to their earned total points, and 3) seeded in subsequent competitions according to their total points earned in previous events. Thus, in ski racing, things are done "by the numbers".
Points are used in ski racing because of the unique character of the sport: there is no precisely defined standard field, track, or course for the competition. To compensate for courses of different length, on widely varying terrain, and on snow surfaces that can differ considerably, the FIS legislated 1) guidelines, such as minimum vertical drop, minimum and maximum number of gates, and gate dimensions, for the setting of courses, and 2) formulas for assigning points by relating a racer’s time to the winner’s time.
For more information on how the points are calculated, see Chapter 2, Points and Rankings, of the Alpine Competition Guide which can be found on the rules page.
Zeroing of National lists to FIS
U.S. Ski & Snowboard lists are zeroed each summer to bring them in line with the FIS points list - so that FIS and U.S. Ski & Snowboard points for a competitor appearing on both lists will be roughly equivalent. This is done by comparing the FIS and U.S. Ski & Snowboard points of the top USA-FIS racers in each gender and event. The zeroing factors shall be such that the average of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard points of these representative competitors after the factors have been added, approaches the average of the FIS points of these competitors. The adders are applied to every U.S. Ski & Snowboard racer’s points.
| DH | SL | GS | SG | AC | |
| Men | 14.30 | 3.01 | 3.10 | 7.24 | 25.00 |
| Women | 16.03 | 4.53 | 6.20 | 13.41 | 25.00 |
| List | National Close | National Valid | FIS Close | FIS Valid | Masters |
| Base List | July 1 | July 1 | |||
| List 1 | July 15 | July 15 | June 29 | July 3 | Dec. 9 |
| List 2 | July 13 | July 17 | July 13 | July 17 | Jan. 8 |
| List 3 | July 27 | July 31 | July 27 | July 31 | Jan. 27 |
| List 4 | Aug. 10 | Aug. 14 | Aug. 10 | Aug. 14 | Feb. 3 |
| List 5 | Aug. 24 | Aug. 28 | Aug. 24 | Aug. 28 | Feb. 24 |
| List 6 | Sept. 7 | Sept. 11 | Sept. 7 | Sept. 11 | March 10 |
| List 7 | Sept. 21 | Sept. 25 | Sept. 21 | Sept. 25 | March 24 |
| List 8 | Oct. 5 | Oct. 9 | Oct. 5 | Oct. 9 | April 7 |
| List 9 | Oct. 19 | Oct. 23 | Oct. 19 | Oct. 23 | |
| List 10 | Nov. 2 | Nov. 6 | Nov. 2 | Nov. 6 | |
| List 11 | Nov. 16 | Nov. 20 | Nov. 16 | Nov. 20 | |
| List 12 | Nov. 30 | Dec. 4 | Nov. 30 | Dec. 4 | |
| List 13 | Dec. 14 | Dec. 18 | Dec. 14 | Dec. 18 | |
| List 14 | Dec. 28 | Jan. 1 | Dec. 28 | Jan. 1 | |
| List 15 | Jan. 11 | Jan. 15 | Jan. 11 | Jan. 15 | |
| List 16 | Jan. 25 | Jan. 29 | Jan. 25 | Jan. 29 | |
| List 17 | Feb. 1 | Feb. 5 | Feb. 1 | Feb. 5 | |
| List 18 | Feb. 22 | Feb. 26 | Feb. 22 | Feb. 26 | |
| List 19 | March 8 | March 12 | March 8 | March 12 | |
| List 20 | March 22 | March 26 | March 22 | March 26 | |
| List 21 | April 5 | April 9 | April 5 | April 9 | |
| List 22 | April 19 | April 23 | April 19 | April 23 | |
| List 23 | June 1 | June 1 | |||
To ensure your membership is processed for inclusion on any list, your membership must be completed at least three days prior to the closing date. Registrations are not considered complete until all requirements are met, including background screening and completion of SafeSport education where required. It is the athlete’s responsibility to ensure their U.S. Ski & Snowboard membership registration is complete; you can contact U.S. Ski & Snowboard member services at 435.647.2666 to check the status of your registration.
U.S. Ski & Snowboard and FIS points are not continuously updated; they are calculated for each new list. For more information on how points are calculated, see chapter 2 of the Alpine Competition Guide which can be found in the Resources section above. Closing and Valid dates for the points list are also listed above.
Single Penalization Situations (sickness, injury, other obligations)
Competitors who are unable to compete in sufficient scored events to maintain their seed points due to injury, illness, studies, military obligations, or church commitments may protect their points through single penalization. Single penalization cannot be requested for lack of calendar opportunities. U.S. Ski & Snowboard and FIS membership must be renewed each year to maintain points, even when an athlete has single penalty protection. For more detailed information, refer to Chapter 2 of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine Competition Guide. You can also find more details on the "Injury Protection List" link at the top of this page, which includes instructions on how to apply for alpine single penalty protection. Single penalty requests must be submitted to U.S. Ski & Snowboard for both FIS and U.S. Ski & Snowboard by April 15 of the competition season.
If you have a question regarding your U.S. Ski & Snowboard or FIS points or ranking, or an event result, please be sure to provide U.S. Ski & Snowboard with sufficient details to help you. Most notably, indicate your sport (alpine, cross country, freestyle, etc.).
- Name of athlete and U.S. Ski & Snowboardnumber (if known)
- Sport (alpine, cross country, freestyle, nordic combined, ski jumping, snowboard)
- U.S. Ski & Snowboard or FIS issue
- U.S. Ski & Snowboard or FIS event ID (if appropriate and known) or location and date(s)
- Your specific question
Click below to send an email with your specific question or contact:
Margo Yatkeman, National Rankings Coordinator
435.647.2037
[email protected]
Resources
View AllAlpine Points List Downloads
Download the list you want by clicking on the valid date in the table to the left.
To Lookup an athlete's current points, ranking, and race results use the Member tools.