After an Eastern Cup or other USSA race there is often an edgy waiting period as athletes and parents eagerly refresh the JNQ standings in hopes of seeing the “points” scored at an event.
Those wanting to know their points sooner often had to break out the calculator and crank through some formulas (see below)…but those days are over thanks to MNC Masters Coach Pete Hegman’s website XCPointsCalculator. The site is user-friendly, and eliminates the need for complicated math!
What are NENSA points, USSA points and FIS points? That is best explained HERE. In essence, various “points” systems are a way to measure race performance fairly in a sport where the depth and size of the field may change drastically. The Eastern Cup Opener at Craftsbury featured about 200 athletes per race, making a top-10 a pretty remarkable feat of success. Conversely, a smaller Eastern Cup at a venue like Rumford might feature 60 athletes. Is a top-10 there equivalent? Points can tell you!
Since points are typically based on a calculation involving the percent back from the winner, being closer to the winning time in a big race with high-level competition (e.g. racers with lower points to create the penalty from) will often yield great points. Finishing with a better overall place in a race with weaker competition will not always lead to better points…which is why points help keep things fair!
Junior National rankings are determined by a points average. For U16 racers the best 3 races are counted, and for U18/U20 rankings the best 4 are counted.
Looking at past seasons, you can see a more objective view of how MNC racers stacked up this past weekend, especially in the distance skate race!
Eliza Thomas:
2014/15 best points race: 258.59
Sunday EC skate points: 201.42
Will Solow:
2014/15 best points race: 198.15
Sunday EC skate points: 172.87
Kai Richter:
2014/15 best points race: 211.28
Sunday EC skate points: 182.07
Baxter Bishop:
2014/15 best points race: 240.42
Sunday EC skate points: 193.33
Greg Burt:
2014/15 best points race: 181.17
Sunday EC skate points: 122.74
Peter Unger
2014/15 best points race: 304.96
Sunday EC skate points: 228.11
To be fair, since the race was a 5k for all this means that times for everyone were fast and racers will automatically be closer to the winning time. That being said, it is cool to see that, objectively speaking, Sunday’s race were some of the best Eastern Cup performances of the MNC athlete’s careers!
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