Racing Guide
This guide is intended to give you an idea of the different races available on artificial ski slopes in the UK. It is not intended to be a definitive guide, but hopefully it will give you a flavour and whet your appetite for getting started.
There are in the main two types of race: un-seeded and seeded races.
For Details of races this year please visit www.britski.org
Un-seeded Races
You do not need to be registered with a UK National governing body, eg Snowsport Wales, to enter these events and are a good introduction to ski racing. Un-seeded races include schools’ championships and the Gloucester Summer Race League. Seeded racers can enter the un-seeded races, but may be restricted depending on a skiers seed points.
Seeded Races
These are only open to ski racers registered with a UK National governing body, eg Snowsport Wales, and the results of all races are recorded centrally. All registered ski racers have a seed point score and these are adjusted from time to time to reflect race results (more about this later). The seeded races include Club Nationals, Grand Prix races and National Championships. Certain races have seed point restrictions.
| Race |
Seeded |
Seed Point Exclusions |
Description |
| Schools Championships | No | None | Practice through course allowed. Two runs through same course. |
| Gloucester Summer Race League | No |
Males <160 Females <125 |
Practice through course allowed. Two runs through same slalom course. Followed by dual slalom, 3 runs through came course. |
| Club Nationals | Yes | None | Practice through course NOT allowed only course inspection. Three runs through same course, with best time of either of the first two runs plus the third run time to count to total time OR two runs both counting. |
| GBR Indoor & Outdoor Series Races | Yes | None | Practice through course NOT allowed. Course inspection. One run through course, course changed. Another course inspection and run through second course. |
| Welsh & Irish Championships | Yes | None | Practice through course NOT allowed. Course inspection. One run through course, course changed. Another course inspection and run through second course. Combined times for both runs count. |
| English, Scottish & European Championships | Yes | >250 | Practice through course NOT allowed. Course inspection. One run through course, course changed. Another course inspection and run through second course. Combined times for both runs count. |
Seed Points
Everyone starts with 999.99 Seed Points at the beginning of their racing career and the aim is to keep bringing your points down as you improve. Your Seed Points at the end of each year are usually carried forward as your starting Seed Points for the following year. There is a Race Point calculation for each seeded race and this information is used to calculate the Seed Points. Male and Female Race Points and Seed Points are calculated separately. The top racers at the end of the year will have 0.00 Seed Points - there is only one Male and one Female racer with 0.00 Seed Points.
Race Points and race Results calculation
'F' - this is a value given by the International Ski Federation and is used in all races.
Race Points = (Competirors Time / Winners Time) - 1 * F
Race Penalty Point - this is a value calculated from the Seed Points of the best seeded starters and the best seeded finishers. This is calculated as follows.
(A + B - C) / 10
A = the sum of the Seed Points of the 5 best seeded competitors in the first 10 finishers
B = the sum of the Seed Points of the 5 best seeded starters
C = the sum of the Race Points of the 5 best seeded competitors in the first 10 finishers
There are minimum Race Penalty Points as follows.
0 - Open National & European Championships
5 - Closed National Championships, Grand Prix races and Club Nationals (2 run)
10 - Club Nationals (3 run)
The Result for each race is the competitors Race Points added to the Race Penalty Points.
Seed Points calculation
There are two calculations: (i) mid-season; and (ii) end of season.