TTR Pro Snowboarding Unveils Next Generation World Snowboarding Points List

Today, TTR Pro Snowboarding announces the launch of the next generation World Snowboarding Points List (WSPL). The new WSPL takes an innovative approach to determining the points level of an event and calculating the ranking points for individual riders competing at an event. The new 10-scale points system introduces three new criteria that are used when determining the number of world ranking points earned by a competitor at an event.

The new points list will remain true to the original core goal of providing an unbiased and independent tool for ranking amateur and professional snowboard athletes, but will now also factor in the following criteria to determine the points level of an event on a floating scale:

· Level of event: Events will be classified into three distinct categories: national, international and elite. More points-earning potential will exist on the elite level (600-1000), less on the international (300-800) and national levels (100-600).

· Quality of field: the ‘quality of field’ criteria will take into account how many top-ranked riders are in attendance at a competition. The more top-ranked riders competing, the more potential to earn a greater number of points.

With the points level being determined by the first two criteria, the ranking points earned by an individual rider at a competition also depends on the number of riders which competed:

· Field size: The calculation of the individual points for each placement takes the field size into account. Points will drop faster for events with small fields and are more gradually spread for larger fields.

The introduction of the new criteria evolves the WSPL into a living, breathing system that constantly adapts for every event. For example, a national level event with the top five ranked riders in the world competing would boost the points earning potential at that event reflecting the challenge of competition. Vice versa, an elite level event with a weak riders field would reduce the points level of the event.

The evolution of the WSPL was initiated by TTR, and was developed by an independent working group consisting of nine experts, including: national federation representatives, coaches, technical ranking professionals and judges for both World Snowboard Tour and FIS competitions.

In addition to making the WSPL more accurate and transparent, the TTR’s objective is for the WSPL to be easily adoptable and free for the snowboarding community to use as a reference and qualification tool. Swiss Snowboard Tour manager and head official, Guido van Meel, is enthusiastic about the new points list saying, “Thanks to the updated WSPL, every snowboarder attending events can compare him/herself directly with all other competitors. This helps national federations with their internal selection and shows a clear athlete pathway from grassroots level to the top.”

Reto Lamm, President of TTR Pro Snowboarding, is looking at the new points list as more progress for the sport saying, “TTR has been working hard to bring transparency to our sport and the new points list is another step in the right direction. The new points list will enable a more straightforward qualification process for elite level events and it’s encouraging to see that national federations are excited to use this as a new reference tool. I personally consider it a most valuable donation from our organization to the sport.”

For a full breakdown and FAQ on how the WSPL 2.0 works, please visit
http://www.worldsnowboardtour.com/world-snowboarding-points-list-riders-protocol/

Author: silvia