FIS Alpine Ski World Cup

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For current season, see 2016 Alpine Skiing World Cup.
Alpine Ski World Cup
Pirmin Zurbriggen 1988.jpg
Genre Alpine skiing
Location(s) Europe
Canada
United States
Japan (rarely)
Russia (rarely)
Australia (rarely)
Argentina (rarely)
South Korea (rarely)
New Zealand (rarely)
Inaugurated 5 January 1967 (5 January 1967) (men)
7 January 1967 (7 January 1967) (ladies)
Founder France Serge Lang
France Honore Bonnet
United States Bob Beattie
Organised by International Ski Federation
People Italy Markus Waldner (men)
Norway Atle Skårdal (ladies)
Sponsor Audi Quattro

The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France (Honore Bonnet) and the USA (Bob Beattie).[1] It was soon backed by International Ski Federation (FIS) president Marc Hodler during the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1966 at Portillo, Chile, and became an official FIS event in the spring of 1967 after the FIS Congress at Beirut, Lebanon. The first World Cup ski race was held in Berchtesgaden, West Germany, on January 5, 1967. Jean-Claude Killy of France and Nancy Greene of Canada were the overall winners for the first two seasons.

Competitors attempt to achieve the best time in four disciplines: slalom, giant slalom, Super G, and downhill. The fifth event, the combined, employs the downhill and slalom. The World Cup originally included only slalom, giant slalom, and downhill races. Combined events (calculated using results from selected downhill and slalom races) were included starting with the 1974–75 season, while the Super G was added for the 1982–83 season. The current scoring system was implemented in the 1991–92 season. For every race points are awarded to the top 30 finishers: 100 points to the winner, 80 for second, 60 for third, winding down to 1 point for 30th place. The racer with the most points at the end of the season in mid-March wins the Cup, with the trophy consisting of a 9 kilogram crystal globe.[2] Sub-prizes are also awarded in each individual race discipline, with a smaller 3.5 kg crystal globe. (See the section on scoring system below for more information.)

The World Cup is held annually, and is considered the premier competition for alpine ski racing after the quadrennial Winter Olympics. Many consider the World Cup to be a more valuable title than the Olympics or the biennial World Championships, since it requires a competitor to ski at an extremely high level in several disciplines throughout the season, and not just in one race.[3]

Races are hosted primarily at ski resorts in the Alps in Europe, with regular stops in Scandinavia, North America, and east Asia, but a few races have also been held in the Southern Hemisphere. World Cup competitions have been hosted in 25 different countries around the world: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.[4] (Note that all World Cup races hosted at ski resorts in Bosnia and Slovakia were held when those countries were still part of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia respectively.)

Lower competitive circuits include the NorAm Cup in North America and the Europa Cup in Europe.

Overall winners

Multiple individual overall World Cup winners are marked with (#). For a complete list of winners in each discipline, see Alpine Skiing World Cup Men and Alpine Skiing World Cup Women.

Overall Titles

The following skiers have at least three overall alpine World Cup titles.

Discipline Titles

Combined titles counted from 2007-2012 when crystal globe was awarded. The records for most World Cup titles in each discipline are as follows:

Discipline Men Ladies
Name Country Titles Name Country Titles
Downhill Franz Klammer  Austria 5 Annemarie Moser-Pröll
Lindsey Vonn		  Austria
 United States		 7
Super G Hermann Maier
Aksel Lund Svindal		  Austria
 Norway		 5 Katja Seizinger
Lindsey Vonn		  Germany
 United States		 5
Giant Slalom Ingemar Stenmark  Sweden 8 Vreni Schneider    Switzerland  5
Slalom Ingemar Stenmark  Sweden 8 Vreni Schneider    Switzerland  6
Combined Ivica Kostelić  Croatia 3 Lindsey Vonn  United States 3

For a complete list of winners in each discipline, see Alpine Skiing World Cup Men and Alpine Skiing World Cup Women.

Greatest alpine skiers of all-time

Based on ski-database super ranking system (since 1966). This is a scoring system calculating points together from three categories: Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cup (overall titles, discipline titles and individual top 10 results).

Super Ranking: Men

  • As of 12 January 2016

Super Ranking: Ladies

  • As of 12 January 2016

Most World Cup wins in each discipline

The records for most World Cup wins in each discipline are as follows (as of 10 January 2016):

Discipline Men (Top 3) Ladies (Top 3)
Name Country Wins Name Country Wins
Downhill Franz Klammer
Peter Müller
Stephan Eberharter		  Austria
   Switzerland 
 Austria		 25
19
18		 Annemarie Moser-Pröll
Lindsey Vonn
Renate Götschl		  Austria
 United States
 Austria		 36
36
24
Super G Hermann Maier
Aksel Lund Svindal
Pirmin Zurbriggen		  Austria
 Norway
   Switzerland 		 24
14
10		 Lindsey Vonn
Renate Götschl
Katja Seizinger		  United States
 Austria
 Germany		 26
17
16
Giant Slalom Ingemar Stenmark
Ted Ligety
Michael von Grünigen		  Sweden
 United States
   Switzerland 		 46
24
23		 Vreni Schneider
Annemarie Moser-Pröll
Anita Wachter
Lise-Marie Morerod
Tina Maze		    Switzerland 
 Austria
 Austria
   Switzerland 
 Slovenia		 20
16
14
14
14
Slalom Ingemar Stenmark
Alberto Tomba
Marcel Hirscher		  Sweden
 Italy
 Austria		 40
35
17		 Marlies Schild
Vreni Schneider
Erika Hess		  Austria
   Switzerland 
   Switzerland 		 35
34
21
Combined Marc Girardelli
Pirmin Zurbriggen
Phil Mahre		  Luxembourg
   Switzerland 
 United States		 11
11
11		 Hanni Wenzel
Annemarie Moser-Pröll
Brigitte Oertli		  Liechtenstein
 Austria
   Switzerland 		 8
7
7

Various records

Category World Cup
Season(s) Men Record   Season(s) Ladies Record
Prize money in CHF (single season) 2000 Austria Hermann Maier 660,000 2013 Slovenia Tina Maze 701,797
Overall points 2000 Austria Hermann Maier 2000 2013 Slovenia Tina Maze 2414
Margin of victory 2001 Austria Hermann Maier 743 2013 Slovenia Tina Maze 1313
Avg. points per race (participated races) 2013 Austria Marcel Hirscher 77 2013 Slovenia Tina Maze 69
Avg. points per race (all races in a season) 2000 Austria Hermann Maier 50 2013 Slovenia Tina Maze 69
Overall leader (complete season) 2005 United States Bode Miller 36 2013 Slovenia Tina Maze 35
Overall titles 1980–1996 Luxembourg Marc Girardelli 5 1969–1980 Austria Annemarie Moser-Pröll 6
Consecutive overall titles 2012–2015 Austria Marcel Hirscher 4 1971–1975 Austria Annemarie Moser-Pröll 5
Discipline titles 1975–1984 Sweden Ingemar Stenmark 16 2008–2015 United States Lindsey Vonn 15
Discipline titles (single season) 1967
1987
2000
2001		 France Jean Claude Killy
 Switzerland  Pirmin Zurbriggen
Austria Hermann Maier
Austria Hermann Maier		 3 2010
2011
2012
2013		 United States Lindsey Vonn
United States Lindsey Vonn
United States Lindsey Vonn
Slovenia Tina Maze		 3
All titles 1975–1984 Sweden Ingemar Stenmark 19 2008–2015 United States Lindsey Vonn 19
Wins (single season) 1979
2001		 Sweden Ingemar Stenmark
Austria Hermann Maier		 13 1989  Switzerland  Vreni Schneider 14
Most wins at one venue (single discipline) 2008–2016
2006–2016		 United States Ted Ligety
Norway Aksel Lund Svindal		 6 2005–2016 United States Lindsey Vonn 14
Podiums (single season) 2000 Austria Hermann Maier 22 2013 Slovenia Tina Maze 24
Top 10s (single season) 1999 Norway Kjetil André Aamodt 28 2013 Slovenia Tina Maze 32
5 discipline winners (single season) 1989 Luxembourg Marc Girardelli 9 1991
2006
2013		 Austria Petra Kronberger
Croatia Janica Kostelić
Slovenia Tina Maze		 8
9
11
Total wins 1975–1989 Sweden Ingemar Stenmark 86 2005–2016 United States Lindsey Vonn 73
Total podiums 1974–1989 Sweden Ingemar Stenmark 155 2002–2016 United States Lindsey Vonn 120
Top 10 results 1990–2006 Norway Kjetil André Aamodt 231 1993–2009 Austria Renate Götschl 198
World Cup starts 1997–2014 United States Bode Miller 438 1993–2009 Austria Renate Götschl 408
Winner with the highest start No. 1994 Liechtenstein Markus Foser 66 1994 Slovenia Katja Koren 66
Youngest race winner 1973 Italy Piero Gros 18.1 1973 Germany Pamela Behr 16.2
Oldest race winner 2012  Switzerland  Didier Cuche 37.5 2015 Austria Elisabeth Goergl 33.8
Consecutive wins (all disciplines) 1977–1978 Sweden Ingemar Stenmark 10 1989  Switzerland  Vreni Schneider 10
Consecutive wins (single discipline) 1978–1980 Sweden Ingemar Stenmark 15 1989–1990  Switzerland  Vreni Schneider 12
Consecutive podiums (all disciplines) 1979–1981 Sweden Ingemar Stenmark 41 1979–1980  Switzerland  Marie-Therese Nadig 14
Consecutive podiums (single discipline) 1977–1982 Sweden Ingemar Stenmark 37 1971–1974 Austria Annemarie Moser-Pröll 23
Top speed (kph) 2013 France Johan Clarey 161.9 - - -

NOTE: Only crystal globe awarded discipline officially counts as titles. And medal's awarded DH, GS, SL disciplines in seasons 1967-1977 as well. Combined crystal globe was officially awarded only in seasons 2007-2012.

Most successful race winners

A common measurement on how good individual skiers are is often the total number of World Cup races won during the skiing career. The following skiers have won at least 20 World Cup races:

See also the complete list of FIS Alpine Ski World Cup race winners – Men
Rank Men Career Victories DH SG GS SL KB PSL PGS
1 Sweden Ingemar Stenmark 1973–1989 86 – – 46 40 – – N/A
2 Austria Hermann Maier 1996–2009 54 15 24 14 – 1 – N/A
3 Italy Alberto Tomba 1986–1998 50 – – 15 35 – – N/A
4 Luxembourg Marc Girardelli 1980–1996 46 3 9 7 16 11 – N/A
5  Switzerland  Pirmin Zurbriggen 1981–1990 40 10 10 7 2 11 – N/A
6 Austria Benjamin Raich 1996–2015 36 – 1 14 14 7 – N/A
Austria Marcel Hirscher 2008–active 36 – 1 17 17 – 1 –
8 United States Bode Miller 1997–active 33 8 5 9 5 6 – –
9 Norway Aksel Lund Svindal 2001–active 30 11 14 4 – 1 – –
10 Austria Stephan Eberharter 1989–2004 29 18 6 5 – – – N/A
11 United States Phil Mahre 1975–1984 27 – – 7 9 11 – N/A
12 Austria Franz Klammer 1972–1985 26 25 – – – 1 – N/A
Croatia Ivica Kostelić 1998–active 26 – 1 – 15 9 1 –
14 United States Ted Ligety 2006–active 25 – – 24 – 1 – –
15  Switzerland  Peter Müller 1977–1992 24 19 2 – – 3 – N/A
Italy Gustav Thöni 1969–1980 24 – N/A 11 8 4 1 N/A
17  Switzerland  Michael von Grünigen 1989–2003 23 – 23 – – – N/A
18 Norway Kjetil André Aamodt 1989–2006 21 1 5 6 1 8 – N/A
 Switzerland  Didier Cuche 1993–2012 21 12 6 3 – – – N/A
See also the complete list of FIS Alpine Ski World Cup race winners – Women
Rank Ladies Career Victories DH SG GS SL KB PSL PGS
1 United States Lindsey Vonn 2000–active 73 36 26 4 2 5 – –
2 Austria Annemarie Moser-Pröll 1969–1980 62 36 N/A 16 3 7 – N/A
3  Switzerland  Vreni Schneider 1984–1995 55 – – 20 34 1 – N/A
4 Austria Renate Götschl 1993–2009 46 24 17 – 1 4 – N/A
5 Sweden Anja Pärson 1998–2012 42 6 4 11 18 3 – N/A
6 Austria Marlies Schild 2001– 2014 37 – – 1 35 1 – N/A
7 Germany Katja Seizinger 1989–1998 36 16 16 4 – – – N/A
8 Liechtenstein Hanni Wenzel 1972–1984 33 2 – 12 11 8 – N/A
9  Switzerland  Erika Hess 1978–1987 31 – – 6 21 4 – N/A
10 Croatia Janica Kostelić 1998–2006 30 1 1 2 20 6 – N/A
11 Germany Maria Höfl-Riesch 2001-2014 27 11 3 – 9 4 – N/A
12  Switzerland  Michela Figini 1983–1990 26 17 3 2 – 4 – N/A
Slovenia Tina Maze 1999–active 26 4 1 14 4 3 – –
14  Switzerland  Maria Walliser 1980–1990 25 14 3 6 – 2 – N/A
Austria Michaela Dorfmeister 1991–2006 25 7 10 8 – – – N/A
16 Sweden Pernilla Wiberg 1990–2002 24 2 3 2 14 3 – N/A
 Switzerland  Marie-Theres Nadig 1971–1981 24 13 N/A 6 – 5 – N/A
 Switzerland  Lise-Marie Morerod 1973–1980 24 – N/A 14 10 – – N/A
19 France Carole Merle 1981–1994 22 – 12 10 – – – N/A
20 Germany Hilde Gerg 1993–2005 20 7 8 – 1 3 1 N/A
  • Note: Only parallel events from (1975, 1997, 2011-2013) which count for overall ranking, included on this list, are considered as official individual World Cup victories.

20 wins and more in Speed/Technical Events

  • NOTE: Super G not contested at that time.
  • NOTE: Parallel events are not included in the list as slalom wins.

Top results

  • NOTE: Only parallel events from (1975, 1997, 2011-2013) which count for overall ranking, included on this list, are considered as official individual World Cup victories.

All-event winners

Only a few of the most versatile racers have ever managed to win races in all five World Cup alpine skiing disciplines during their career, as listed in the table below. Marc Girardelli (1988–89), Petra Kronberger (1990–91), Janica Kostelić (2005–6) and Tina Maze (2012–13) are the only skiers to have won all five events in a single season. Of these, Tina Maze is the only one to have won five different events in a row within a single season (2012-13, between December 16 and March 2). Bode Miller is the only skier with at least five World Cup victories in all five disciplines. Since the combined was not introduced until the 1974–75 season and the Super G until 1982–83, the following list also includes those racers who won races in all disciplines contested during their World Cup careers (events not contested are marked by NA).

Times = number of times an all-event win cycle was completed
Seasons = number of seasons in which an all-event win cycle was achieved

Michèle Jacot, the only female French alpine skiing World Cup overall winner (1970), would be part of this list, if only she had finished her career (1968–1975) one year earlier; from 1969–1971 she achieved 10 victories (1 downhill, 6 giant slaloms, 3 slaloms), but in her last season 1974–75 the combined was introduced, and she could not add a victory in this discipline.

Most race wins in a single season

The following skiers have won at least 10 World Cup races in a single season (events not available in a given season are marked by NA):

Ladies

Name Season Victories DH SG GS SL KB
 Switzerland  Vreni Schneider 1988–1989 14 – – 6 7 1
United States Lindsey Vonn 2011–2012 12 5 4 2 – 1
Austria Annemarie Moser-Pröll 1972–1973 11 8 NA 3 – NA
Sweden Anja Pärson 2003–2004 11 – – 5 6 –
United States Lindsey Vonn 2009–2010 11 6 4 – – 1
Slovenia Tina Maze 2012–2013 11 1 1 5 2 2
Austria Annemarie Moser-Pröll 1974–1975 10 2 NA 5 – 3

Timeline calendar

World Cup hosting countries
Season   Men   Ladies   Team event
DH SG GS SL KB PSL PGS Total DH SG GS SL KB PSL Total Total
1967 5 - 5 7 - - - 17 4 - 6 7 - - 17 -
1968 5 - 7 8 - - - 20 6 - 7 10 - - 23 -
1969 6 - 7 9 - - - 22 4 - 7 9 - - 20 -
1970 6 - 11 11 - - - 28 5 - 9 12 - - 26 -
1971 7 - 8 9 - - - 24 6 - 8 9 - - 23 -
1972 7 - 7 7 - - - 21 7 - 7 7 - - 21 -
1973 8 - 8 8 - - - 24 8 - 8 8 - - 24 -
1974 7 - 7 7 - - - 21 5 - 6 6 - - 17 -
1975 9 - 7 7 3 1 - 27 8 - 7 7 3 1 26 -
1976 8 - 7 7 3 - - 25 7 - 8 8 3 - 26 -
1977 10 - 10 10 3 - - 33 8 - 8 8 3 - 27 -
1978 8 - 7 7 - - - 22 7 - 8 7 - - 22 -
1979 9 - 10 10 4 - - 33 7 - 7 8 4 - 26 -
1980 7 - 8 8 4 - - 27 7 - 8 9 4 - 28 -
1981 10 - 11 10 5 - - 36 10 - 9 9 5 - 33 -
1982 10 - 9 9 5 - - 33 8 - 9 10 4 - 31 -
1983 11 3 7 11 5 - - 37 8 2 7 9 4 - 30 -
1984 10 4 8 10 5 - - 37 8 2 7 11 6 - 34 -
1985 10 5 6 10 5 - - 36 8 4 7 10 4 - 33 -
1986 13 5 7 13 7 - - 45 10 5 8 9 5 - 37 -
1987 11 5 8 8 2 - - 34 7 5 8 10 1 - 31 -
1988 10 4 6 8 2 - - 30 8 4 6 8 2 - 28 -
1989 10 4 6 8 3 - - 31 8 4 7 7 2 - 28 -
1990 9 6 7 10 2 - - 34 8 6 8 9 2 - 33 -
1991 8 3 7 9 1 - - 28 9 5 6 7 2 - 29 -
1992 9 6 7 9 3 - - 34 7 6 7 8 2 - 30 -
1993 10 7 6 8 3 - - 34 9 6 7 8 2 - 32 -
1994 11 5 9 8 2 - - 35 7 6 9 10 2 - 34 -
1995 9 5 7 9 2 - - 32 9 7 8 7 1 - 32 -
1996 9 6 9 9 2 - - 35 9 7 7 10 1 - 34 -
1997 11 6 8 10 2 - - 37 8 7 7 9 1 - 32 -
1998 11 5 9 9 2 1 - 37 6 6 8 9 2 2 33 -
1999 10 6 8 9 2 - - 35 9 8 9 8 2 - 36 -
2000 11 7 9 11 2 - - 40 10 8 11 10 1 - 40 -
2001 9 5 9 9 1 - - 33 8 8 8 9 1 - 34 -
2002 10 6 8 9 2 - - 35 9 5 9 9 2 - 34 -
2003 11 6 8 10 2 - - 37 6 8 9 9 1 - 33 -
2004 12 7 7 11 2 - - 39 9 8 8 10 - - 35 -
2005 11 7 8 9 1 - - 36 8 8 8 8 1 - 33 -
2006 9 6 8 10 4 - - 37 8 8 9 9 2 - 36 1
2007 11 5 6 10 4 - - 36 9 7 7 9 3 - 35 1
2008 9 7 8 11 5 - - 40 9 7 7 9 3 - 35 -
2009 9 5 8 10 4 - - 36 7 7 8 9 3 - 34 1
2010 8 6 7 9 4 - - 34 8 7 7 8 2 - 32 1
2011 9 6 6 10 4 1 - 36 8 6 6 9 3 1 33 1
2012 11 8 9 11 4 1 - 44 8 7 9 10 2 1 37 1
2013 8 5 8 9 2 2 - 34 7 6 9 9 2 2 35 1
2014 9 6 8 9 2 - - 34 9 6 8 8 1 - 32 2
2015 10 7 8 10 2 - - 37 8 7 7 9 1 - 32 1
2016 4 3 4 3 1 15 3 1 5 5 1 15
Total events 455 187 383 453 122 6 1 1607 379 204 383 432 96 7 1501 10
Double wins 3 4 1 2 - - - 10 3 3 3 4 - - 13 -
Triple wins - - - - - - - - - 1 1 - - - 2 -
All winners 458 191 384 455 122 6 1 1617 382 209 388 436 96 7 1518 10

Last updated: 7 January 2016

Most race wins in consecutive seasons

Youngest and oldest World Cup winners

The youngest person ever to win a World Cup race is Christa Zechmeister of West Germany, who won a slalom in Val d'Isere, France, in December 1973 at the age of 16 years, 4 days. Several other women have also won World Cup races at age 16.[5]

The youngest men's World Cup race winner is Piero Gros of Italy, who won a giant slalom in Val d'Isere, France, in December 1972 (one day before Pamela Behr's win) at the age of 18 years, 39 days. Gros would win a slalom race only nine days later, and go on to win 12 World Cup races during his ten-year career. Several other men have also won World Cup races at age 18.[6]

The oldest person ever to win a World Cup race is Didier Cuche of Switzerland, who has won three downhills and a Super-G during the 2011–2012 season, most recently at Crans Montana, Switzerland in February 2012 at the age of 37 years, 192 days. No other men have won a World Cup race beyond the age of 36.[6]

The oldest women's World Cup race winner is Elisabeth Görgl of Austria, who won a Super G in Val-d'Isère, France, in December 2014 at the age of 33 years, 305 days. Three of her Austrian teammates, Michaela Dorfmeister, Alexandra Meissnitzer and Anita Wachter, won World Cup races at age 32.[5]

The youngest overall World Cup winner is Annemarie Moser-Pröll of Austria, who won the women's 1971 Alpine Skiing World Cup at the age of 17. She would go on to repeat as overall champion for the next four seasons (1972–1975), along with a 6th overall title in 1979. The youngest men's overall winner is Piero Gros of Italy, who won the men's 1974 Alpine Skiing World Cup at the age of 19 for his only overall title.[7]

The oldest overall World Cup winner is Stephan Eberharter of Austria, who won the men's 2003 Alpine Skiing World Cup at the age of 33, his 2nd consecutive overall title. The oldest women's overall winner is Vreni Schneider of Switzerland, who won the women's 1995 Alpine Skiing World Cup at the age of 30 for her 3rd overall title.[7]

World Cup scoring system

The World Cup scoring system is based on awarding a number of points for each place in a race, but the procedure for doing so and the often-arcane method used to calculate the annual champions has varied greatly over the years. Originally, points were awarded only to the top 10 finishers in each race, with 25 points for the winner, 20 for second, 15 for third, 11 for fourth, 8 for fifth, 6 for sixth, 4 for seventh, and then decreasing by 1 point for each lower place. To determine the winner for each discipline World Cup, only a racer's best 3 results would count, even though there would typically be 6–8 races in each discipline. For the overall Cup, the best three results in each discipline would be summed. Until 1970, also the results of Winter Olympic Games races and Alpine World Ski Championship races were included in the World Cup valuation (i.e. Grenoble 1968 and Val Gardena 1970); this was abandoned after 1970, mainly due to the limited number of racers per nation who are admitted to take part in these events. For the 1971–72 season, the number of results counted was increased to 5 in each discipline. The formula used to determine the overall winner varied almost every year over the next decade, with some seasons divided into two portions with a fixed number of results in each period counting towards the overall, while in other seasons the best 3 or 4 results in each discipline would count.

Starting with the 1979–80 season, points were awarded to the top 15 finishers in each race. After 1980–81, the formula for the overall title stabilized for several years, counting the best 5 results in the original disciplines (slalom, giant slalom, and downhill) plus the best 3 results in combined. When Super G events were introduced for the 1982–83 season, the results were included with giant slalom for the first three seasons, before a separate discipline Cup was awarded starting in 1985–86 and the top 3 Super G results were counted towards the overall. The formula for the overall was changed yet again the following season, with the top 4 results in each discipline counting, along with all combined results (although the combined was nearly eliminated from the schedule, reduced to only 1 or 2 events per season).

This perennial tweaking of the scoring formula was a source of ongoing uncertainty to the World Cup racers and to fans. The need for a complete overhaul of the scoring system had grown increasingly urgent with each successive year, and in 1987–88 the FIS decided to fully simplify the system: all results would now count in each discipline and in the overall. This new system was an immediate success, and the practice of counting all results has been maintained in every subsequent season. With the ongoing expansion of the number and quality of competitors in World Cup races over the years, a major change to the scoring system was implemented in the 1991–92 season. The top 30 finishers in each race would now earn points, with 100 for the winner, 80 for second, 60 for third, and then decreasing by smaller increments for each lower place. The point values were adjusted slightly the following season (to reduce the points for places 4th through 20th), and the scoring system has not been changed again since that year. The table below compares the point values under all five scoring systems which have been in use:

Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Current System
1993–		 100 80 60 50 45 40 36 32 29 26 24 22 20 18 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1992 System
1992		 100 80 60 55 51 47 43 40 37 34 31 28 26 24 22 20 18 16 14 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Top 15 System
1980–1991		 25 20 15 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1979 System †
1979		 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Original System
1967–1979		 25 20 15 11 8 6 4 3 2 1

† NOTE: The scoring system changed during the 1978–79 season; this special system was used for the last 2 men's downhills and the last 3 races in every other discipline except combined.

Statistical Analysis

Since the Top 30 scoring system was implemented in 1991–92., the number of completed men's or women's World Cup races each year has ranged from 30 to 44, so the maximum possible point total for an individual racer is about 3000–4400 under the current scoring system. However, very few racers actually ski in all events; for example, Bode Miller was "the only skier to have competed in every World Cup race"[8] during the three seasons from 2003–2005. The current record for total World Cup points in a season is Tina Maze's 2414 points in 2012–13, with the men's record of 2000 points set by Hermann Maier in 1999–2000. The fewest points for an overall champion under the current system thus far have been 1009 for men by Aksel Lund Svindal in 2008-9 and 1248 for women by Vreni Schneider in 1994–95. The largest margin of victory in the overall has been Maze's 1313 points in 2012-13, more than doubling second place finisher Maria Höfl-Rieschs total, while the largest men's margin was 743 points by Hermann Maier in 2000-1. Note that in the early days of World Cup (when the first place was awarded only 25 points), even larger relative margins of victory were recorded in 1967 by Jean-Claude Killy with 225 points over Heinrich Messner with 114 points and in 1973–74 by Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 268 points over Monika Kaserer with 153 points. The closest finishes since 1992 have been minuscule margins of 6 points in 1994–95 (Vreni Schneider over Katja Seizinger), 3 points in 2004-5 (Anja Pärson over Janica Kostelić) and in 2010–11 (Maria Riesch over Lindsey Vonn), and only 2 points in 2008-9 (Aksel Lund Svindal over Benjamin Raich). The current men's record for total World Cup points in one month of the season is Ivica Kostelić's 999 points from January 2011.

The tables below contain a brief statistical analysis of the overall World Cup standings during the 21 seasons since the Top 30 scoring system was implemented in 1991–92. In general, over 1000 points are needed to contend for the overall title. At least 1 man and 1 woman has scored 1000 points in each of these seasons, but no more than 5 men's or women's racers have crossed that threshold in any single season. Of the 42 men's and women's overall champions in these years, 38 scored over 1200 points, 30 had over 1300 points, 19 reached 1500 points, and only 7 amassed more than 1700 points during their winning seasons. As for the runners-up, 37 of the 42 second-place finishers scored over 1000 points, 18 had over 1300 points, and only 4 reached 1500 points yet failed to win. Most overall titles have been won quite convincingly, by more than 200 points in 23 of 42 cases, while only 11 margins of victory have been tighter than 50 points.

Annual Statistics Calculated for the 1992–2012 Seasons
Men's Overall World Cup
Races Completed 1st Place Points Margin of Victory 2nd Place Points 3rd Place Points Number of Skiers per Season:
> 1000 Pts > 500 Pts > 200 Pts
Maximum 44 2000 743 1454 1307 5 21 50
Average 35.4 1414 258 1155 1001 2.5 14 41
Minimum 30 1009 2 775 760 1 8 37
Women's Overall World Cup
Races Completed 1st Place Points Margin of Victory 2nd Place Points 3rd Place Points Number of Skiers per Season:
> 1000 Pts > 500 Pts > 200 Pts
Maximum 39 1980 578 1725 1391 5 19 45
Average 33.4 1570 244 1326 1117 3.3 13 37
Minimum 30 1248 3 931 904 1 9 32
Aggregate Statistics Calculated for the 1992–2012 Seasons
Men's and Women's Overall World Cups: Total Numbers Across 21 Seasons
> 1700 Pts > 1500 Pts > 1300 Pts > 1200 Pts > 1100 Pts > 1000 Pts > 900 Pts > 800 Pts
First Place 7 19 30 38 41 42 42 42
Second Place 1 4 18 24 28 37 40 41
Third Place – – 4 7 15 27 36 40
> 600 Pts > 500 Pts > 400 Pts > 300 Pts > 200 Pts > 100 Pts >= 50 Pts < 50 Pts
Margin of Victory 2 6 10 19 23 28 31 11

World Cup Finals

Since 1993 the International Ski Federation (FIS) has hosted a World Cup Final at the end of each season in March. During five days, men's and women's races are held in four disciplines: slalom, giant slalom, Super G, and downhill. Only a limited number of racers are invited to ski at the Finals, including the top 25 in the World Cup standings in each discipline, plus the current junior World Champions in each discipline. Because of the smaller field, World Cup points are only awarded to the top 15 finishers in each race.

Hosts of the World Cup Finals:

The 2004 final was held in all FIS disciplines except Ski Jumping. The Freestyle events were held in neighbouring Sauze d'Oulx and the Snowboard events in Bardonecchia. The 2008 final was held in all FIS disciplines except Ski Jumping. The Freestyle and Snowboard events were held in neighbouring Valmalenco.

Parallel Slalom

Nations Cup

World Cup

Note: Only parallel events from (1975, 1997, 2011-2013) count in overall ranking are considered as individual World Cup victories. Other parallel events from (1976-1991, 2009) counted only for Nations Cup or were just show events.

Parallel Giant Slalom

Introduced as a spectator-friendly event by the International Ski Federation in late 2015 on the World Cup circuit, the parallel competition, normally reserved for slalom types, hopes to lure more of the higher speed folks into the faster of the two technical disciplines. It is hoped that their fans follow them too: to the venue, on-line, and on television. [10] The Federation has not indicated, as of early 2016, that they are fully committed to duplicating the effort, however, their long-term calendar shows that the plan is to return to Alta Badia twelve months after the inaugural event in December of 2016, and then again, tentatively, through December of 2018.[11] Few venues offer the slope and conditions required to present an extremely short Giant Slalom course that is readily viewed in its entirety by a concentrated gallery of fans. Modified or not, the Federation has not mentioned that they will push the format to lesser tours like the NorAm and Europa Cup.

World Cup

The Chief Race Director of the inaugural event, Markus Waldner, on 20 December 2015 stated that great performances and head-to-head fights between the best Giant Slalom racers is the goal of the competition. The course was very compact at about 20-22 seconds duration, or about one-third of a normal GS run, however, the pace and cadence will be the same as Giant Slalom, not standard Slalom. Gates were set at the same rough distances as GS and on a slope about the same pitch. The field of thirty-two were drawn following an 'invitational' format. The top four 'overall-ranked' men present were automatic invitees, if they chose to compete. Another sixteen racers were selected from the top of the current GS start list rankings, and the final twelve competitors were selected from the 1st run efforts at the standard GS event the day prior, at the same venue. Overlapping qualifications allowed the sponsors to invite lower ranked participants to fill in gaps, as needed, and to replace individuals who declined to participate. Points were awarded and accumulated according to current standards for the race season in all relevant categories: the GS discipline, Overall and Nations Cup. The field was filled with thirty-two first round participants, each getting a run on either course. The best combined times moved the fastest racer to the second round through bracket preference protocols. After that, bracket reduction was a one-run-and-done format, with the dominant skier from the previous round granted course selection between the 'red-right' or 'blue-left' lane. At about one-third the time of a standard GS event, top performers/finalists were able to make multiple runs without the fatigue of a longer event. The course was methodically set with lasers, and a GPS-equipped SnowCat, to guarantee that both lanes on the course were as identical as possible to ensure equity and a fair competition. The Race Director suggested the difference between the two lanes were within 1–to-2 centimeters tolerance of one another.

Men's World Cup Parallel Giant Slalom Events
Venue Date Winner Second Third Fourth Notes:
Italy Alta Badia 21 December 2015   Norway Kjetil Jansrud Norway Aksel Lund Svindal Sweden Andre Myhrer Germany Dominik Schwaiger   [12][13]
Italy Alta Badia 19 December 2016   tentative
Italy Alta Badia 18 December 2017   tentative
Italy Alta Badia 17 December 2018   tentative

Nations Cup

The Nations Cup standings are calculated by adding up all points each season for all racers from a given nation.

Year Standings-Total   Standings-Men   Standings-Women
First Second Third First Second Third First Second Third
1967  France  Austria  Canada  France  Austria    Switzerland   France  Austria  Canada
1968  France  Austria    Switzerland   Austria  France    Switzerland   France  Austria  United States
1969  Austria  France  United States  Austria  France    Switzerland   France  United States  Austria
1970  France  Austria  United States  France  Austria    Switzerland   France  United States  Austria
1971  France  Austria    Switzerland   France    Switzerland   Austria  France  Austria  United States
1972  France  Austria    Switzerland     Switzerland   France  Italy  France  Austria  United States
1973  Austria  France    Switzerland   Austria  Italy    Switzerland   Austria  France  West Germany
1974  Austria  Italy    Switzerland   Italy  Austria    Switzerland   Austria  West Germany  France
1975  Austria  Italy    Switzerland   Italy  Austria    Switzerland   Austria    Switzerland   West Germany
1976  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Italy  Austria    Switzerland   Austria  West Germany    Switzerland 
1977  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria    Switzerland   France
1978  Austria    Switzerland   United States  Austria  Italy  Sweden  Austria    Switzerland   West Germany
1979  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria  West Germany  United States
1980  Austria    Switzerland   Liechtenstein  Austria    Switzerland   Sweden   Switzerland tied with  Austria  Liechtenstein
1981    Switzerland   United States  Austria  Austria    Switzerland   United States    Switzerland   United States  West Germany
1982    Switzerland   Austria  United States  Austria    Switzerland   United States  West Germany    Switzerland   United States
1983    Switzerland   Austria  United States    Switzerland   Austria  Sweden    Switzerland   Austria  United States
1984    Switzerland   Austria  United States  Austria    Switzerland   Sweden    Switzerland   United States  Austria
1985    Switzerland   Austria  West Germany    Switzerland   Austria  Italy    Switzerland   West Germany  Austria
1986    Switzerland   Austria  West Germany  Austria    Switzerland   Italy    Switzerland   Austria  West Germany
1987    Switzerland   Austria  West Germany    Switzerland   Austria  Italy    Switzerland   Austria  West Germany
1988  Austria    Switzerland   West Germany  Austria    Switzerland   Italy    Switzerland   Austria  West Germany
1989  Austria    Switzerland   West Germany  Austria    Switzerland   West Germany    Switzerland   Austria  France
1990  Austria    Switzerland   West Germany  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria    Switzerland   West Germany
1991  Austria    Switzerland   Germany  Austria    Switzerland   Norway  Austria    Switzerland   Germany
1992  Austria    Switzerland   Germany    Switzerland   Austria  Italy  Austria  Germany    Switzerland 
1993  Austria    Switzerland   Germany  Austria    Switzerland   Norway  Austria  Germany    Switzerland 
1994  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria  Norway    Switzerland   Germany  Austria    Switzerland 
1995  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria  Italy  Norway    Switzerland   Germany  Austria
1996  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria  Germany    Switzerland 
1997  Austria  Italy    Switzerland   Austria  Italy  Norway  Germany  Austria  Italy
1998  Austria  Germany  Italy  Austria    Switzerland   Norway  Germany  Austria  Italy
1999  Austria  Norway    Switzerland   Austria  Norway    Switzerland   Austria  Germany  France
2000  Austria  Italy    Switzerland   Austria    Switzerland   Norway  Austria  France  Italy
2001  Austria    Switzerland   France  Austria    Switzerland   Norway  Austria  France    Switzerland 
2002  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria    Switzerland   France  Austria    Switzerland   Italy
2003  Austria    Switzerland   United States  Austria    Switzerland   United States  Austria  Italy  Germany
2004  Austria  Italy  United States  Austria  Italy    Switzerland   Austria  Germany  United States
2005  Austria  United States  Italy  Austria  United States  Italy  Austria  United States  Germany
2006  Austria  United States  Italy  Austria  United States  Italy  Austria  Sweden  United States
2007  Austria    Switzerland   United States  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria  United States  Sweden
2008  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria  United States  Italy
2009  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria    Switzerland   Germany
2010  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria  Germany    Switzerland 
2011  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria  Germany  United States
2012  Austria  Italy    Switzerland   Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria  United States  Italy
2013  Austria  Italy  United States  Austria  Italy  France  Austria  United States  Germany
2014  Austria    Switzerland   Italy  Austria  France  Italy  Austria    Switzerland   Sweden
2015  Austria  Italy    Switzerland   Austria  France  Italy  Austria  United States  Italy

The early years of the World Cup were largely dominated by the French ski team, as reflected in their Nations Cup wins in 5 of the first 6 years. The Austrian team then took over throughout the rest of the 1970s, followed by Swiss superiority during most of the 1980s. A resurgent Austrian team charged back to the top in 1990, beginning a long streak of consecutive Nations Cup triumphs. Austrian dominance reached its zenith in the late 1990s and 2000s (decade), when their point total regularly doubled that of the second place finisher, and was capped in the 1999–2000 and 2003–4 seasons with totals that tripled those of runner-up Italy. Their 17927 point total in 1999–2000 is a Nations Cup record, as is their 12066 point margin of victory in 2003–4.

As of the end of the 2014–15 season, the Austrian team has won 28 consecutive Nations Cups, while topping the men's standings for 23 straight years and the women's for 17 in a row. Austria is the only nation to have finished in the top 3 of the Nations Cup standings in all 49 years in which World Cup competition has been held, winning in 37 of those years, runner-up in 11 years, and third place in a single year. Austrian men have failed to make the podium in only one season: 1972. Austrian women have failed to make the podium in only 2 seasons: 1981 and 1982. Switzerland with 7 wins and France with 5 wins are the only other nations to have won the nations cup. In the midst of the ongoing Austrian juggernaut, the Swiss or Italian teams have usually held second place. The German team reached the runner-up spot for the first time in 1997–8, as did the Norwegians the next season. The US enjoyed its best placings ever starting in 2004–5, grabbing second in the Nations Cup for two straight years.

Under the current scoring system (since 1992), the winning nation (Austria every year) has averaged over 13000 points, with an average of over 6400 for the runner-up, 5400 for third place, 4200 for fifth, and 1300 for tenth. The all-inclusive scoring system (simply adding together all World Cup points earned) favors national teams with great depth and many racers scoring World Cup points, and even teams with several top racers have no realistic chance of breaking the Austrian grip on the top spot, while a team with only one or two top-ranked racers will struggle to ever break the top five in the standings. There have been numerous calls for a revamped scoring system which would allow other nations to compete more readily for top spots in the Nations Cup, but no changes are likely to be made.[14]

The total number of top-three placings for each nation in the Nations Cup (through the 2014-15 season) are summarized below:

Nation Total Standings   Men's Standings   Ladies' Standings
First Second Third First Second Third First Second Third
 Austria 37 11 1 38 9 1 30 12 5
   Switzerland  7 23 11 5 25 11 9 10 7
 France 5 2 1 3 5 2 6 3 4
 Italy - 8 15 3 6 20 - 1 7
 United States - 3 10 - 2 3 - 10 9
 Germany - 1 9 - - 1 4 12 13
 Norway - 1 - - 2 7 - - -
 Canada - - 1 - - - - - 1
 Liechtenstein - - 1 - - - - - 1
 Sweden - - - - - 4 - 1 2

Note: Results for West Germany and Germany are counted together in this table.

Nations which have won World Cup races

The table below lists those nations which have won at least one World Cup race (current as of 6 January 2016).[15][16]

Rank Nation Total wins   Wins by disciplines
Men   Ladies   Team
Men Ladies Team All DH SG GS SL KB PSL PGS DH SG GS SL KB PSL MIX
1  Austria 476 365 3 844 175 73 97 107 22 2 – 112 54 91 85 22 1 3
2    Switzerland  262 291 2 555 116 32 71 13 30 – – 86 27 76 76 26 – 2
3  United States 126 169 – 295 28 9 44 25 20 – – 60 28 22 49 9 1 –
4  France 122 153 – 275 30 5 25 57 4 1 – 24 23 45 60 – 1 –
5  Italy 171 68 1 240 30 13 49 73 5 1 – 16 11 28 12 1 – 1
6  Germany 41 181 2 224 6 6 2 24 2 1 – 48 42 47 30 12 2 2
7  Sweden 116 83 1 200 – 3 53 60 – – – 8 8 16 44 6 1 1
8  Norway 122 9 – 131 35 29 22 22 13 – 1 – 2 4 3 – – –
9  Canada 37 38 – 75 29 6 2 – – – – 15 5 10 6 2 – –
10  Slovenia 23 49 – 72 2 – 1 20 – – – 4 4 21 17 3 – –
11  Liechtenstein 24 40 – 64 3 3 4 8 6 – – 3 2 14 13 8 – –
12  Croatia 26 30 – 56 – 1 – 15 9 1 – 1 1 2 20 6 – –
13  Luxembourg 46 – – 46 3 9 7 16 11 – – – – – – – – –
14  Finland 14 11 – 25 – – 4 10 – – – – – 5 6 – – –
15  Spain 1 11 – 12 – – – 1 – – – 1 – 7 3 – – –
16  Russia 1 5 – 6 – – – 1 – – – 4 1 – – – – –
18  Soviet Union 5 – – 5 1 – 3 1 – – – – – – – – – –
 New Zealand – 5 – 5 – – – – – – – – – – 5 – – –
19  Czech Republic – 2 1 3 – – – – – – – – – – 2 – – 1
 Czechoslovakia – 3 – 3 – – – – – – – 1 – – 1 1 – –
 Australia 2 1 – 3 1 1 – – – – – – – – 1 – – –
22  Slovakia – 3 – 3 – – – – – – – – – – 2 – 1 –
 Poland 1 1 – 2 – – – 1 – – – – – – 1 – – –
24  Bulgaria 1 – – 1 – – – 1 – – – – – – – – – –
Total 1617 1518 9 3144 458 191 384 455 122 6 1 382 209 388 436 96 7 10
  • Note: Only parallel events from (1975, 1997, 2011-2013) which count for overall ranking, included on this list, are considered as official individual World Cup victories. Other parallel events from (1976-1991, 2009) counted only for Nations Cup or were just show events.

Individual race wins are counted in this table, along with the nations team events held at World Cup Finals since 2006 (counts double as both men & women in mixed competition contribute to a win). The "parallel race" is a head-to-head slalom race format used occasionally from the 1970s through 1990s, and again in 2011. Team event wins are doubled (because on one team event race competed both women and men; so it's counted separately each for women and men). Results for West Germany and Germany are counted together in this table. All of Yugoslavia's wins are currently lumped in with Slovenia, since the skiers who won races for former Yugoslavia were all Slovenes from Slovenia (one of six Yugoslav Republics), and thus are listed under Slovenia in online databases. The Soviet Union and Russia are counted separately, as are Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic.

A total of 24 countries have won World Cup races, with 19 different countries winning men's races and 20 winning women's races. As expected, the top 10 nations in this list are the same as the 10 nations listed in the Nations Cup summary table (with slight changes in order).

Some interesting facts can be found in the data: Marc Girardelli accounted for all of Luxembourg's 46 wins, while Janica Kostelić has 30 of Croatia's 56 and her brother Ivica has the rest. Ingemar Stenmark still has nearly one-half of Sweden's 192 wins more than two decades after his retirement. Some nations specialize in either speed (downhill and Super G) or technical (slalom and GS) disciplines, while others are strong across the board. Among nations with 30+ wins, the Canadian team has won 73% of its races in speed events, while Yugoslavia/Slovenia has won 84% and Sweden 86% of their races in technical events, especially notable in Sweden's case given its large number of wins. Several nations with under 30 wins have 100% of them in technical events, led by Finland and Spain. In contrast Germany and Norway have the most even distribution without disproportionate strength or weakness in any one discipline. Some nations have strong teams in only one gender, as 92% of Norway's wins have come from their men and 83% of Germany's from their women, while the Swiss and Canadian totals are split almost equally.

Multi winners

Crystal globe

Since 1967, the big crystal globe has been awarded for the overall title. From the beginning to 1976-77, discipline titles were awarded with medals. Statistically, those titles have the same value as the small crystal globes, which first appeared for discipline titles in slalom, giant slalom and downhill in the 1977-78. In super-G, the small globe has been awarded since 1985-86. For super-g races in the three seasons previous, points were added and calculated in the giant slalom ranking. In combined, the small crystal globe was officially awarded only between 2007-2012. Before that, combined season winners could not officially be considered as season titles. In those years FIS simply calculated points from the other two races, DH and SL.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Also available under ISBN 0-246-13116-0.
  2. ↑ FIS NewsFlash, Edition 72, April 26th, 2006
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ FIS Autumn Meetings Alpine 3 October 2015
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.. International Ski Federation. 20 December 2015.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.. International Ski Federation. as of December 2015.
  12. ↑ Parallel GS Race Results Dec 2015. International Ski Federation. December 2015.
  13. ↑ Parallel GS Results Ladder Dec 2015. International Ski Federation. December 2015.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons

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