Hi! How do world standings work? I understand the ISU only counts certain (5?) competitions per season. Do you know why? Thank you!
Thanks for asking!
World Standings are based on the points a skater accrues over the current season and the previous one, and 70% of the points they accrued over the one before that. Now, the ISU updates this at the end of each season. At the moment, the World Standings list counts 100% of the points from the 2017-2018 season (ie, everyone has a row of 0s, because that season hasn’t started yet), 100% of the points from the 2016-2017 season, and 70% of the points from the 2015-2016 season.
Some competitions are worth more than others - Grand Prixs are worth more than Senior Bs, for example. Europeans, Four Continents and Worlds are worth more than Junior Worlds.
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In an equal world, all ISU-designated international competitions would be worth ranking points and everyone would have a great time. But the skating world isn’t equal. The main reason only certain events are worth points, and why there are strict criteria around what competitions count, and a restriction on number, is simply: fairness.
Imagine you are an up-and-coming skater in Europe. Europe being the size of a postage stamp, there are tons of countries all within a very reasonable drive or flight of you. Many of these countries might host a Senior B. If every Senior B got points, and every competition counted, said European skater could very quickly rack up a lot of ranking points without ever having to leave Europe.
Now picture the same scenario for a skater from, say, Australia. There are no events in Australia that accrue ranking points. Immediately, the skater has to fly a greater distance than the European skater, which is much more expensive. And in order to accrue ranking points, the skater has to do this several times a year. The skater also has to combat long travel times (it’s 8 hours to Japan/China, 15 hours to the US, and 22 hours to Europe) and jet lag.
In the above scenario, the Australian skater might even be a better skater than the European one. But the European skater would end up with significantly more ranking points simply because it is easier and cheaper for them to attend more competitions. Now, the current setup doesn’t completely level the playing field, but it does make things a touch more even.









