Get started: Get enough points, win stuff. Get enough points as a team, get a trophy.
The Michigan Cup by design is a team endeavour. Join a team (hey, you can go ski with one first). The team probably has a team dues, and part (or all) of those dues go to the Michigan Cup.
You don't have to join a team. You can still race for individual points and see where you stand. Independent skiers just need to send $7, plus their name, address and age as of December 31 to:
Michigan Cup Cross Country Ski Association
9790 White Eagle Bend Trail
Grayling, MI 49738
Independent skiers must join by December 31 to be scored for the season. Registration and payment must be postmarked no later than December 31!
Teams must submit a roster of skiers by December 31 to be scored for the season. (Teams may add members up to January 31). Registration and payment must be postmarked no later than December 31/January 31!
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You may race as many or as few races as you want. We take care of the scoring on the back end.
The top 200 Men get points in each race: 200 points for 1st, 199 points for second...1 point for 200th.
The top 67 Women get points in each race: 200 points for 1st, 197 points for second...2 points for 67th.
The top 50 Junior men (ages 13-19) get points in each race: 200 points for 1st, 196 points for second...4 points for 50th
The top 29 Junior women (ages 13-19) get points in each race: 200 points for 1st, 193 points for second...4 points for 29th
(Why different points? Points are based on historical average for gender participation.)
Up to five races count for points. If you do more than five, your best five races count.
There are many age classes:
The age class you belong to is detemined by your age on December 31 of the winter season.
There are also special races where you get a point for participation (generally low key fun races). See the calendar to find these races.
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Top 10% Club. Get a nifty Michigan Cup pin if you are one of the top 100 skiers based on your age class. (The top 10% in each age group earns a pin)
Age Group Medals. The top three places in each age group win a large custom Michigan Cup Age Class medal.
Michigan Cup Champion Silver Mug. The top man and women among seniors, masters and super masters, and the top boy and girl junior wins the Michigan Cup Champion title and gets the coveted Silver Mug.
The Most Points Medal. This goes to the man and women who win the most points across ALL races! (Yes, we have skiers who ski almost every race. They're nuts, but in a good way...).
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As you earn individual, those same points go to your team. Every team members race scores are added to determine the team's Brumbaugh Cup (for seniors) or Baic Cup (for juniors) ranking, and the overall Michigan Cup Champion Team.
The fine print...
All points earned by an individual from all completed races go toward their team's Michigan Cup points. If a racer completes 10 races, the points earned from all 10 races go toward Team Points. For the Overall Michigan Cup, a teams total points will be the sum of the it's Junior points x the percentage of Junior racers plus it's Senior points x the percentage of Senior racers.
The Brumbaugh Cup is a team scored competition with each designated race counting each team’s top 5 senior male skiers and top 3 senior female skiers. It is scored like a cross-country running event with first place receiving 1 point; down through the max of 35 male skiers (7 teams x 5 skiers) and 21 female skiers (7 teams x 3 skiers). The lowest point total wins each race and the lowest point total of all designated races wins the Brumbaugh Cup. The designated Brumbaugh races include those races where there is a single Michigan Cup points paying event. More information on scoring the Brumbaugh Cup are on the scoring details page.
The Baic Cup is the top Junior team. The sum of all points earned by all JUNIOR racers on a team determine the team's total Baic Cup points.
Don't worry: the official Michigan Cup Points Keeper keeps everything straight. (Trust me, you don't want his job....)
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There are a couple special races where you only earn points for your team, not your yourself. These are AWESOME races!
The Michigan Cup Relays.
The traditional end-of-season race - Michigan awards ceremony - huge party with lots of food and (adult) beverages (drunk in moderation of course). Relay teams consist of three skiers skiing one classical leg (1st) and two freestyle legs (2nd and 3rd). The legs are usually around 8 km.
There are three gender categories for relay teams - Men, Women and Coed. Coed teams must include at least one women and one man. There are two age groups for relay teams, determined by the total age of all three participants on the relay team: 164 & under, and 165 & over, for a total of six relay divisions.
Skip if scoring makes your eyes glaze over... Scoring begins with 600 points for first place in each of the relay divisions. Scoring for subsequent places will take place by the following formula: The number of teams in that division will be divided into 600 giving the number of points that each subsequent place will receive. For example: a division with two teams will be scored (600/2 = 300), 1st = 600, 2nd = 300. A division with 20 teams will be scored (600/20 = 30), 1st = 600, 2nd = 570, 20th = 30.
Where fractions occur the number will be to rounded up if the decimal is 0.50 or higher and down is the decimal is below 0.50. for example 49.57 would be 50 and 49.49995 would be 49. There may be a small discrepancy in the number of points for last place based on removing the decimal.
(Teams spend a lot of time trying to come up with the winning combination of male, female, and coed teams, strategizing for hours! The Michigan Cup Relay has determined the overall Michigan Cup Champion team in close years.)
Did I mention that there's a huge party after the race?
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The Michigan Cup Committee, composed of the team captains from each Michigan Cup team, sets the rules and determines which races will be part of the series during a Committee meeting each fall. For more information or take make a request of the Committee, send an email to our Committee Chair, Ernie Brumbaugh at [email protected]
The Michigan Cup does not run any races; it designates existing races as part of the Series. The Michigan Cup looks for races with proven grooming and timing. The type of race is completely up to the race organizers.
New teams are welcome!
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