The Worldloppet Ski Federation in co-operation with the Cross-Country Committee of the International Ski Federation, instituted the FIS MARATHON CUP in season 1999-2000. The objectives of the Cup are to improve the status of long distance competitions by attracting elite racers and to increase media and spectator interest in long distance racing.
1. Qualification
Entry to the FIS Marathon Cup is open to all male and female athletes with an active FIS CODE.
2. Race selection
Venues for races in the FIS Marathon Cup may vary from season to season. The programme will be decided by the Worldloppet executive Committee in consultation with the FIS Sub-Committee for Popular Cross-Country. Races must be at least 42 km in length and not more than two of the races in the programme should be under 50 km in length. Races will, wherever possible, be spread geographically to include at least one race from Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and the Rest of the World and should be divided as evenly as possible between races in classical and free techniques.
Priority for participation in the FIS Marathon Cup will be given to races which are members of Worldloppet. Races wishing to be selected should submit their bids to the General Secretary of Worldloppet. Where it is thought desirable to include races from outside Worldloppet (for example, where fewer than 6 Worldloppet nominations are received; to balance the programme between Classic and Free Techniques; or for other exceptional reasons), the FIS Sub-Committee for Popular Cross-Country Skiing may invite other races of a proven standard to be considered to take part in the competition. Any such races should meet the same minimum standards (numbers of participants etc) as are set out for entry into the Worldloppet. The final programme will be approved by the Worldloppet Executive Committee and the Chairman of the FIS Sub-Committee for Popular Cross-Country Skiing.
3. Red Group
An elite start group (known as the 'Red Group') will be formed from the following athletes:
a. any athlete who has completed at least four races and finishes in the top 10 places in the overall ranking of the previous FIS Marathon Cup season for the first and second races of the running season. Thereafter, the updated current season’s ranking is valid. The ranking list for the Red Group will be updated after every second race (race two, race four, race six and so on) of the current season.
b. any athlete who has been the winner of a FIS Marathon Cup race during the previous 3 seasons (until completion of the fourth competition of the current season) and all the winners of a FIS Marathon Cup race during the current season.
c. any athlete currently seeded in the red group of the FIS World Cup.
The OC of a FIS Marathon Cup Race will to give free entry fees and accommodations with full board, for three days to all athletes seeded in this Red Group.
As alternative the OC is free to pay 65,00 Euro per day for three days to the athlete
The OC will only guarantee to provide free race entries and accommodations if race registrations are received at least 14 days prior to the competition date.
The demand is not transferable to other persons.
4. Programme
In 2010-11 the Cup will consist of the following races. The overall winner will be decided by the results of all the races in the competition. Men and Ladies will race over the same courses, except in the case of La Transjurassienne, when Ladies will race over a 54 km course:
5. Points
Points towards the overall FIS Marathon Cup competition will be awarded to the first 30 finishers in both men's and ladies' races, according to the following formula:
In the event of a dead-heat between two competitors the points for the places will be added together and divided by two (e.g. in a dead-heat for 1st and 2nd places, both athletes will receive (100+80)/2 = 90 points).
Only competitors with valid FIS code which they must indicate upon registration will be awarded points.
Competitors ranked with more than 10% race time behind the winner race time will not be counted.
Organisers must submit results in XML format within a few days after the competition to FIS: alpineresults@fisski.ch.
At the Prize-giving Ceremony following each race, a bib in a distinctive format will be presented to the current overall leader in the FIS Marathon Cup competition (Men and Ladies) and will be worn by him/her in subsequent races for as long as he/she continues to be the leader in the overall competition.
Where points are equal, the leader (or winner) will be the athlete having won the larger number of races. In case of a tie, second places will be taken into account, and so on to third and fourth places until the overall winner is determined. In the event that all places are equal, the winner will be determined by position in the final race.
6. Prizes
The organizing committee of each race participating in the FIS Marathon Cup guarantees a minimum prize fund of EUR 21.000 to be divided between the 6 best placed competitors in the men and ladies races.
In addition FIS will provide overall trophies and Worldloppet will provide prizes of EUR 31.300 (7400, 4000, 2000, 1000, 750 and 500) for the first six men and ladies scoring the greatest number of total points in the FIS Marathon Cup over the course of the six participating races.
The overall trophies will be awarded immediately after the finish of the final competition. The money prizes will be transferred to the winners after the results of any doping tests have been received and the official result lists have been validated.
Any athlete eligible for a prize, who does not attend the award ceremony to receive his/her prize in person, may be subject to a financial penalty to be decided by the Worldloppet Executive Committee. Money prizes will be payed ONLY to athlets with FIS Code.
7. Technical delegates
The technical delegates for races in the FIS Marathon Cup will be nominated by the Sub-Committee for Popular Cross-Country Skiing for ratification by the FIS Cross-Country Committee not later than June in each year. Participating races will be responsible for paying the expenses of the FIS Technical Delegate in accordance with ICR. The technical delegate has the duty to verify the results before sending them in XLM format to FIS.
8. Entries
Race entries will be submitted directly to the race organizing committee by using the FMC Official entry form (available on www.worldloppet.com).
9. Reminder of Competitor’s responsibilities
FIS Marathon Cup competitions involve competitors with a wide range of experience and ability, good sportsmanship and courtesy toward other competitors is essential.
Competitors must provide early registration on the official entry FMC entry form to assure good media interest.
All competitors eligible for a prize have an obligation to attend the flower ceremony and the official award ceremony.
All competitors must comply with all points in the FIS Marathon Cup and OC race rules.
