General
The Tour ranking for 2008 shall include all three 2008 New England Triathlon Tour. At any race, athletes who place in the top 20 in any of the following Male-Female divisions will receive a Point Rank score for that race: Elite; Elite-Masters; Age Group; First-Year; Clydesdale; Athena. Refer to this site's Tour Essentials > Race Awards link for a description of the divisions.

Race Points
Race points awarded as follows: 30 points for 1st place; 27 for 2nd; 24 for 3rd; 21 for 4th; 19 for 5th; 17 for 6th; 15 for 7th, 13 for 8th; 12 for 9th...and descending one point for each subsequent descending place down to 1 point for 20th.

Following the 2008 season, we will sum only your top two point races in your division to arrive your Point Rank total for that division.  The points earned for the two-race total MUST be from the same division. BONUS:  should you score points in all three races,we will add a bonus of 5 points to your total!

How We Factor Your Age For Tour Points Scoring
As you should be aware, via USA Triathlon guidelines, Age Groupers (to include First-Year, Athena and Clydesdale) are bracketed into an Age Group as a result of their age on December 31 of the race year. Example: Pete is 39 when he races at the June Hyannis Sprint 1...he turns 40 on July 1...thus, throughout the season, he races with those in the 40-44 Age Group. The Point Rank System will score his points for each race and sum his total Tour points as a 40-year old athlete.

Point Rank Awards
A Male-Female athlete whose 2008 Tour Point Rank total places him-her in the top 3 within his-her respective divisions) will receive a discount entry fee certificate for racing in the 2009 Tour and special merchandise or certificates from select Tour sponsors (all to be determined during 2008).

Point Rank System: Tie Breakers
In the event a ranked athlete scores points identical to another athlete in his-her division, we will institute a simple tie-breaking strategy as follows:

• 1st Tie-Breaker: highest number of 30-point races;

• 2nd Tie Breaker: highest points total in races where athletes competed head-to-head;

• 3rd Tie Breaker: highest points total of ALL races where points were earned (includes a 3rd Tour race and, if staged, DMSE's Tri Boston).

• 4th Tie Breaker: highest number of races where points were earned;

• 5th Tie Breaker: in races where 30 points were earned (i.e athlete won the division, the greatest margin of victory in minutes over the 2nd place finisher;

• 6th Tie Breaker: simple heads-tails coin flip.