June 26, 2010 – Every cross-country ski athlete has had to worship at the altar of the FIS point system at one time or another.  Love them or hate them these systems are one way of measuring relative performance. Some racers and fans can’t wait to crunch results, sometimes even before doing their cool down. Either way, points and stats are an important part of the world of high performance ski racing, and can also provide some interesting insight into the sport that occupies so much of our time.

Statisticalskier.com is an incredible resource for just that kind of insight. Run by Joran Elias, a self-described “skier and statistician”, and Dartmouth College Ski Team alumnus, his web site provides analysis of a number of interesting aspects of the ski world. From a close look at the results of top level skiers, to those of proven and suspected doped athletes, to a breakdown of biathlete historical shooting scores, Elias also delves into entire athlete careers in retrospective such recently retired Sara Renner.

Joran Elias - the stats man... © courtesy of Joran Elias

Statistical Skier also has skier and biathlete ranking lists of their own creation. This list, while based on FIS points, takes a slightly different look at the results. For instance, Elias compares races from each season, instead of by the entire calendar year as FIS does.

The site also includes some light hearted and entertaining stats such as head-to-head comparisons between former Norwegian super stars Bjorn Daehlie and Thomas Alsgaard (as if we needed more proof that Daehlie is indeed the greatest ever), and other reader-based polling comparisons.

But as every coach will tell you, points are only part of the game. When viewed in the right light, they can be both informative and fun.

Visit Statistical Skier here.