Current Section
Waves & Seeding
Race Cap & Registration Deadline
The American Birkebeiner Board of Directors set a registration cap of 8,400 skiers for the 2011 Birkie and Kortelopet races. A cap of 400 skiers has been established for the Prince Haakon event. In addition, to the cap there is also an overall deadline of January 31, 2011 for the events.
Skier registration will close upon reaching the cap or the deadline whichever comes first. The status of registration for the 2011 event will be reported in the Birkie's Carpe Skiem electronic newsletter as well on the Birkie website.
Wave Placement - Seeding for 2011 Birkie & Korte
Please see percent back charts below....
If you skied the Birkebeiner of Kortelopet in 2008, 2009 or 2010, your wave placement will be based on your best percent back from those years.
If you register for classic and do not have a Birkie or Korte classic time from these years, your best skate percent back will be converted into a classic percent back and you will be seeded accordingly. (See the conversion factor information below). The same will hold true if you register for skate, but have only classic times from the past three years.
Or, if you do not have a Birkie or Korte 2008, 2009 or 2010 time in the technique in which you register for in 2011, you may use a qualifying race from 2010 or 2011 which is officially designated as the technique you will be skiing. You may be seeded up to wave 4.
Or, even if you have skied the Birkie or Korte in 2008, 2009 or 2010, you may ski the following events to move up as far as wave 4:
- 2011 Pre-Birkie 42K for the Birkie Skate race
- 2011 Pre-Birkie 26K for the Kortelopet Skate race
- 2011 Seeley Classic 42K for the Birkie Classic race
- 2011 Seeley Classic 22K for the Kortelopet Classic race
If you are a new skier to the Birkie or Korte, you may use a 2010 or 2011 qualifying race for wave placement up to wave 4. The qualifying race must be in the technique in which you are registering. Consideration will be given, at the discretion of the race staff, for higher wave placement based on individual qualifying race results. Factors taken into consideration are race length, degree of difficulty of course, number of participants and placement.
Conversion Factor
We have established a “conversion factor” for skiers wishing to use a time from a Birkie or Kortelopet Classic race to be placed in a wave for a 2011 Skate race and vice versa if you have a finish time from 2008, 2009 or 2010, but not using the technique you will use in 2011. This "conversion factor" will allow us to reliably place you in an appropriate wave when you choose to switch races (techniques).
The conversion factor varies each year since it is based on the Skate Seeding Basis (SSB) time and the Classic Seeding Basis (CSB) time for that year in both the Kortelopet and Birkie. The "Seeding Basis" time for each race and technique is calculated by taking the average of the top five finish times in each race and technique. Using this approach, the conversion factor is determined taking into account course conditions and differing course lengths.
We will use your best result from the Birkie and Kortelopet races you finished in 2008, 2009 and 2010. We believe that using the conversion factor will be reliable, on average, for properly seeding Birkie and Kortelopet skiers who decide to switch techniques.
Sample Calculations
- A classic skier with a 2010 Birkie finish time of 3:20:00 (12000 seconds) will have an estimated skate finish time of 12000 seconds X 0.7676 = 9211.2 seconds = 2:33:31 and we would use that time for wave placement.
- A skate skier with a 2008 Birkie finish time of 4:10:00 (15000 seconds) will have an estimated classic finish time of 15000 seconds/ 0.7935 = 18903.59 seconds = 5:15:04 and we would use that time for wave placement.
Estimate Race Times Using the Conversion Factor
Multiply your classic time by the Conversion Factor (SSB/CSB), or Divide your skate time by the Conversion Factor (SSB/CSB) for the following years to calculate your estimated finish time for wave placement using the other technique:
Conversion Factors
| Year | Birkie | Korte |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 0.7935 | 0.8441 |
| 2009 | 0.7276 | 0.7995 |
| 2010 | 0.7676 | 0.8746 |
Skiing Style, Race & Wave Change Deadlines
The deadline for requesting the following changes is 6 P.M. ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2011:
- Birkie Skate to Birkie Classic - Fee $15
- Korte Skate to Korte Classic - Fee $15
- Prince Haakon Skate to Prince Haakon Classic - Fee $15
- Wave Change Requests (qualifying race info must be provided) - Fee $15
- Birkie to Korte - Fee $15 (no additional fee if technique change is made at same time)
- Korte to Birkie - Fee $25 (no additional fee if technique change is made at same time)
- Prince Haakon to Birkie or Korte is subject to availability* - Registration fee difference will be collected as of date of change.
*Availability - If the race has not filled based on the established cap then changes will be allowed until Monday, February 14th. Wave assignment will be based on availability at that time.
All change requests must be made by phone. Call 715-634-5025. Credit card number will be required and fees will be charged as listed above.
More information on Qualifying Races and Criteria is available here.
Wave Placement
Wave Placement is based on a first received, first placed basis. If a wave fills, you will be placed in the next fastest available wave.
Waves & Start Times
| Wave | Start Time |
|---|---|
| Wave 1 Classic (Includes Elites) | 8:00 |
| Wave 2 Classic | 8:10 |
| Elite Men Skate | 8:25 |
| Elite Women Skate | 8:27 |
| Wave 3 Classic | 8:30 |
| Wave 1 Skate | 8:35 |
| Wave 4 Classic | 8:40 |
| Wave 2 Skate | 8:45 |
| Wave 5 Classic | 8:50 |
| Wave 3 Skate | 8:55 |
| Wave 6 Classic | 9:00 |
| Wave 4 Skate | 9:05 |
| Wave 7 Classic | 9:10 |
| Wave 5 Skate | 9:15 |
| Wave 8 Classic | 9:20 |
| Wave 6 Skate | 9:25 |
| Wave 9 Classic (Korte, only if needed) | 9:30 |
| Wave 7 Skate | 9:35 |
| Wave 8 Skate | 9:45 |
| Wave 9 Skate | 9:55 |
| Wave 10 Skate | 10:05 |
| Prince Haakon 12K | 10:15 |
