Adventure Racing World Rankings – Frequently Asked Questions

1. Which races can a team earn points at?
AR World Rankings are awarded to a team entity, not individuals. A team can earn AR World Ranking points at any Tier 1 race that is either a Qualifier or Demonstration race of the AR World Series or the AR World Championship race, as advertised on www.arworldseries.com
Teams can also earn AR Regional Ranking points at Tier 2 ARWS Regional Rounds or Regional Championship.

Q2. What is the difference between a World Ranking and a Regional Ranking?
AR WORLD Rankings are a ranking order of adventure racing teams from around the globe. These World rankings are primarily based on the expedition length Tier 1 international races. AR REGIONAL Rankings are a ranking order of adventure racing teams from each global region. ARWS global regions include Europe, South America, North America, Oceania, Africa, and Asia. The Regional rankings are primarily based on the shorter Tier 2 races held in each region.
If a team competes only in Tier 2 races within their region, they will only be eligible for a Regional Ranking. If a team competes only in a Tier 1 race, then they will be eligible for a World Ranking. If a team competes in both Tier 1 and Tier 2 races, then they will be eligible for both a World and Regional ranking.

Q3. What are Tier 1 and Tier 2 Races?
Tier 1 races are the expedition length adventure races from around the world. They include the AR World Championship which is the pinnacle of the sport. They include the expedition length Qualifier Series races and Demonstration races.
Tier 2 races are the shorter adventure races held in each Region (Europe, South America, North America, Oceania, Africa, and Asia). Often they are around 24hrs in duration. They include the AR Regional Championship and Regional Rounds.

Q4. Which teams can earn points at ARWS races, and how many points do they earn?
All teams of four that have a ranked finish at an ARWS Qualifier, in the Premier Mixed category, as per the official race results, are awarded Placing Points (PP). The values are as follows: 1st=1000 points, 2nd=850 points, 3rd=730 points, 4th=630 points, 5th=550 points, 6th=500 points, 7th=450 points, 8th=400 points, 9th=350 points, 10th=300 points… see bottom of page for continued points
1 Point is awarded to any team who starts the race and either finishes Unranked or Withdraws.
Note: The Placing Points may be further adjusted depending on the Competition Status of the race in which they were earned. See next questions.

Q5. What is Competition Status?
Competition Status is a method used by the AR World Series to give greater weighting to those events that have a higher level of competition or greater duration. Currently each international Qualifier race has a Competition Status of one (1), meaning a team winning one Qualifier receives equal points to a team winning another Qualifier. That is, winning a Qualifier is worth 1000 points, and the team receives 1000 x 1 = 1000 points.
The annual AR World Championship has a significantly stronger field and therefore is allocated a Competition Status of two times (2.0x). This means a team who wins the AR World Championship, receives twice the points of a team winning a Qualifier. That is, 1000 points for winning, multiplied by 2, equals 2000 points.
Regional Rounds have a competition status of 0.5x and a Regional Championship 1.0x. Demonstration races have a competition status of 0.5x
Placing Points multiplied by the Competition Status gives a teams total Race Points (RP).

Q6. Is there a minimum or maximum number of ARWS races a team must compete in to receive an AR World Ranking?
To receive an official AR World Ranking, a team must compete in a minimum of one Tier 1 ARWS race. For a AR Regional Ranking, a team must compete in a minimum of one Tier 2 ARWS race.
Points earned by a team may have been awarded in any of the previous 6 ranking cycles (approximately two years).
To ensure the rankings reflect the quality of teams, the maximum number of races that count towards either the AR World Rankings, or AR Regional Rankings total is capped at four (4) over the previous six ranking cycles. This helps ensure the best teams are ranked highest, not necessarily those teams who attend the most races.
There is no restriction on when a team may earn their Points during the previous 6 ranking cycles. Teams may earn points multiple times in each cycle, or earn no points in a cycle. All that is calculated are the Points earned (up to maximum of best four results).

Q7. What is the formula used to calculate a team’s total AR Ranking Points?
The total points a team may earn at an eligible race of the AR World Series are called RP (Race Points). The RP are calculated by the Placing Points (PP) a team receives determined by their finishing position multiplied by the Competition Status of the race.
RP (Race Points) = PP (Placing Points) x CS (Competition Status)
WRP (World Ranking Points)/ RRP (Regional Ranking Points) = sum of up to the 4 highest scored RP (Race Points)
Rankings are a descending sort of a teams World Ranking Points/ or Regional Ranking Points.

Q8. When are AR Ranking points updated?
At the beginning of each new ranking cycle, the AR World and Regional Rankings are updated. Each year there are three cycles which include races in December/January/February/March, then April/May/June/July, and finally August/September/October/November.
Points are calculated using results from the previous 6 ranking cycles.
Teams maintain their AR Ranking for the duration of a Ranking Cycle. Rankings are NOT updated after every individual race, only at the beginning of a new Ranking Cycle. Therefore, if a team is ranked number 1, they maintain that ranking through that cycle, regardless of points they do or do not earn. Only at the start of a new cycles are rankings updated.
When the new rankings are calculated, if a team is already on the AR Rankings, their points are adjusted up to account for new results in the current cycle, but also down if they had any results in the 6th cycle past. This way a team’s ranking “rolls” through each cycle giving an indication of the competitiveness based on approximately two years of results.

Q9. What are the rules on team member substitutions?
AR World Rankings are awarded to a team entity, not individual team members. Teams may substitute members with a team roster containing a maximum of 7 members.
If the 7-member limit is exceeded, then only the highest scoring Race Points containing 7 or less members of a team roster are scored. A team may also elect in writing to the AR World Series to have the points from a specific race invalidated where they have exceeded the 7- member limit.

Q10. Does my team need to register to receive points?
No, each race organisation that teams can earn points from, forwards their official results to the ARWS who then compile the rankings. It is the responsibility of teams to ensure they provide accurate information to the races they are competing in prior to the start of that race.

Q11. Can my team name be changed?
Yes, if your team wants to change it’s name (or update sponsor titles), then name changes are permitted. Your team name as reflected in the AR World Rankings is drawn from the official race results which are submitted to the ARWS. To change your team name, you must earn Race Points at an eligible ARWS race using your new team name. The official results submitted to the ARWS with your new team name will trigger the update of your name in the AR World Rankings. Your team name will not be changed on the AR World Rankings at any other time, or by any other process.

Q12. My team has just earned points at an ARWS race, but the website doesn’t show this?
Rankings are NOT updated after every individual race, only at the beginning of a new Ranking Cycle. The official AR World Rankings are the only source of ranking and these are only updated at the beginning of each Ranking Cycle. No alternate calculations are permitted after individual races and team are not permitted to advertise any ranking that is not the official AR World Rankings.

Q13. What if there is an error in the points my team has been allocated?
Any errors or omissions must be submitted via email to info@arworldseries.com within 7 days of the release of the AR World Rankings to be updated for the current cycle. Any errors of omissions received after 7 days will be updated on the next ranking cycle release.

Q14. What is the full table of placing points?