The World Cup scoring system is based on awarding a number of points for each place in a race, but the procedure for doing so and the often-arcane method used to calculate the annual champions has varied greatly over the years. Originally, points were awarded only to the top ten finishers in each race, with 25 points for the winner, 20 for second, 15 for third, 11 for fourth, 8 for fifth, 6 for sixth, 4 for seventh, then decreasing by one point for each lower place. To determine the winner for each discipline World Cup, only a racer's best three results counted, from a typical six to eight races in each discipline (consistent with the then-current classification of skiers as amateurs, who couldn't be expected compete all the time). For the overall Cup, only these best three results in each discipline were included. Until 1970, the results of Winter Olympic Games races and Alpine World Ski Championship races were also included in the World Cup points valuation (
i.
e.,
Grenoble 1968 and
Val Gardena 1970); this was abandoned after 1970, mainly due to the limited number of racers per nation who are permitted to take part in these events. Beginning with the
1971–72 season (the sixth season), the number of results counted was increased to five in each discipline. The formula used to determine the overall winner varied almost every year over the next decade, with some seasons divided into two portions with a fixed number of results in each period counting toward the overall, while in other seasons the best three or four results in each discipline would count. Starting with the
1979–80 season (the 14th season), points were awarded to the top 15 finishers in each race. After
1980–81, the formula for the overall title stabilized for several years, counting the best 5 results in the original disciplines (
slalom,
giant slalom, and
downhill) plus the best three results in
combined. When
Super G events were introduced for the
1982–83 season, the results were included with giant slalom for the first three seasons, before a separate Cup for the discipline was awarded starting in
1985–86 and the top 3 Super G results were counted toward the overall. The formula for the overall was changed yet again the
following season, with the top four results in each discipline counting, along with all combined results (although the combined was nearly eliminated from the schedule, reduced to one or two events per season). This perennial tweaking of the scoring formula was a source of ongoing uncertainty to the World Cup racers and to fans. The need for a complete overhaul of the scoring system had grown increasingly urgent with each successive year, especially once the
FIS and the International Olympic Committee accepted after 1984 that the skiers were fully professional and not amateurs, so they no longer needed an artificial limitation on their number of events. In
1987–88 (the 22nd season), the
FIS decided to simplify the system: all results would now count in each discipline and in the overall. This new system was an immediate success, and the practice of counting all results has been maintained in every subsequent season. With the ongoing expansion of the number and quality of competitors in World Cup races over the years, another major change to the scoring system was implemented in the
1991–92 season (the 26th season). Instead of only the top 15 skiers scoring points, with 25 points awarded for winning, 20 for second, and 15 for third (as had been done every season after the end of
1978-79), the top 30 finishers in each race would now earn points, with 100 for the winner, 80 for second, 60 for third, and then decreasing by smaller increments for each lower place. The point values were adjusted slightly
the following season (to adjust and reduce the points for places 4th through 20th), and the scoring system has not been changed again since that year. The table below compares the point values under all five scoring systems which have been in use: ''† The scoring system changed during the
1978–79 season; this special system was used for the last two men's downhills and the last three races in every other discipline except combined.''
Statistical analysis Since the Top 30 scoring system was implemented in
1991–92., the number of completed men's or women's World Cup races each year has ranged from 30 to 44, so the maximum possible point total for an individual racer is about 3000–4400 under the current scoring system. Very few racers actually ski in all events.
Bode Miller is the only skier who competed in every World Cup race during the three seasons from
2003 to
2005. The current record for total World Cup points in a season is
Tina Maze's 2414 points in
2012–13, with the men's record of 2042 points set by
Marco Odermatt in
2022–2023. The fewest points for an overall champion under the current system thus far have been 1009 for men by
Aksel Lund Svindal in
2008–09 and 1248 for women by
Vreni Schneider in
1994–95. The largest margin of victory in the overall has been
Maze's 1313 points in
2012–13, more than doubling second-place finisher
Maria Höfl-Riesch's total, while the largest men's margin was 743 points by
Hermann Maier in
2000–01. Note that in the early days of World Cup (when the first place was awarded only 25 points), even larger relative margins of victory were recorded in
1967 by
Jean-Claude Killy with 225 points over
Heinrich Messner with 114 points and in
1973–74 by
Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 268 points over
Monika Kaserer with 153 points. The closest finishes since 1992 have been minuscule margins of 6 points in
1994–95 (
Vreni Schneider over
Katja Seizinger), 3 points in
2004–05 (
Anja Pärson over
Janica Kostelić) and in
2010–11 (
Maria Riesch over
Lindsey Vonn), and only 2 points in
2008–09 (
Aksel Lund Svindal over
Benjamin Raich). The current men's record for total World Cup points in one month of the season is
Ivica Kostelić's 999 points from January 2011. The tables below contain a brief statistical analysis of the overall World Cup standings during the 21 seasons since the Top 30 scoring system was implemented in
1991–92. In general, over 1000 points are needed to contend for the overall title. At least 1 man and 1 woman has scored 1000 points in each of these seasons, but no more than 5 men's or women's racers have crossed that threshold in any single season. Of the 42 men's and women's overall champions in these years, 38 scored over 1200 points, 30 had over 1300 points, 19 reached 1500 points, and only 7 amassed more than 1700 points during their winning seasons. As for the runners-up, 37 of the 42 second-place finishers scored over 1000 points, 18 had over 1300 points, and only 4 reached 1500 points yet failed to win. Most overall titles have been won quite convincingly, by more than 200 points in 23 of 42 cases, while only 11 margins of victory have been tighter than 50 points. == Finals ==