Conditions

🔎︎

MACC Ability Classes

MACC racers in are organized into classes based on ability, gender, and sometimes age. A handicap system is used to place men and women in appropriate classes, and to determine when racers should upgrade or downgrade to different classes.

Handicaps

As with NASTAR and golf, a high handicap indicates a racer tends to have longer times (slow); a low handicap indicates shorter times (fast). The handicap ranges for the MACC classes have changed over the years. The handicap ranges for the classes are shown in several places. The Handicaps page for each year shows the handicaps for each racer who participated (see the links in the sidebar for results for past years). Each line in a Handicap Averages table gives handicap data for a racer, including the name of the class, the Min and Max handicap limits for the class, and the handicaps for the racer in GS and Slalom.

Information about the handicap ranges for each class are also shown in the race results for each class at the top of the page.

A reference technical memo covers the details of the MACC handicap: The MACC Ability Classes.

Classes

New for 2025

November 24, 2024. In the summer of 2024 a survey was taken by current and past MACC racers. The majority of respondents thought the classes used for the past few years should be changed to simplify the organization (for example, not everyone knows the distinctions in the old classes E, E1, E2, VE2, SVE2, and O) and eliminate multiple age classes for an ability level if there are not enough racers to provide multiple age groups that each have enough racers to be competative.

The plan for 2025 is to have classes built on eight defined handicap ranges shown in the table below. For each handicap range, there will be separate classes for men and women. If there are more than 12 racers in an ability class, then it might be split into young and vet (where "vet" is age 55 or more).

Ability Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Minimum Handicap	none	8	18	30	44	60	78	98
Minimum to Downgrade	11	21	34	48	65	83	103	none

 

Each class also has a maximum handicap to give guidance for racers who have slowed down due to age or injury and might want to move to slower class. For example, a racer in class 3 with both slalom and GS handicaps higher than 34 can request a move to class 4.

For the 2025 season, plan on racing for the class where you will be most competative. For example, if you have a 32 handicap, you will be in class 4 where there will be no racers with handicaps under 30.

Putting Racers into Classes

Here's the short summary of how racers are placed into classes.

1. Each racer in MACC has an average handicap in slalom and a separate handicap in giant slalom. Your class is determined by the lower of your two handicaps. For example, if a racer has a slalom HC of 58 and a GS HC of 67, the slalom HC is used to define the racer's class.
2. For slalom, an average is taken of the best 6 results of the most recent 9 finishes. For racers who have not yet made 9 runs, the best 2/3 are used. For giant slalom, the best 6 of the last 8 finishes are used. For racers without 8 finishes, the best 3/4 are used. Runs are used for the current season and previous two seasons; older result are never included in the calculations.
3. The official average handicaps are posted on this web site after each race weekend. Details for computing the averages are provided in the next two pages in this section (start with Handicap Introduction).
4. If your handicap drops below the lower limit for your class, then you will be upgraded to a faster class. The upgrade is mandatory (you can no longer compete in a class once your handicap drops below the lower limit for the class).
5. If your lower HC rises above the downgrade limit defined for your class, you have the option of downgrading to a slower class. This is not mandatory and it is not automatic. You must request the change from your team rep, who will in turn bring it to the MACC for approval. You are NOT allowed to downgrade unless your lower handicap rises above the limit shown in the table.
6. Upgrades are not required during a race weekend. They are always posted after a race weekend in the results section of this web site. (Racers who wish to upgrade between Saturday and Sunday races are free to do so. However, this is never required.)
7. New handicaps calculated after a race weekend are "final" and official after they are approved at the next MACC Board of Directors meeting. Until that time, it's possible that changes will be made if errors are found in the results.