I agree it seems weird that the guy who won the whole shebang didn’t actually place 1st in any events.

But at the same time, I think the points are set up in such a way that were more people to have been able to compete in more events, it’d even out in the end.

Alex simply did his part – he competed as much as possible, and he placed in the top 3 in every event he competed in except the Gorge Games surfing. Put simply, he placed in the top 3 in 6 out of 7 events.

To compare, Liz Arnold, who placed 2nd overall, and Docta P, who placed 3rd, each had several events where they finished out of the top 3. But what catapulted them into a “medal”, to use Olympic terms, was that each of them also won an event. For Liz, it was a very impressive win in the Sprint Time Trial at the Gorge Games. For Docta P, it was Boardercross.

As far as points, for the majority of the events a win was 10 points, second place 7, and third 5. For Gorge Games, the biggest event of the year and the de-facto “National Championship”, it was 25 points for 1st and 18 for 2nd (12 for 3rd).

This is a common points ratio (between 1st - 2nd - 3rd) similar to other “series” type of competitions that I looked at (NASCAR et al).
Ultimately, yes, this year it came down to who had the most events under their belt. But not only the most events, the most podium finishes in those events.

Is that right?

Well, since we’re going to deal in hypotheticals, I think it’s only right to look at the actual competition, because I could throw myself into the mix hypothetically too, and imho the whole top 5 might have been all mixed differently because of it – but I didn’t compete at Gorge Games for the simple fact that putting on the event and doing the TV was too much as it was – there would have been no way I could have competed too. I will in 2009, and have somebody I’m working with to do the TV.

Anyway, I didn’t compete, and other good riverboarders didn’t compete (I’m sure Gary has an opinion on the topic), so therefore I / they are out of this discussion. Only those who compete get the right to earn the glory.

So who of the people who actually placed 1st in an event should be more deserving of the top spot for the year than Alex?

Place by place for the year overall:

1st - Alex Koutzoukis - He placed top 3 in 6 out of the 7 events he entered (the only one he didn't place in was the Gorge Games Freestyle Surfing), including a team 3rd in the EFVC.

2nd – Liz Arnold – Liz put it to the boys and had a great Gorge Games, narrowly taking 3rd to Alex in the ExD and winning the Sprint Time Trial. She also racked up an astounding number of vertical feet by herself in the EFVC, but finished second to team RMR (next year Liz, have some other riverboarders on your team!). She finished out of the top 3 in her other competitions.

3rd – Docta P – I’m sure Peter wishes he could have the first two days of the Gorge Games back, because had he placed in the ExD and the Sprint we might not be having this discussion. But the facts are he won the Bx event, but finished out of the top 3 in the rest of the competitions he entered. And actually, if you remove the points awarded to he and River Dave for the biggest EFVC donation, he drops to 4th.

4th – Levi Gallas – The RMR team win in the EFVC was huge for him. Combined with his win in the Gorge Games Freestyle Surf comp, that was enough to get him into the top 5.

5th – Rory Camm – he only competed at the Gorge Games, but a 2nd place in the Sprint and 3rd in the Surfing netted him enough points to finish top 5 overall.

Now, there were 42 people who competed in some event during the year. But the bulk of those people competed in only 1 or 2 events, and didn’t place in the top 3 in the events they competed in. Which is why the top 5 – and really, the top 10 – is made up of people who won or placed in multiple events.

I don’t have a problem with the Gorge Games altering the rankings drastically. It was the biggest event of the year, and nationally televised, and because we were not able to have the events at the USNWC, it was an event that can be considered a true National Championship. For this year, anyway.

My goal for 2009 is to have fewer events but to make them bigger. Perhaps only 1 per month. I realize it’s still difficult to travel for people, so I want to have them be events that will be worthwhile to travel to. Quality over quantity.

Because the reality is, as the sport grows, the people who are going to land on the overall podium are going to be the people who want it the most and are willing to travel to events, and then place in the top 3. Winning, of course, gives you an extra advantage.

So while I agree that it might be a bit weird that Alex won the major event (Gorge Games) and the overall Championship without actually placing 1st, if you look at the competition and how it all breaks down, it makes total sense. He showed up, and when he showed up he placed in the top 3. End of story.

Nobody else did that. So I see no issues with Alex being crowned the 2008 Riverboarding Champion. He won it fair and square over this year’s competition.

Can there be improvements to the system? Sure. Alex himself says that “there needs to be gates for Boardercross!”, and I totally agree. If not gates, then at least one upriver maneuver that must be made, because that takes the skill level (and carnage!) of Boardercross to a whole new level.

But your opinion counts too! So please weigh in about the riverboarding competitions on the message board.