Press and Media Center

Points Series Enters Sixth Year

THE SERIES:Entering its sixth year, the Nissan Xterra USA Championship Series provides age group athletes with a bona-fide championship to compete for within their geographic region against other athletes the same age (see below). It’s the only Series of its kind in off-road multisport racing, offering more than50 racesin 33 States and the U.S. Territories of Puerto Rico, Guam and Saipan. At the end of the regular season the top performers in each of eight regions are invited to compete for the national championship in Nevada on October 1.

To join in the fun, an athlete simply needs to sign-up for a race. Thereafter they’ll be assigned to an age group and region, and given an XTERRA ID #.

Here’s how it breaks down:

1) There are eight regions, determined by a competitor’s primary residence at the time of their first race:

NORTH EAST (NE)–Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York.

MID ATLANTIC (MA)–Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington D.C.

SOUTH EAST (SE)–Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands

NORTH CENTRAL (NC)–Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky.

SOUTH CENTRAL (SC)–Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas.

MOUNTAIN (MT)–Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming.

NORTH WEST (NW)–Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska.

SOUTH WEST (SW)–California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, Pacific Territories.

2) Age Group:"XTERRA Age"is based on a competitor’s age on December 31, 2006. Athletes compete in the following age categories:

15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60+ (w), 60-64 (m), 65+ (m)

3) Series competitors race for points at their choice of 50+ events–including Nissan Xterra Points Series (NXPS) races and Nissan Xterra Championship Series (NXCS) races. Competitors are required to race and count points in at least one event in his/her region. Competitors can enter as many events as they’d like, however, they count just their best three finishes.

4) Points are awarded to the top 15 finishers in each age group at each NXPS and NXCS race. If you race at more than one Nissan Xterra Championship event, only the best finish counts at full points. Any other finishes earn points at the same rate as the Nissan Xterra Points Series races. There are two points systems–NXPS and NXCS. Greater points are awarded at the NXCS events because, generally, participation is higher, and the courses are tougher and longer.

2006 Points Breakdown: 

Nissan Xterra Championship Series:

1st -2nd -3rd -4th -5th -6th -7th -8th -9th -10th - 11th - 12th - 13th - 14th - 15th

100 -90 -82 -75 -69 -63 -58 -53 -49 -45 - 41 - 37 - 34 - 31 - 28

Nissan Xterra Points Series:

1st -2nd -3rd -4th -5th -6th -7th -8th -9th -10th - 11th - 12th - 13th - 14th - 15th

75 -67 -61 -56 -51 -47 -43 -39 -36 -33 - 30 -27 -25 -23 -28

5) The competitor with the most points in their age group in each XTERRA Region earns the title of XTERRA Regional Champion, and is invited to nationals - along with the other top finishers. A total of 100 slots are available for age groupers from each region.

Nissan Xterra USA Championship Slots Available in each of eight regions:

AGE GROUP 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65+ TOTAL

Male 2 5 10 10 9 7 4 3 2 2 1 55

Female 2 4 10 9 7 5 3 2 2 1 45

Note:  On Sept. 31, the day before the invitation-only national title race, we host XTERRA Nevada - an open competition that uses the same classic mountain bike course but cuts the swim and run distances in half.

XTERRA AGE:In a change from years past, "XTERRA Age" is now based on the athlete’s age on December 31.

"Globally all the multisport sanctioning bodies have used December 31 as the determining date for your race age for the year. That rule never applied in the U.S. until 2006, and now that the national governing body in the U.S. (USAT) is going to Dec. 31, I felt it was fair to our competitors around the world that they only have one date to worry about for all the races they do – be it XTERRA, Duathlon, Triathlon, or mountain biking," said XTERRA Managing Director Dave Nicholas.

LAST YEAR AT NATIONALS:Athletes representing 41 states made their way to Nevada for their shot at the title. Andrew Biglow, a 34-year-old from Boulder, CO won the amateur men’s championship in impressive fashion by finishing 17th overall and bettering nine male pros in the process. In the women’s race Amber Monforte of Reno, NV came in 11th overall and was the top female age grouper. Also of note, Barbara Peterson won her unprecedented fifth consecutive national title. Here is a complete list of 2005 XTERRA National Champs:

XTERRA National Champions – Amateur Women

Division, Name - Hometown-Time
15 - 19 ,+Kate Chapman -Breckenridge, CO -3:39:32

20 - 24, +Suzanne Snyder -Colorado Springs, CO -3:38:18

25 - 29, Amber Monforte -Reno, NV -3:20:33

30 - 34, Aracelly Clouse -Cameron Park, CA -3:26:12

35 - 39, +Karen Lefebre -Big Sky, MT -4:00:20

40 - 44, Kathy Eckert -Denver, CO -3:51:20

45 - 49, ! Barbara Peterson -Berkeley, CA -3:57:51

50 - 54 ,+Cindi Toepel -Littleton, CO -4:11:24

55 - 59 ,Kathy Frank -Bend, OR -5:23:58

XTERRA National Champions – Amateur Men

Division, Name - Hometown-Time
15 - 19 ,Alex Modestou -North Liberty, IA -3:06:57

20 - 24, Ryan DeCook -Rochester, MI -3:05:52

25 - 29, Craig Evans -Spring Hill, TN -2:53:34

30 - 34, Andrew Biglow -Boulder, CO -2:52:05

35 - 39, David Cloninger -Bend, OR -2:58:31

40 - 44, #Tom Lyons -Reno, NV -3:05:07

45 - 49, Kevin Deighan -Vail, CO -3:20:58

50 - 54 ,+Ian Davidson, Jr. -Clemson, SC -3:16:23

55 - 59 ,#Kent Robinson -Reno, NV -3:44:14

60 - 64 ,Ronald Scranton -Albuquerque, NM -4:54:52

65 + ,*Hans Dieben -Chula Vista, CA -4:44:16

Challenged ,Willie Stewart -Redlands, CA -3:35:00

* Top Amateurs

+two-time, *three-time, #four-time, !five-time champs

XTERRA TV:  This Saturday, Feb. 25 the Nissan Xterra USA Championship show is on in San Francisco (6am on KNTV) and Waco, TX (11:30am on KBTX), while the one-hour Nevada Passage adventure show can be seen in Wichita, KS at 12noon on KWCV.