Education
Speed
Worth up to 20 of the 100 points at RQS, COMP and every FIS level (Devo has no speed score) — in 2025-26 it averaged 20% of scores at RQS, 13% at COMP and 21% at FIS events. Your time is not compared to the other skiers. It is compared to a pace time set for that course.
The benchmark
Speed points = 48 − 32 × (your time ÷ pace time)
Ski exactly at pace time and you earn 16 points. Faster earns more, up to a cap of 20. Slower earns less. Pace time is the course length divided by a set pace speed, so a longer course allows a longer pace time.
Try it on a real course
Pick a 2025-26 course and a gender, then set a run time.
Pace times by course, 2025-26
Longer, steeper courses get a longer pace time. Women's pace time is longer than men's on the same course.
| Level | Course | Length | Pace (men) | Pace (women) | Fastest run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COMP | Ambush Winter Park | 228 m | 23.5 s | 27.8 s | 23.93 s |
| COMP | The Dark Side Vail | 220 m | 22.7 s | 26.8 s | 23.28 s |
| COMP | Thunderbowl Aspen | 246 m | 25.4 s | 30.0 s | 26.56 s |
| COMP | Voodoo Steamboat | 242 m | 24.9 s | 29.5 s | 24.84 s |
| COMP | Ore Deal Copper Mountain | 208 m | 21.4 s | 25.4 s | 23.09 s |
| COMP | Telluride Telluride | 196 m | 20.2 s | 23.9 s | 19.61 s |
| RQS | Thunderbowl Aspen | 142 m | 18.0 s | 19.8 s | 19.88 s |
| RQS | Headwall Steamboat | 150 m | 19.0 s | 20.8 s | 15.66 s |
| RQS | BooBoo Vail | 179 m | 22.6 s | 24.8 s | 19.78 s |
| RQS | Ambush II Winter Park | 170 m | 21.5 s | 23.6 s | 18.66 s |
| RQS | High Noon Arapahoe Basin | 143 m | 18.1 s | 19.8 s | 17.42 s |
Questions parents ask
Why isn't the fastest skier automatically winning speed?
Speed points are capped at 20, and going well under pace time gains only a little more. A skier who is fast but skids to get there usually loses more in turns than they gain in speed.
Where does the pace time come from?
Course length divided by a set pace speed. Across 2025-26 that speed was about 9.7 m/s for COMP men and 8.2 for COMP women; a bit lower at RQS. FIS sets the same speeds by rule (9.7 m/s men, 8.2 women) from entry FIS to the World Cup — COMP adopts them. The steeper, longer the course, the longer the pace time.
Is there speed at Devo?
No. Devo runs are scored on turns and one jump only. Speed starts at RQS.