Hill Country Downhill — Rules
The short version of everything that governs a race weekend. Nothing here overrides what the Race Director says on the day.
Categories
Four courses: Cat 1/Pro, Cat 2, Cat 3, and Bobblehead (the kids' course, no chairlift needed).
You pick your own category — age and gender are the only guardrails. No experience minimum, no verification, no caps. Watch a course preview and go with your own comfort level.
You can move up mid-season if you want a bigger challenge, but your accumulated points wipe when you do — you start fresh in the new category.
Race weekend format
How racing works
- One race run per category. You can enter more than one category in a weekend — each gets its own plate.
- Re-runs are only granted for external errors (a course/timing problem) — not for mechanicals or missed lines.
- If you're a no-show when it's your turn, the next rider starts immediately. Be present for your whole category's window.
- Ties are a non-issue — times are precise to 0.01s, so there's no tie-breaker needed.
- The finish counts however you cross it — ride it, walk it, or push it.
- No bike or gear inspections, and no formal course sweep before racing — tape, a short gap between riders, and course cameras keep things moving safely.
- Missed Friday's seeding? You start the pack — any un-seeded riders go first, in random order, before anyone who completed a seeding run.
Season points
Points are awarded by finish position within your category at each event, and add up across the whole season.
| Place | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 25 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 1 |
Friday seeding runs (Cat 1/Pro) earn half points for their seeding finish position, on top of what you earn Saturday.
Finish 11th or lower and you still bank 1 point just for finishing — showing up and completing your run always counts for something.
- Miss a whole weekend and you get zero points for it — there's no dropping your lowest score.
- If a weekend is cancelled outright, it's dropped from the season entirely — no rain date.
- If seeding gets rained out, race day order just goes random instead.
Safety on course
There are no dedicated course marshals — cameras posted at the harder sections double as both safety coverage and race footage. If a crash blocks the course, racing pauses until it's clear; Spider Mountain's first aid/ambulance handles anything serious.
Awards & prizes
- Top 3 in every category get trophies; top 5 go up on the podium.
- One awards ceremony once results are finalized — Bobblehead racers are part of the same ceremony as everyone else, not a separate thing.
- Pro category: a $2,000 cash purse is paid out to the top finishers. Details are on the Round 2 page.
Scoring & results
Scoring rules are posted here on the site. There's no formal protest process — if something seems off about a result, talk to the Race Director directly.