The Men�s and Women�s Skiing Committee has reorganized the way championship berths are allocated.

The new plan developed at the committee�s annual meeting May 15-18 in Indianapolis calls for six berths in each of the three Nordic regions � East, West and Central � to be allocated. In the past, the East and West regions had eight bids and the Central region had four. Also, eight Alpine berths in each of the East and West regions will be allocated. Effective with the 2007 championships, the new plan allows for the remaining berths to be earned.

The plan was developed by a task force formed last year and led by University of Vermont Assistant Director of Athletics Joe Fischer. The formula allows for 21 earned slots per gender in Nordic competition and 19 earned slots per gender for Alpine competition. The committee wanted Nordic and Alpine to have the same ratio of earned to allocated berths. With 35 Alpine slots and 39 Nordic slots available, the new formula puts the berths at about 46 percent allocated and 54 percent earned.

Committee Chair Jeff Pier, head coach at St. Lawrence University, said changing the way Nordic berths are allocated boosts competitive equity.

"The three regions are viewed as equally important to NCAA skiing; therefore the regions should receive equal access to the championships," Pier said. "Any differences based on strength of region would be addressed with the earned spots."

Pier credited Fischer and the task force members with the plan.

"This was an ongoing process that took quite a few years to complete," Pier said. "They really hashed out a lot of the work before the (committee) meeting and it made our meeting much more productive."

Members also decided to eliminate the practice of discounting scores in the championships. Each team is allowed to bring a maximum of three skiers per gender, per discipline to the championships (up to a 12-skier maximum). Previously, a school was allowed to throw out the three lowest scores. That practice will no longer be in effect. The change will help make the scoring process easier to follow for the fans, coaches and student-athletes.

Pier said the "throw-out" practice dates back a decade or more when teams were allowed to bring four athletes per event. When the Association reduced the number of competitors at the skiing championship, the "throw-out" system became obsolete.

Pier said the "throw-outs" had little effect in the outcome of the events. Committee members will examine different scoring methods, including weighting scores based on place of finish.

The committee will continue to look at the proposed total-field method to determine slots. The total-field method takes into consideration the results of all skiers in the field in determining earned berths. Currently, the earned slots are determined by an analysis of the top 20 finishes for the last two years of championships results. A new task force will be formed to analyze the method of determining championships berths.

In other business, the committee decided to keep the 2007 championships at the University of New Hampshire in the traditional format rather than moving to a sprint format as proposed by the institution. However, the committee recommended that all three regions work a sprint format race into their schedule in the future.

The committee also recommended a change in the defined championships date formula from the second Wednesday through Saturday in March to having the championships conclude on the second Saturday in March. The change will push the championships dates early enough to reduce the likelihood of poor snow conditions.