Going into any particular event, a rider’s seed or rank will be determined based on past performance at the same event or overall performance on a series or tour. Riders who are not previously ranked will be seeded randomly.  

The running orders are based on each rider’s seed going into the first heat of the event. After the first round of heats are complete (Qualifying, Quarters, or Semis), the placement of each rider will help determine where in the running order they will be in the following heats. The top seeded / ranked riders should always be last in their respective heats as to give them the advantage of watching everyone else’s runs in their heat. 

Example pattern of how the Seeding Formula works:

Note: This is based on an event with 16 riders. This formula can be used in any scenario with a larger or smaller number of heats and riders. 

Quarter Finals (top 2 advancing to Semis) 

Heat 1

1. Seed # 13

2. Seed # 12 *

3. Seed # 5  **

4. Seed # 4 

Heat 2

1. Seed # 14

2. Seed # 11

3. Seed # 6 **

4. Seed # 3 * 

Heat 3

1. Seed # 15

2. Seed # 10

3. Seed # 7 *

4. Seed # 2 ** 

Heat 4

1. Seed # 16

2. Seed # 9 *

3. Seed # 8

4. Seed # 1 **                                          

** Indicates Winning the Heat and Advancing to Semi Finals

*   Indicates 2^nd place in the Heat and Advancing to Semi Finals

To develop the running order for the Semi Finals, the riders that won their Quarter Final heats are inputted first. Since they all tied for first place in their heats in the Quarter Finals, they are inputted based on their seed / ranking. That would be riders 1, 2, 5, and 6 based on the above key. 

Once they are put into the running order, the riders that got 2^nd in the Quarter Final heats are inputted. Again, as they all tied for 2^nd in that Quarter Finals, their seed / rank will be used to input them. These would be riders 3, 7, 9, and 12. 

Semi-Finals (top 2 Advance to Finals) 

Heat 1

1. Seed # 9

2. Seed # 7 **

3. Seed # 5

4. Seed # 2 * 

Heat 2

1. Seed # 12

2. Seed # 3 *

3. Seed # 6

4. Seed # 1 ** 

** Indicates Winning the Heat and Advancing to Semi Finals

*   Indicates 2^nd place in the Heat and Advancing to Semi Finals 

Based on the above explanation, riders 1 and 7 won their heats and should be input into the final running orders first. Since they tied for 1^st, we go back to the previous round to develop their ranking. 

Since rider 1 placed first in the Quarter Final heat and rider 7 placed second, then rider 1 is the highest seed. The same goes for the riders who place second in the Semis. We go back to the Quarter Final round, and since rider 2 won their quarter final heat and rider 3 placed second, then rider 2 received the higher seed. In the case that riders place the same in each heat, then you go back to their original seeding / ranking coming into the event. The final heat should be as follows: 

Finals 

Heat 1

1. Seed # 3

2. Seed # 2

3. Seed # 7

4. Seed # 1