For this database, each skier’s wave placement was determined by bib number although in a few instances additional steps were needed to separate elite racers from wave 1 racers. The Birkie includes honorary waves for founders, the Spirit of 35 skiers, and those older than 70. These honorary waves were not included in this table.
1997 was the first year when the classic and freestyle racers were distinguished from one another in the results, even though they still had common start waves based on prior finish times regardless of technique. Therefore, there were relatively few classic skiers in the elite and lower number waves until 2008 when the two races had separate starting waves based on separate finish-time criteria, and the new classic trail was first used.
The current policy for assignment to the elite wave is that the top 200 male and 60 female finishers from the previous year’s Birkie freestyle race, and the top 100 male and 40 female finishers from the previous year’s classic race are automatically assigned a starting position in the elite waves for the current year. This policy has changed over the years, and it also seems that there have been special situations when notable skiers are allowed into the elite waves without having skied the Birkie in prior years.
The size of the first five waves of the freestyle race have remained relatively constant over the years, although it is hard to really determine this since the Kortelopet skiers are excluded from this summary.
It’s readily apparent that the classic race has become more popular, especially since 2008.