We propose a statistical framework for quantifying the importance of single events that do not provide intermediate rewards but offer implicit incentives through the reward structure at the end of a multi-event contest. Applying the framework to primary elections in the US, where earlier elections have greater importance and influence, we show that schedule variations can mitigate the problem of front-loading elections. When applied to European football, we demonstrate the utility and meaningfulness of quantified event importance in relation to the in-match performance of contestants, to improve outcome prediction and to provide an early indication of public interest.

翻译：我们提出了一个统计框架,用于量化单一事件的重要性,那些事件不提供中间奖励,但在多活动竞赛结束时通过奖励结构提供隐含的奖励。 在早期选举具有更大重要性和影响力的美国,我们将框架应用于初级选举,我们表明时间表的变化可以缓解前期选举问题。 在应用到欧洲足球时,我们证明了量化事件的重要性对于参赛者在比赛中的表现、改进结果预测和提供公众兴趣的早期信号的实用性和意义。