Winter is starting its procession into fall high up in the mountains. Which means that in a few short weeks, it’ll works its way into the valleys of New England, and we’ll fill it in with joy.
…The 2025-26 Fischer Eastern Cup season is on its way!
Before it arrives at the Cheri Walsh Memorial Opener in December, there’s still a few crucial steps for all involved to take to get ready for a winter skiing better, together.
So in the spirit of Fall, harvest the field, chop the wood, stack the hay, can the veggies, and RENEW YOUR NENSA + USSS MEMBERSHIPS for the winter!
Here’s a helpful primer on what you need to know for the 2025-26 Fischer Eastern Cup season!
Series Hub + Schedule
The best place to begin your Eastern Cup season is on NENSA’s Fischer Eastern Cup Page – schedules, all pertinent race day information, rules and more! Registration for the Fischer Eastern Cup happens at SkiReg.com. Registration for all Eastern Cups opens on November 1st, 2025!
Membership
NENSA sanctions all Eastern Cups with US Ski and Snowboard (USSS) and the International Ski Federation (FIS) to give New England skiers the opportunity to earn universally recognized results to progress in the sport. As FIS/USSS races, we require membership and compliance to all FIS/USSS policies to race in addition to your NENSA Membership.
Membership Checklist
Membership Resources
PLEASE log into your NENSA Membership portal and make sure you are active and your information is current. NENSA Memberships did not auto-renew from 2024-25. You must manually renew your membership this season!
USSS & FIS Guides
Deadlines: In order to be seeded at the Cheri Walsh, racers must be current by Saturday, December 13th! In order to race skiers must be current by the time that registration closes at 7:30pm on Wednesday, December 17th.
Eastern Cup Series Basics
What, where, and whens of a Fischer Eastern Cup week!
- Registration Deadline for all EC races is Wednesday at 7:30pm.
- NO day of registration.
- NO late registration.
- The 2 important living papers (or..emm…google docs)
- RACE PACKET: Rules, awards, policies, procedures.
- DETAILED SCHEDULE: Race day schedule.
All pertinent race day communications will go through these channels during an Eastern Cup.
Results and Live Timing
Go ahead and click on the Bullitt timing logo below. Bookmark that page…you’ll want it. And remember the cardinal rule of the Eastern Cup…we always thank Ed!
Junior National Qualifying
The Fischer Eastern Cup is the selection series for the New England Junior Nationals Team.
Junior National Qualifying Basics
- Top 4 out of 8 Eastern Cup Races.
- Out of Region Qualifying: The USSS National Championships, held in January in Lake Placid, count as additional JNQ opportunities for U18/U20 skiers only.
- Races are scored to the Junior Ranking List (JRL) on Bullitt Timing.
- Team New England selection will be made following final Eastern Cup at Oak Hill.
- Pre-qualification: EC skiers who pre-qualify should notify Ben Theyerl, ben@nensa.net, on their intention to race JNs as soon as possible!
- We’re all ONE team: Remember that your competitors are your teammates when we go to Cable, Wisconsin for JNs in March!
Fischer EC – What’s New for 2025-26?
For one, we’ve got a presenting sponsor! Fischer has generously lent their support to New England skiers by becoming the presenting sponsor of the Fischer Eastern Cup!
Beyond the new name, our regional leaders have been continuously striving to innovate and provide a series which prepares New England skiers to be excellent in all aspects of modern nordic ski racing. A few new things to be excited about, as we head into the 2025-26 Eastern Cup season:
- 7.5k’s – As modern ski racing tends towards emphasizing explosive efforts, we’re excited to introduce Open 7.5k races to the Series calendar. As an NCAA and JNs distance, EC skiers will get an opportunity to practice a new standard of mid-distance racing.
- Combined U16/Open Fields – Hand-in-hand with this new distance is the re-introduction of combining the starts for our U16 and Open fields at select races. Before equal distance racing for both gender fields, this was the norm with our Women’s field. Now, we’re bringing the Men into the fold too. The idea: Allow skiers who develop at different stages to gauge where they are in their development. The JRL will still split into age groups, but the combined start will lead to a constantly competitive racing experience on snow for racers.
- Expanded Sprint Heat to 50 skiers – As sprint racing has become an integral part of the sport, we’re looking for more opportunities to give more athletes a full sprint race experience – meaning qualifiers AND heats. Towards this, we’re adopting a 50 skier heat format modified from Norwegian Junior Nationals, which will be implemented at the Henchey Memorial in Craftsbury. Familiarize yourself with it HERE.
- Return of the Bumps and Lumps? – We’re also exploring the snow possibilities to add some terrain to the Cheri Walsh sprint, to get our skis back under us early. Stay tuned…or put a word in with Pat Casey up at Holderness, who has a dream, and hopefully, the snow!
Your ideas are always welcome at NENSA – Email Ben Theyerl, ben@nensa.net, to explore new possibilities for the Eastern Cup.
The Fischer Eastern Cup is one of the few winter joys which travels with us across the region, and across each winter. It belongs to everyone who takes part in it, and we can’t wait to put it on with you this winter!
