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NENSA Eastern High School Championship Rules Document

The NENSA Eastern High School Championship (EHSC) is the premier event for high school and prep school racers in New England and New York. Competition between states is highly competitive and media attention is significant. The goal of the EHSC is to provide the highest quality competition for high school-aged athletes representing their state teams. Athletes qualify for the EHSC through independent state qualifying races (ME, NH, VT, MA, NY). Up to 24 boys and 24 girls are selected for each state team. This event also welcomes guest skiers from other regions, Canada and other nations who compete head-to-head with skiers from the Northeast.  An interval start, a mass start, and a seeded wave start ensures racing at its finest, and the relay traditionally caps off the Championship with a team event.

1. Schedule

Race Organizer will have the event entry fee and initial event info (Team Leader Packet which includes information on: schedule, site, contacts, registration, waxing, parking, banquet, and awards) to all team leaders in January. This information will be posted on the EHSC event page on www.NENSA.net. NENSA will provide team leader contact information.

1a. The Eastern High School Championship takes place on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the second or third weekend in March, to coincide with Junior Nationals. Boys race first on ODD years; Girls race first on EVEN years for every race, including the relay.

1b. Friday’s freestyle race begins no earlier than 3:00pm and Sunday’s awards begin no later than 12:00pm. There must be at least 1 hr between start times for the boys and girls races.

1c.There must be a Team Leader meeting with the Jury one hour before each race during the weekend, with the exception of Friday’s freestyle race.

1d. The competition schedule typically consists of the following:

Friday:

PM: 5k Freestyle; Interval Start: 3:00pm (or later)

Coaches meeting (1 hour): noon

Saturday:

AM: 7.5k Classic; Mass Start: 9:30 am

PM: Freestyle Sprint race; wave start, OR a cross-country cross (XCX) race. See bottom of this document for XCX information. Time TBD by Race Director.

Saturday Evening: Banquet with Award Ceremony.

Sunday: 

AM: Mixed Technique, Mixed Gender Relay Race; Mass Start: 2 classic legs followed by 2  freestyle legs. Courses should be 2.5k – 3.5k in length (relay requires two separate courses for classic and freestyle legs).

Tag Zone: 50m in length wherever possible with minimum length of 40m.  Each team is given one corral from which to feed athletes into the Tag Zone. Corrals will be placed on both sides of the Tag Zone.

Alternatively a tag-less relay may be run, where finishing skiers will cross a visible line in a lane adjacent to the start that is in view of the next leg skier, between 5-10m in front of the start line.  Once the finishing skier has crossed their finish line, then the next leg skier may begin.  Each team will have a start lane to load next leg skiers through.  This use of this format is site and condition dependent.

2. Team Compositions and Eligibility

2a. Any US state, US Ski & Snowboard region, or Canadian Province, or Country may enter an official team. Maximum of 48 athletes per team. Teams can support adjacent states/provinces who do not sponsor a team (i.e. MA+RI/CT, NY+NJ/PA, VT+QC/ON, NH+QC, ME+NB/PEI/NS).

2b. An official team consists of up to 24 boys and up to 24 girls. No more than 24 boys and 24 girls from each team may start in each race. Teams may include athletes from other states up to 24 if they have incomplete rosters. Or athletes from other states may select to be their own team.

2c. Deadline for Team Entry is one week prior to the event.

2d. Coaches: 8 coaches (7 coaches/1 team leader) per team will be provided courses access bibs and banquet tickets free of charge.

2e. Entry Roster should list Girls Teams 1-24 / Boys Teams 1-24, Girls Para 1-4 / Boys Para 1-4, plus three alternates for each gender.

2f. Eligibility:

Competition is open to all high-school students Grades 9-12 with a minimum age of 14 by December 31st of that year.  Post-graduate students are not eligible.

Athletes may choose to compete for their home state or the state in which their school is located, but they cannot try out for both states.

Each State will determine the competition and rules for their team selection. Athletes from supported states/provinces must compete in respective state’s qualification process. Selection event schedule and qualifying criteria should be sent to NENSA (staff@nensa.net) by December 15th.

2g. Guests:

Guests, both national and international, may be invited to compete in the Eastern High School Championships. Guests must meet the above eligibility requirements and are treated like any other competitor with regards to awards.

3. Team Entry & Registration

3a. The suggested entry fee for EHS Championships is $150 per athlete. Any amount above this must be approved by NENSA. Please submit a proposed fee along with Bid.

3b. NENSA Membership Required

All New England and New York participants must have an active NENSA  membership. It is up to the individual athlete to register with NENSA and membership is not included in the $150 registration fee. Canadians and out of region guest skiers should contact NENSA about guest membership.

3c. Athlete T-shirts are typically included with the entry fee.

3d. Team entry rosters should be submitted using the NENSA-provided template, including the following information:

First Name | Last Name | NENSA #| Grade | Club/School | T-shirt Size

3e. Running orders for all three individual races must be the same.

3f. Deadline for Team Entry is one week prior to the event.

3g. All team leaders should send rosters via the state’s registration google doc provided by NENSA.

3h. Racer Substitutions:

Once start lists have been created prior to the weekend, a state can substitute a skier within the replaced skiers spot /seed only. Once a substitution has been made the replaced skier cannot be put back in.

3j. Relay orders must be submitted via the state’s registration google doc provided by NENSA and are due to Race Directorby 5:00pm on Saturday.  It is recommended that the form is filled out early and adjustments made Friday night or Saturday morning. There is no excuse for late submissions and they will NOT be accepted.

4. Seeding

4a. Individual events are seeded by team rank, fastest to slowest,in descending order in 24 seed groups. Guest skiers will be seeded the same manner as NENSA skiers.

• If more than 7 full teams are present, each seed group will be randomly split and run as two waves.

4b. Lane assignments and tag zones will be chosen by a double blind draw for every race and every gender.

4c. Sprint wave start: Every state, including guests, should be represented in each wave (see exception below):

• The sprint starts as 4 to 7-person waves seeded by team fastest to slowest.
• If more than 7 full teams are present, each seed group will be randomly split and run as two waves.
• There is no tracking rule in effect for the sprint race.

4d. Relay teams are seeded by the team leader and may start in any order within their team’s designated start lane(s). There is no arrowhead in this event. Relay teams are due to NENSA and timer by 5pm on Saturday. For the Relay, guest class skiers will share one lane and alternate guest teams within that lane.

• Up to 7 team lanes will be provided.
• In the case of more than 2 Guest teams totaling less than 48 athletes per gender, those teams would share two lanes, with the remaining 5 going to MA, ME, NH, NY, VT.
• If more than 7 full teams present, after the arrowhead the first 7 teams will share their lane with the remaining 1+ team(s) evenly distributed within the lanes, also alternating in team order (i.e. NH, GL, NH, GL).

4e. Mass start classic race will utilize a seeded arrowhead start formation. The top 2 skiers from each state will be seeded. This group will be randomized within the seeds (for example: seed 1=5 skiers randomized within seed 1; seed 2=5 skiers randomized within seed 2). The remaining athletes are seeded by coaches.

• There will be no more than 7 start lanes for mass start events, 5 or 3 are acceptable given attendance or snow conditions.   1 lane per team, unless snow conditions do not allow enough width in the start, in which case each seed group will be randomized and assigned by the race jury.
• In the case of more than 2 Guest teams totaling less than 48 athletes per gender, those teams would share two lanes, with the remaining 5 going to MA, ME, NH, NY, VT.
• If more than 7 full teams present, after the arrowhead the first 7 teams will share their lane with the remaining 1+ team(s) evenly distributed within the lanes, also alternating in team order (i.e. NH, GL, NH, GL).  Order to alternate between the mass start and 1st leg of the relay.
• See example arrowhead setup (link)

5. Bibbing

Suggested method for bibbing:

5a. Bib # 101+ for whichever gender starts first any given year. Bib # 301+ for the other gender.

• Guest athletes are included in continuous bibbing sequence.
• These bibs are distributed to team leaders prior to the first event, and are not collected until after the final event on Saturday. Athletes will wear the same bib in the first three events and are responsible for keeping up with those bibs.  This includes those in the top 15 arrowhead.

Remaining skiers are seeded by team leaders/coaches.

5c. All bibs will be collected Saturday afternoon and redistributed for the relay.

5d. Relay bibbing can be done as follows:

Team 1 – 101, 201, 301, 401

Team 2 – 102, 202, 302, 402

Team 3 – 103, 203, 303, 403

Team 4 – 104, 204, 304, 404

Team 5 – 105, 205, 305, 405

5e. Teams will be charged $50 for any missing bibs not collected at the conclusion of the event.

6. Scoring

There will be a team leader vote on the team scoring depth for individual events
depending on the final team size upon arrival of all teams at the race venue and prior to the first event, if MA, ME, NH, and/or VT have below 20 individuals per gender, with a minimum of 16 scored per individual race. The team scoring depth for the relay will equal one half the agreed upon team scoring depth for the individual events (20 individuals per gender => 10 relay teams, 18 individuals per gender => 9 relay teams, etc.). All teams, regardless of number of athletes, count for scoring and displacement.

All scoring is done by points, and not by time.

6a. Individual Events are scored as follows:

1st place receives 235 points, 2nd place 230, 3rd 226 4th 223, 5th 221, 6th 220, with each subsequent place awarded points decreasing by one.

6b. Relays are scored as follows:

1st 1050, 2nd 1000, 3rd 960, 4th 930, 5th 910, 6th 900, 7th 890, etc, in descending increments of 10.

6c. Points:

• Points shall be awarded for all finishers in the individual events and
  all finishing relay teams.
• Individual overall scores will be determined by summing individual event points for all finishers of any individual events.
• Team scores will be determined by summing the individual event & relay points scored by the top skiers & relay teams for each team, down to scoring depth agreed to by the team leaders (see provision above). Skiers & relay teams finishing below the agreed upon scoring depths will displace.
• Boy’s and girl’s team scores need to be totaled and listed at the end of each event along with state totals.
• Overall points scored by individuals in the sprint, classic, and skate races need to be tallied prior to the Saturday evening awards.

7. Results

7a.  Results will be posted on-site and at NENSA.net following each event. The results will include individual scoring and team scores. A final results packet will be prepared, with 1 hard copy available for each team leader at the event’s conclusion.

7b. Results need to be posted in a vertical format for the following fields:

Place | Bib | First Name | Last Name | State/Region/Province | Grade | Time | Individual Points | Team Points

7c. One hard copy of the results should be presented to each team leader after the final race.

8. Awards

8a. The top 10 finishers in each race and the top 3 relay teams will be recognized with medals.  The top 5 relay teams will be recognized.

8b. The top 3 overall skiers, male and female (those with the highest combined point total) in the three individual events will be recognized at the final awards ceremony with special awards (medals or prizes).

8c. A raffle or other fun giveaway is traditional and encouraged as part of the Saturday awards gathering. Recognition ceremony (podium/flowers) following each event is also encouraged.

8d. Guest skiers will be recognized at the awards ceremony and included in the individual awards.

9. Site Selection

Site selection is determined by NENSA through its event bidding process. Geographic rotation, venue quality, organizational structure, and appropriate local resources for lodging and meals will be considered in the awarding of bids. Guarantee lodging and block rooms. Lodging List should be provided by organizer. Twenty-two rooms per team.

10. Coaches Meeting

A 1-hour coaches meeting will be held between 12:00 and 2:00PM on Friday opening the competition.

10a. Printed materials to be handed out at coaches meeting, provided by host site:

• Two copies of start lists for each team (minimum)
• Two copies of course maps for each team (minimum)
• Two copies of stadium maps for all races
• A written agenda to be used at the coaches meeting and handed out to coaches

10b. Mandatory information to be presented at coaches meeting:

• Course maps
• Stadium maps
• Other information about the venue and weekend’s event

11. Technical Details

11a. Race organizer pays TD & TDA a daily fee of $100 per day, mileage, lodging, and meals.

11b. Organizing Committee will be required to send Chief of Competition and one additional representative (ideally the Race Secretary) to the NENSA Fall Event Organizer Seminar.

11c.  Rules similar to FIS rules will apply to this event. Competition technical decisions will be handled by the jury such as protests, disqualifications, and sanctions.

11d. State uniforms must be worn, both bottom and top pieces, unless deemed by the TD that the temperatures are too warm to require full race suits be worn.

11e. Coaches have the right to appeal a protest decision with NENSA. An appeal may be submitted only by the Team Leader and should be sent to Isabel Caldwell at isabel@nensa.net within 2 days of the occurrence. There will be a $100 fee for any appeal, made payable to NENSA. The appeal will be arbitrated by the Appeals Committee comprised of (Competitive Program Director, a FIS TD and a community member at large).  2025 Committee: Fred Bailey, Bill Rogers, Sverre Caldwell.

11f. Two cameras required: One Finish line camera broadside and one head on (video, camcorder, etc.).

11h. This event is subject to NENSA’s wax policy.

12. Cross Country Cross (XCX)

Cross country cross is a competition where competitors compete on a cross country ski course that includes both traditional and non-traditional elements such as natural and artificial terrain features, corridors, obstacles, and tight turns, as well as different natural and artificial types of turns, jumps, waves, and other skiing terrain features.

12a. General Rules

• Competition will be carried out as a wave start competition.  Waves are organized by seed group.
• Cross Country Cross shall be carried out in freestyle technique only.
• The length of the course shall be 1.5k (+/- 10%)
• All features shall be well designed and maintained throughout the competition for the safety of athletes and limit any undue stress on equipment.
• Gatekeepers/course marshals will report competitors to the jury that have not properly navigated features.
• A 5 second penalty will be applied for each missed feature, unless a marked alternate route is used.

12b. Course Rules

• Elements should be built into the course progressively so that features that have limited “best line” opportunities are later in the course, ie. “bicycle bumps.”
• There must be a minimum of two features or lines through any element, ie. “red and blue course.”
• If any alternate route exists around a feature, it must disadvantage the competitor by forcing them to travel in a longer route.

Updated December 2024