Race Rules

2018-2019 Season

Subjects covered in this section:

1.     Eastern Cup Primer – 2018-19 Season
2.     JNQ Points
3.     Race Rules
4.     Sprint Rules
5.     2018-2019 Races Scored to the NENSA JNQ Ranking Lists (Including Out-of-Region Races)
6.     EasternCup Scoring
7.     US Ski & Snowboard Nordic Competition Guide – Rules, Races and Rankings

1. Eastern Cup Primer for upcoming 2018-19 Season:

In May 2016, the NENSA Board voted to move from using the NENSA points system, to using US Ski & Snowboard points only, for scoring all EasternCup (EC) races, and for Junior National qualifying (JNQ) ranking list.

All EasternCup race registrations will be done on SkiReg.com, and registration will open on November 1st

Here is what YOU need to know to be ready to race in the first Eastern Cup in December:

  1. All racers must have valid NENSA and US Ski & Snowboard membership to race – please note a $10 daily NENSA membership is available.
  2. Purchase or renew your your NENSA membership here.
  3. Purchase or renew your US Ski & Snowboard membership here.
  4. Buy both your NENSA & US Ski & Snowboard memberships early to ensure proper validation on SkiReg.
  5. All EC racers will be listed in the overall race results, regardless of your US Ski & Snowboard membership type ($15 general or $95 competitor).  If you want to be listed on the US Ski & Snowboard National Ranking List (NRL), and be ranked for New England Junior National team (best of 3 for U16, or best of 4 for U18/U20)  you need to purchase a US Ski & Snowboard competitors membership.
  6. You can upgrade to a US Ski & Snowboard competitors license later in the season, (points may not retroactively apply to previous races).
  7. Each Eastern Cup has a Virtual Team Captain’s Meeting (VTCM) an information page for updates: on venue, times changes, and important racer/coach information.
  8. Registration will close at 5pm on the Wednesday before each Eastern Cup weekend.
  9. Seed lists will be posted on Thursday (using points from the most current US Ski & Snowboard list/FIS)
  10. Start lists will be posted on Friday by 6pm for Saturday and Sunday races.
  11. Final Eastern Cup race results can be found here.  Live results links will be made available on the EC event pages.
  12. All Eastern Cup races will be scored by US Ski & Snowboard, and updated to the NRL.  Races marked as (FIS/NRL) are also scored by FIS.
  13. NRL and FIS listing dates can be found in the US Ski & Snowboard Nordic Competition Guide. 
  14. SEEDING:  All racers will be seeded by their best of either, US Ski & Snowboard or FIS points.    If you have a US Ski & Snowboard general membership, or have 990 points you will be seeded randomly at the end of the field.
  15. For U18/U20 JN qualifying, NENSA will rank Best of 4 EC and/or OOR races, and this will be posted on the Rankings Page.
  16. For U16 JN qualifying, NENSA will score the Best 4 EC races, and no OOR races.  This will be done using US Ski and Snowboard Super Tour Scoring (see below).   NENSA uses the following tie-breaking mechanisms:
    ~Best single finish in a selection race
    ~Second best single finish in a selection race
    ~Third best single finish in a selection race
    ~Fourth best single finish in a selection race
    Note: All U16 races at NENSA Eastern Cups are scored; for sprints, the final results for the top 12 come from the heats/finals, and from the qualifying for places 13 and higher.

2.  JN Qualifying Points:

JNQ points are used to determine qualification of U16/U18 and U20 Juniors for the New England Junior National Team.  JNQ points are US Ski & Snowboard Points (for U18/U20’s) and ST Point Scoring (for U16’s) earned from Eastern Cup races, as well as any (predetermined) out-of-region (OOR) races for the season, determined by the Athletic Development Committee (ADC).
*Juniors registered with NENSA 1-Day memberships will not appear in JN ranking.
**Sprint points are calculated with distance points.

3.  Race Rules:

NENSA runs all of its Eastern Cup and Championship Events following general FIS guidelines.

SEEDING for NENSA Eastern Cup Races:

Individual Starts:  For individual starts, athletes are seeded based on US Ski & Snowboard/FIS Points. The first 15 athletes are seeded in the A-group, and the B-group contains the next 15 athletes. After the B-group, athletes are seeded in groups of 30 (C, D, E, etc.) until all ranked athletes are seeded.  All unseeded pre-registered athletes (990 seed points) will form a single seed group at the end of the field.  In most races, the B group will start first followed by A, C, D, E..

Sprints:  Athletes are a straight seed by lowest to highest points and the first seeds may be randomized (US Ski & Snowboard/FIS Rules).

Mass Start:  For Mass Start races an A-group is created based on the strength of the field.  Within the A-group, the highest ranked athlete gets the most preferable start position, followed by the second ranked athlete, etc.  The B-group contains all other pre-registered athletes.  The C-group includes all unranked athletes (990’s) and will be randomized. There is no late or day of race registrants for mass start races. The A group gets the most preferable start position, followed by B, C and D.

U16 seeding:

For open field:  U16 field is seeded according to their NRL points when entered into an open field.

For U16 only field:  A- and B- seed groups contain 8 athletes each, followed by a C seed for pre registered athletes with NRL points.  The D seed will include pre-registered athletes with 990 points.  All late or day of race registrants will form a seed group at the end of the field. In most races, the A-group will start first, followed by B, C, D, etc.

For U16 sprints: Athletes are a straight seed by lowest to highest points and the first seeds may be randomized. (FIS/US Ski & Snowboard Rules). For sprint qualifier U16’s are seeded with open field as mentioned above in open field.

Results:

Race results are unofficial for 15 minutes following the time of posting. All protests of results must be submitted within these 15 minutes to the Competition Office. Clerical errors, such as name spelling, incorrect US Ski & Snowboard# or NENSA#, etc. must be cleared up prior to the start of the race.  It is each racers responsibility to confirm their correct information prior to the start of each race, when they pick up their bib. 

Protests:

All protests must be submitted in writing to the Competition Office at the event during the protest period (start of race to 15 minutes after unofficial results are posted.) Sprint Heats (except for the final) may not be protested. Instead, sprint heats are “refereed” by a 5-member jury.

Jury:

Each NENSA Eastern Cup and Championship Event is governed by a jury with at least three members. The jury is composed of: Race Director, NENSA Rep, and Technical Delegate (TD.) For sprint races, the jury is expanded to five members with two assistant Technical Delegates added to the jury.

4.     SPRINTS:

Qualification Rounds: 

Racers start at intervals of 15 seconds.  US Ski & Snowboard scores all sprints for NRL off the qualifying rounds only.

Heats:

NENSA Eastern Cup events will hold two* official sets of heats: 1.) “Premier” and 2.) U16 heats.

Premier Heats: feature the top 30 racers by qualifier time.

  • Quarterfinals: 5 heats of 6 racers. Top 2 in each heat advance along with 2 “Lucky Losers” **
  • Semifinals: 2 heats of 6 racers. Top 3 in each heat advance.
  • B-Finals: Bottom 3 racers from each semifinal heat. (Finish places 7-12 for the day.)
  • A-Finals: Top 3 racers from each semifinal heat. (Finish places 1-6 for the day.)

U16 Heats: feature the top 12 U16 racers by qualifier time not advancing to the Premier heats.

  • Semifinals: 2 heats of 6 racers. Top 3 in each heat advance unless the OC has ability to advance by time.
  • B-Finals: Bottom 3 racers from each semifinal heat. Run at Race Director discretion.
  • A-Finals: Top 3 racers from each semifinal heat.
  • U16 heats count for JN qualifying ranking only, but do not count for NRL points.  US Ski & Snowboard scores all sprints for NRL off the qualifying rounds only.  U14 skiers racing up are not eligible for JNQ points and will not be advanced to the U16 heats.

Additional Heats: Run at Race Director discretion.

  • U18 / U20 heats featuring the top 12 combined U18/U20 skiers not advancing to Premier heats.
  • If scheduled and run, U18/U20 heats will count for JNQ ranking only, but do not count for NRL/FIS points.  US Ski & Snowboard scores all sprints for NRL off the qualifying rounds only.

** With Untimed Heats:

  • The top 2 in each quarter final advance
  • The two third place finishers with the lowest bib#’s advance

** With Timed Heats:

  • The top 2 in each quarter final advance
  • The two third or fourth place finishers with the fastest heat times advance.

Results:

  • Places 1-6: A-Final order of finish
  • Places 7-12: B-Final order of finish
  • In the case of no B Final, the athletes are ranked according their ranking in semi-final.

Order of finish placings (based on FIS rules):

  • 13th – 15th/16th rank, the 3rd place finisher from each heat in the quarter-final, who did not advance to the semi-finals will be assigned based on their respective ranking in the qualifying round
  • 16th/17th – 20th rank, the 4th place finisher from each heat in the quarter-final will be assigned based on their respective ranking in the qualifying round. (Exception, if one of those 4th place finishers will advance to the semi final)
  • 21st – 25th rank, the 5th place finisher from each heat in the quarter-final will be assigned based on their respective ranking in the qualifying round.
  • 26th – 30th rank, the 6th place finisher from each heat in the quarter-final will be assigned based on their respective ranking in the qualifying round.
  • 31st to last rank, the results from the qualification round will be used.

General Rules of the Sprint Race:

  • A competitor must ski the entire course in each heat in order to be ranked, otherwise they will be ranked as the last of all qualifiers.
  • If a competitor does not start a heat, he will be ranked last in that round.
  • If a competitor does not start or finish a heat due to force majeure (verified by a protest) he is ranked last in this heat.

Bracket:

A bracket is set up after the qualification round. The initial bracket includes all of the qualified athletes filled in for the opening round. As the event progresses, brackets should be a) filled in on a large board and b) printed and posted between each round on the official results board. See attached for a sample bracket.

Protests:

Protests will only be accepted after the finals (as it is in normal competitions). Due to the timeline pressure of running successive heats it is not possible to allow for protests during heats and semifinals.

Notes for Race Directors:

  • If race organizers choose to have more athletes compete in heats, they must be isolated from the official heats; they may not be mixed with official heats.
  • The heats do not need to be timed.
  • A consolation final may be provided for semifinalists who do not advance.
  • Provide qualifier times in results.

5.   2018-2019 Races Scored to the NENSA JNQ Ranking Lists:   

Note: distances and techniques are listed here as scheduled.  If conditions mandate changes to distance/technique, the race that is held will be scored.

NENSA Eastern Cup Series Races:

Craftsbury Eastern Cup OPENER # 1
Craftsbury, Vermont
Hosted by the Craftsbury Outdoor Center  (FIS/NRL)

Saturday December 22 – Skate Sprint (1.3km)

Sunday December 23 – Skate Mass Start (5km U16 and women /10km men)

Lake Placid Super Tour / Eastern Cup # 2
Lake Placid, New York
Hosted by Mt. Van Hoevenberg – (FIS/NRL)

Saturday January 26 – Classic Sprint

Sunday January 27 – Classic Mass Start (5km U16/10km Women / 15km Men)

Frost Mountain Nordic Eastern Cup # 3
Ripton, Vermont
Hosted by Rikert Nordic Center (NRL)

Friday February 15 – Please note Middlebury Carnival races in AM – Official Training 1-4pm

Saturday February 16 – Skate Interval Start (5km U16 and Women/10km Men)

Sunday February 17 – Classic Mass Start (5km U16/10km Women/15km Men) * Masters / Junior Skiathlon will follow EC races

Dublin Double Eastern Cup – EC Weekend #4
DAY ONE – Dublin, New Hampshire
Hosted by Dublin School (NRL)

Saturday February 23, 2019 – Skate Interval Start Prologue (3km all skiers) followed by a Skate Sprint Prologue (1.5km all skiers)

Cheri Walsh Memorial Eastern Cup – EC Weekend #4
DAY TWO – Holderness, New Hampshire
Hosted by the Holderness School Nordic Club (NRL)

Sunday February 24, 2019 – Classic Interval Start (5km U16/10km Women/15km Men)

Out-of-Region Races for 2018-19 Season (U18/U20’s only):

US National Championships – Craftsbury Outdoor Center – Craftsbury, VT

Thursday, January 3: Classic Individual Start 10km/15km
Friday, January 4:  Classic Sprint
Sunday, January 6:  Skate Mass Start 7.5km/10km
*Please note the Sprint on January 8 is not scored to JNQ.

THERE IS NO OOR RACES for U16’s  

*US Nationals races will be scored to the NENSA JNQ Ranking Lists using US Ski & Snowboard points for U18 & U20’s (sprint re-scored with distance points).  An athlete must be a US Ski & Snowboard competitor member to compete at the US National Championships.

Please note: Points for the final sprint will not be scored to the NENSA JNQ Ranking Lists.

6.  Eastern Cup Scoring:

All Eastern Cup races are scored by US Ski & Snowboard to the National Ranking List (NRL), usually by no later then the Thursday after the race weekend.  NENSA ranks JNQ lists as soon as possible.  Athletes with US Ski & Snowboard General Memberships are not scored to the US Ski & Snowboard NRL or JNQ lists.  All competitors are listed in results.

To determine the overall Eastern Cup Champions (the Gallagher Cup winners) at the end of the season (one male/one female) – the best of 7 out of 9 of the Eastern Cup races are scored to determine the overall winners.

7.     US Ski & Snowboard Nordic Competition Guide