2023-2024 Season
Subjects covered in this section:
1. Eastern Cup Primer – 2023-2024 Season
2. NENSA Junior Ranking List (& New England Junior National Qualification)
3. Race Rules
4. Sprint Rules
5. 2023-2024 Races Scored to the NENSA Junior Ranking Lists
6. Eastern Cup Scoring
7. U.S. Ski & Snowboard Nordic Competition Guide (USSS) – Rules, Races and Rankings
8. Eastern Cup Club Event Scoring — inclusion in year-long Club Cup Points
9. Eastern Cup Club Score (ECCS)
1. Eastern Cup Primer – 2023-24 Season:
Eastern Cup (EC) event registrations are hosted on SkiReg.com.
Key Info before the Eastern Cup Opener in December:
- All racers must have valid NENSA and U.S. Ski & Snowboard (USSS) membership to race – please note a $10 daily NENSA membership is available.
- Purchase or renew your your NENSA membership here.
- Purchase or renew your U.S. Ski & Snowboard membership here. Those over 18 years please complete background check, SafeSport and take online avalanche course or you will be on the PENDING LIST and unable to attend events. If you turn 18 during the season you have 40 days to complete the above requirements before being listed as “Pending.”
- Purchase both your NENSA & U.S. Ski & Snowboard memberships early to ensure proper validation at registration.
- All EC racers will be listed in the overall race results, regardless of your U.S. Ski & Snowboard membership type ($30 general or $125 competitor). To be listed on the National Ranking List (NRL) you need to purchase a U.S. Ski & Snowboard competitors membership. Competitors 17+ (who will turn 18 during the 2023-24 season need to purchase a Competitor membership to comply with SafeSport regulations.
- All junior competitors from New England will be ranked to the NENSA Junior Ranking List (best 4 races for U16 and U18/U20). This list also serves as the qualification list for Junior Nationals**
- You can upgrade to a U.S. Ski & Snowboard competitors license later in the season (NRL points will appear for previous races after the next USSS Points List is posted).
- 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.
- Registration will close at 5pm on the Wednesday before each Eastern Cup weekend.
- Seed lists will be posted on Thursday (using points from the current NRL / FIS lists).
- Start lists will be posted on Friday by 6pm for Saturday and Sunday races.
- Official Eastern Cup results are posted to the Results Page. Live Results on Bulllitt Timing.
- Eastern Cup races will be scored by U.S. Ski & Snowboard and updated to the NRL. Races marked as (F.I.S./NRL) are also scored to FIS.
- NRL and FIS listing dates can be found in the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Nordic Competition Guide.
- SEEDING: All racers will be seeded by their best of either, NRL or FIS points. If you have a U.S. Ski & Snowboard general membership, or have 990 points you will be seeded randomly at the end of the field.
- U12 athletes are not allowed to compete in sanctioned fields (i.e Eastern Cup races). Eastern Cup organizers are encouraged to host an inclusive, age-appropriate race opportunity on at least one day of their EC weekend.
2. Junior Ranking List (JRL) – Junior National Qualifying Points:
JRL points are used to determine qualification of U16,U18 and U20 Juniors for Junior Nationals.
The U18/U20 Junior Ranking List is scored by the “best 4” EC races. Scored by U.S. Ski & Snowboard Points points earned at Eastern Cups.
*JRL Sprint race points are calculated with NRL distance points, to make distance vs. sprint points more consistent. Final JRL race points are calculated from finish position in rounds, NRL points are scored by sprint points based on qualification.
**Please note 2024 JRL distance race points will vary from the final 2023 List as an “equalizer” is applied by USSS at the end of each season to make NRL and FIS points more consistent. Refer to page 20.
The U16 JN Junior Ranking List is also scored by the “best 4” EC races. As of May 2022, U16 ranking will return to a “Continental Cup” style scoring. 30 – 1st, 25 – 2nd, 21 – 3rd, 18 – 4th, 16 – 5th, 15 – 6th, 14 – 7th, 13 – 8th, 12 – 9th, 11 – 10th, 10 – 11th, 9 – 12th, 8 – 13th, 7 – 14th, 6 – 15th, 5 – 16th, 4 – 17th, 3 – 18th, 2 – 19th, 1 – 20th.
**If a U16 competitor races “up” in an Open field at an Eastern Cup they forfeit the ability to score JRL points for that race.
**Race Cancelation Contingency: (adopted April 2023)
If 7 or 8 races are held, 4 are scored to JRL
If 5 or 6 races are held, 3 are scored to JRL
If 3 or 4 races are held, 2 are scored to JRL
The Competitive Program Director will work with the host site and jury to determine if rescheduling changing/cancellation/rescheduling of races should happen.
3. Race Rules:
NENSA runs all 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 U.S. Ski & Snowboard or 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 (U.S. 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 seeded from lowest to highest points and the first seeds may be randomized. (FIS/U.S. 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 U.S. 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.
Eastern Cup Live Timing provided by Bullitt.
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. 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: Chief of Competition, Technical Delegate (TD), NENSA Rep or Technical Delegate Assistant (TDA). 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. U.S. Ski & Snowboard scores all sprints for NRL from the qualifying round.
Heats:
NENSA Eastern Cup events will hold three* official sets of heats: 1.) Open 2.) U18/U20 and 3.) U16 heats.
Open 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 2 in each heat advance along with 2 “Lucky Losers” **
- A-Finals: Finish places 1-6 for the day.
U18/U20 Heats: feature the top 12 U18/U20 racers by qualifier time not advancing to the Open heats.
- Semifinals: 2 heats of 6 racers. Top 2 in each heat advance along with 2 “Lucky Losers” **
- B-Finals: Finish places 7-12 for the day.
- A-Finals: Finish places 1-6 for the day.
U16 Heats: feature the top 18 U16 racers by qualifier time not advancing to the Open heats.
- Semifinal(s): 3 heats of 6 racers. Top 2 in each heat advance with no “Lucky Losers” – heats are untimed.
- A-Finals: Finish places 1-6 for the day.
- U16 heat placement counts for JRL ranking. U.S. Ski & Snowboard scores sprints for NRL from the qualifying rounds.
- U14 skiers racing up are not eligible for JRL points and will not be advanced to heats but will receive NRL points.
* With Timed Heats:
The top 2 in each quarter final advance
- The two third or fourth place finishers with the fastest heat times advance.
** With Untimed Heats:
- The top 2 in each round advance
- The two third place finishers with the lowest bib#’s advance
Results:
- Places 1-6: A-Final order of finish
- Places 7-12 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, based on qualification round placement.
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 relegated to last in the heat.
- If a competitor does not start or finish a heat due to force majeure (verified by a protest) he or she 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.
Protests:
Protests will only be accepted after the finals. Due to holding to schedule 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. 2023-24 (TO BE CONFIRMED MAY 2023) Races Scored to the NENSA Junior Ranking List:
** Distances and techniques are listed here as scheduled and may change. If conditions mandate changes to distance/technique, the race that is held will be scored.**
Eastern Cup #1 – Rikert Nordic Grand Prix – Eastern Cup Opener
Ripton, Vermont
(U.S. Ski & Snowboard sanctioned)
Hosted by Frost Mountain Nordic @ Rikert Nordic Center
December 17-18, 2022
Saturday – Classic individual start: 5k U16, 10k Open
Sunday – Freestyle pursuit start: 5k U16, 5k Open
Eastern Cup #2 – Chisholm Ski Club Eastern Cup and Bates Carnival
Rumford, Maine
(U.S. Ski & Snowboard sanctioned)
Hosted by Chisholm Ski Club at Black Mountain
January 14-15, 2023
Saturday – Freestyle Individual Start: 5k U16, 10k Open
Sunday – Classic Sprint: 1.3k
Eastern Cup #3: Roy Varney Memorial Quarry Road Eastern Cup
(U.S. Ski & Snowboard sanctioned)
Hosted by Quarry Road Trails
February 4-5, 2023
Saturday – Freestyle Mass Start: 5k U16, 10k Open
Sunday – Classic Mass Start 7.5k U16, 7.5k Open
Eastern Cup #4: Dublin Double Eastern Cup
Dublin, New Hampshire
(U.S. Ski & Snowboard sanctioned)
Hosted by Dublin School
February 18-19, 2023
Saturday – Freestyle Sprint: 1.2k
Sunday – Classic Individual Start: 5k U16, 10k Open
6. Eastern Cup Scoring:
The first three races of the 2024 U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships will be scored to the JRL as “Out of Region Qualifiers.”
2023 Schedule of Events:
Monday, January 2, 2023 – Freestyle 10km Interval Start (5km course)
Wednesday, January 4, 2023 – Classic Sprint
Friday, January 6, 2023 – Classic Mass Start (10km/20km)
All designated Eastern Cup races are officially scored by U.S. Ski & Snowboard to the National Ranking List (NRL), usually by no later than the Thursday after the race weekend. NENSA updates the JRL lists as soon as possible. Athletes with U.S. Ski & Snowboard General Memberships are not scored to the US Ski & Snowboard NRL, however all competitors at any EC will be scored to the NENSA Junior Ranking List. 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 7 of 8 (EC) of the Eastern Cup races are scored to determine the overall winners. If calendars are reduced, the “best” number will reduce: If 7 or 8 races are held, 4 are scored, if 5 or 6 races are held, 3 are scored, if 3 or 4 races are held, 2 are scored.
7. US Ski & Snowboard Nordic Competition Guide
8. Eastern Cup Club Event Scoring — inclusion in year-long Club Cup Points
In the winter of 2021, the scope of Club Cup Scoring was expanded to include all Popular and Eastern Cup Races, in an effort to reflect the broadest club participation across all competitive events. The point base for any given category is 60 points for a win, then decreasing by 1 point per place. Up to three skiers per category score points for their club.
Eastern Cup highlights the following six categories: U16 girls/boys, U18/20 girls/boys and Open men/women.
9. Eastern Cup Team Score (ECTS)