NENSA U16 Championship Rules Document
The U16 Championship began in 1992, and has grown to be a highlight of the winter season for junior athletes. Young competitors are brought together under their state team banners in a festival atmosphere to ski in four races over three days. The four New England states and New York each qualify their fastest twenty four* 14-15 year old boys and girls. This event also welcomes up to 24 guest skiers from other regions and Canada who compete head-to-head with skiers from the Northeast. Seeded wave starts ensure match racing at its finest, and the relay traditionally caps off the Championship with a team event.
*Beginning 2015: Team quota has been increased to 24 skiers per gender per state team & guest class. The top 20 finishers will score points in each race.
1. Schedule
Race Organizer will have event entry fee and initial event info (Team Leader Packet which includes: schedule, site info, contact info, registration, waxing, parking, banquet, awards) to all team leaders in January. This information will be posted on the U16 event page on www.NENSA.net. NENSA will provide team leader contact information.
1a. The U16 Championships takes place on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the second weekend in March. Boys race first every race on an ODD year; Girls race first every race on EVEN years for every race, including the relay. There must be at least 1 hr between start times for the boys and girls races.
1b. The competition schedule consists of the following:
Friday:
5K Freestyle; wave-start
There will be a 1-hour coaches meeting between 12 and 2:00PM.
Saturday
AM: 5K Classic; wave start
PM: 1.0-1.25km Freestyle Sprint race, wave start Saturday Evening: Awards Ceremony and Banquet
Sunday:
Mixed Technique, Mixed Gender Relay Mass Start: 2 CL legs followed by 2 F/S legs, course length 2.5 – 3.5 K (Note that the relay requires two separate courses for classic and skate 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 Tag Zone.
1c . The schedule is set so that Friday’s Freestyle begins no earlier than 3:00PM and Sunday’s awards ceremony begins no later than 1PM.
1d. 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.
2. Team Compositions and Eligibility
2a. Any US state or region may enter an official team. If the state or region is not in New England or New York, they are allotted a maximum of 8 athletes: 4 boys and 4 girls. The guest class (including all out of region skiers) shall not exceed 24 skiers total.
2b . Team Composition / Start Rights:
An official New England 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. 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.
2c. Eligibility:
Competition is open to all U16 aged athletes.
Athletes may choose to compete for their home state or the state in which their school is located.
Each state will determine the competition and rules for their team selection. Selection event schedule and qualifying criteria should be sent to NENSA by January 1st. ([email protected])
2d . International Guests:
International guests may be invited to compete in the U16 Championships. They will be counted as part of the 24-skier maximum guest class. U16 aged guests are treated like any other competitor with regards to awards.
2e. Coaches:
8 coaches are allowed at no additional charge per New England team. 3 coaches are allowed at no additional charge per Out of Region team.
- Seeding
3a . Individual events are seeded by team rank, fastest to slowest, in 24 seed groups.
3b . Relay teams are seeded by the team leader and may start in any order within their team’s designated start lane(s).
For the Relay, Guest class skiers will share one lane and alternate Guest teams within that lane.
Relay teams are due to NENSA and timer by 5pm on Saturday, before the team leaves the venue.
3c . Sprint wave start: Every state, including guests, should be represented in each wave.
3d. Guest skiers will be seeded the same as NENSA skiers: Fastest to slowest in the three individual races.
3e . Lane assignments and tag zones should be chosen by a double blind draw for every race and every gender.
- Scoring
4a . Individual events are scored as follows:
1st place receives 135 points, 2nd place 130, 3rd 126 4th 123, 5th 121, 6th 120, with each subsequent place awarded points decreasing by one.
4b . Relays are scored as follows:
1st 650, 2nd 600, 3rd 560, 4th 530, 5th 510, 6th 500, 7th 490, with each subsequent place awarded points in descending increments of 10.
4c . Points
- Points shall be awarded for each state to the top 20 finishers in the individual events.
- Points will be awarded to the top ten relay teams. Relay teams 11-12 do not displace.
- Only the top 20 finishers from each state may displace other skiers in scoring. 21-24 do not 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.
4d. Only U16 aged skiers will be counted for scoring.
Any U14 aged skier attending as an out of region guest will not count for scoring or displace other skiers.
Any relay team that a U14 skier is on will not be scored and will not displace other relay teams.
4e. Guest U16 skiers will not be included in team points and awards, and they do not displace. Guest skiers will be scored for individual awards.
- Results
5a . 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.
5b. Results need to be posted in a vertical format for all fields
Place | Bib | First Name | Last Name | NENSA # | Club/School | Time | Points
6. Awards
6a. The top 10 finishers in each race and the top 3 relay teams shall be recognized with medals. The top 5 relay teams will be recognized.
6b . Top 3 overall skiers (those with the highest combined point total) in the three individual events shall be recognized at the final awards ceremony with special awards (medals or prizes).
6c . A raffle or other fun giveaway is traditional and encouraged as part of the Saturday awards gathering.
6d. Guest skiers will be recognized at the awards ceremony and included in the individual awards.
- Team Entry & Registration
7a. The suggested maximum entry fee for U16 Championships is $110 per athlete. Any amount above this this must be approved by NENSA.
7b. 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 $110 fee.
Canadian guests, and out of region skiers do not have to be NENSA members.
7c. Athlete T-shirts are typically given to all registrants.
7d . Deadline for Team Entry is one week prior to event.
7e . Entry Roster should list Girls Team 1-24 and Boys Team 1-24 with the following information included in this format:
First Name | Last Name | NENSA # | Club/School | T-Shirt Size
7f. Each State’s Qualifier must be listed with NENSA (all fees waived). Listing is due by November 15th.
- Site Selection
Site selection is determined by NENSA through an 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.
- Coaches Meeting
A 1-hour coaches meeting will be held between 12:00 and 2:00PM on Friday opening the competition.
9a . Printed materials to be handed out at coaches meeting, provided by host site:
2 copies of start lists for each team (minimum)
2 copies of course maps for each team (minimum)
2 Copies of stadium maps for all races
Relay forms: two copies, one to be kept by team leader
A written agenda to be used at the coaches meeting and handed out to coaches
9b . Mandatory information to be presented via PowerPoint (or similar) at coaches meeting
Course maps
Stadium maps
Other information about the venue & weekend’s event
- Hard copies at race site
Results: one copy for the team leader Team scores after each race
- Technical Details
11a . Race organizer pays TD & TDA 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 to the NENSA Event Organizer Seminar held in the fall every year.
11c . FIS/USSA rules will apply to this event. The race jury will handle all technical competition decisions, such as protests and disqualifications.
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.
11.e. 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 NENSNA Executive Director Amie Smith at [email protected] 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, TD Coordinator and a community member at large). 2020 Committee: Justin Beckwith, Fred Bailey, Sverre Caldwell
11f. This event is subject to NENSA’s waxing policy. Further details can be found at: https://nensa.net/2019/11/05/nensa-waxing-policy-2019-2020-ski-season/
Updated November 2019