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U16 Championship Rules

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 forty-eight 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.

 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 ODD years; 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:

PM: 5k Freestyle; wave-start

There will be a 1-hour coaches meeting between 12 and 2:00PM.

Saturday

AM: 5K Classic; wave start

PM: 1.0-1.25k Freestyle Sprint race, wave start, OR a cross-country cross (XCX) race. See bottom of document for XCX information.

Saturday Evening: Awards Ceremony and Banquet

Sunday:

AM: Mixed Technique, Mixed Gender Relay Mass Start: 2 classic legs followed by 2 freestyle legs, course length 2.5 – 3.5k (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 Tag Zone.

1c. 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 skier’s 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, but they cannot try out for both states.

Each state will determine the competition and rules for their team selection. Selection event schedule and qualifying criteria should be sent to NENSA ([email protected]) by January 1st. 

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:

Eight coaches are allowed at no additional charge per New England team. Three coaches are allowed at no additional charge per Out-of-Region team.

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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 will 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 will 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.

7. Team Entry & Registration

 7a. The suggested maximum entry fee for U16 Championships is $120 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 $120 fee.

Canadian guests, and other 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.

8. 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.

9. 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:

  • 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
  • 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

10. Hard copies at race site

Results: one copy for the team leader Team scores after each race

11. 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.

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 NENSA 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/

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, ad other skiing terrain features.

12a. General Rules

  • Competition may be carried out as an individual start competition, or follow the finals format of an individual start competition.
  • 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 no properly navigated features.
  • In qualification, if one feature is report, a 5 second penalty will be applied. If more than one violation is reported, that skier will be relegated to the end of qualification results and sorted by finish time. In finals, any violation will relegate the competitor to the back of the heat.

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 myst 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 June 2020