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.
Guest teams from other U.S. states, Canada and other nations are also invited to
participate. Seeded wave starts ensure match racing at its finest, and the relay caps off
the Championship with a team event.
1. Schedule
Race Organizer will have event entry fee and initial event info (schedule, site info) to all
team leaders no later than January 1st. NENSA will provide team leader contact
information.
1a. The Eastern High School Championship takes place on the Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday of the third weekend in March. Boys race first every race on an odd
year; Girls race first every race on even years.
1b. The schedule is set so that Friday’s Freestyle race begins no earlier than 3: 00
PM and Sunday’s awards begin no later than noon.
1c. The competition schedule consists of the following:
Friday:
Coaches meeting (1 hour): 1:00pm
5K Freestyle; Individual Start: 3:00pm (or later)
Saturday:
AM: 7.5K Classic; Mass Start: 10:00am
Mass start/arrowhead formation for top 3 skiers from each state. Top 3
seeded by Team Leaders. This total of 15 skiers will be randomized within
the seeds (seed 1=5 skiers randomized within seed 1; seed 2=5 skiers
randomized within seed 2; seed 3=5 skiers randomized within seed 3).
PM: Sprint (CL/FS); Wave Start: Time TBD by Race Director
5-person waves seeded by state fastest to slowest.
There is a no tracking rule in effect for this race. Please refer to NENSA
Event Organizers Handbook for details about EHSC rules.
Saturday Evening: Banquet with Award Ceremony.
Sunday:
Mixed Technique, Mixed Gender Relay Race; Mass Start: 2 Classic legs
followed by 2 Skate legs. Courses should be 2.5K – 3.5K in length. (Note
that the relay requires two separate courses for classic and skate legs).
Tag Zone: 50m in length wherever possible with minimum length of 30m.
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.
1d. A webpage or website specifically created for EHSC is required from Event
Organizer, and must be online no later than December 1st.
2. Team Compositions and Eligibility
2a. Any US state may enter an official team. Maximum of 8 Guest athletes and 2
coaches per state, with a total maximum of 24 guest skiers.
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.
2c. Deadline for Team Entry is one week prior to event.
2d. Coaches:
Up to 8 coaches (7 coaches/1 team leader) are permitted free of charge.
2e. Entry Roster should list Girls Teams 1-24 / Boys Teams 1-24 plus one
alternate for each and any adaptive athletes..
2f. Team composition / Start rights:
Teams may bring 1 boy and 1 girl alternate to fill in for an injured or sick
athlete. The alternate pays full entry fee.
Racer Substitutions – 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.
2g. Eligibility:
Competition is open to all high-school students Grades 9-12 regardless of age.
Post-graduate students are not eligible.
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
December 15th. (info@nensa.net)
2h. Guests:
National and/or International guests may be invited to compete in the Eastern
High School Championships.
3. Team Entry & Registration
3a. The suggested maximum entry fee for EHS Championships is $110 per athlete.
Any amount above this must be approved by NENSA. Please submit event budget
along with Bid.
3b. NENSA Membership Required
All New England and New York participants must have an active NENSA
membership or NYSSRA+ 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.
3c. Athlete T-shirts are typically included with the entry fee.
3d. Rosters:
Team entry rosters should be submitted on the NENSA-provided template,
including the following information: First Name | Last Name | NENSA # |
Hometown | State | School
3e. Running orders for all three individual races must be the same.
3f. Deadline for Team entry roster is one week prior to the event.
3g. All team leaders should send rosters to Ruth Hall (in NENSA Office) to verify
who needs NENSA numbers.
3h. Relay orders may be submitted separately from individual orders and are due
to Race Director by 5:00pm on Saturday.
4. Seeding
4a. Individual events are seeded fastest to slowest skiers in descending order.
4b. The individual 5K Freestyle and Sprint events are seeded by team rank in 24
seed groups. Each seed group is randomly sorted.
4c. 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 by 5PM on Saturday before teams leave the venue. Seed is by
Draw, not by points.
For the Relay Guest class skiers will share one lane and alternate Guest teams
within that lane.
4d. Mass start classic race will utilize a seeded arrowhead start formation. The top
3 athletes will be aligned in arrowhead formation, seeded by their team leaders.
The remaining athletes are seeded by coaches, in the following lane arrangements:
9 total lanes, 2 for each state + 1 for NY & guests. If NY has a full team, they will
receive 2 lanes and there will be an additional Guest lane if needed. (Top 3 lane
assignments are done via a draw).
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 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
All scoring is done by points, and not by time.
6a. 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.
6b. Relays are scored as follows:
1st 650, 2nd 600, 3rd 560, 4th 530, 5th 510, 6th 500, 7th 490, etc, in descending
increments of 10.
6c. 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.
- Top 2 adaptive skiers from each state will earn points for their state team
regardless of place in overall results.
- Guests do not score team points and do not displace. They will be included
in the flower ceremonies. Updated 3/2013. Organizers are encouraged to
provide a small participation award/gift for guests at the banquet.
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 | NENSA # | State/Team | Age | Time | Points |
Club/School
8. Awards
8a. The top 10 finishers in each race and the top 3 relay teams shall be recognized
with medals. The top 5 relay teams shall be recognized.
8b. The top 3 overall skiers, male and female, (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).
8c. The top 3 winning boys and girls teams and top 3 combined teams shall be
recognized.
8d. The winning state (boys and girls combined) shall be recognized with a team
prize supplied by NENSA.
8e. 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.
8f. If more than 3 guests compete, the top 3 guests in each race should be
recognized with awards for the guest class.
10. Site Selection
Site selection is determined by NENSA through it 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; Block rooms, Lodging List should be provided by organizer.
22 rooms per team)
Adaptive skiers may also be participating in this event, which may require
separate or modified courses for this class- New 3/11.
10a. Each State's Qualifier must be listed with NENSA (all fees waived). Listing
Is due by December 15th.
10b. Race organizer pays TD lodging and meals. NENSA pays TD daily fee &
mileage.
11. Coaches Meeting
A 1-hour coaches meeting will be held at 1:00PM on Friday opening the
competition.
11a. 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
11b. Mandatory information to be presented via Power Point (or similar) at coaches
meeting
Course maps
Stadium maps
Other information about the venue & weekend’s event
12. Hard copies at race site
Results: one copy for the team leader
Team scores after each race
13. Technical Details
13a. Two cameras required: One Finish line camera broadside and one head on.
(video, camcorder, etc.)
13b. Organizing Committee will be required to send Chief of Competition and
one additional representative to the NENSA fall Event Organizer Seminar.
13c. Rules similar to FIS rules will apply to this event.
13d. Competition technical decisions will be handled by the jury such as protests,
disqualifications and sanctions.
13e. 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 Zach Stegeman
at zach@nensa.net within 2 days of the occurrence. Procedure for filing appeal
can be found on the NENSA website, EHSC page:
https://www.nensa.net/page.php?id=2786
Updated March 21, 2015