NENSA Eastern State Championships & Vermont Open Junior Championships

Though the COVID19 pandemic prevents us from gathering the top juniors from across New England, that doesn't mean we cannot host a race to determine the fastest skate racers in Vermont. Join us on March 13th (boys) and March 14th (girls) for 5k skate interval start races on courses designed to test racers' ski handling and fitness. You'll see jumps, banked corners, rollers, and drops, as well as the same championship-caliber climbs from many SuperTours, SuperTour Finals, and U.S. National Championships. Do you think you're the fastest junior in Vermont? Come out and see when the NENSA Eastern State Championships come to Vermont. 

Because we are still required by the state of Vermont to start racers in distinct 25-athlete cohorts, we will be seeding this race using NENSA's 2020/2021 Junior Ranking List and the results of the 2021 VPA state championships. Any questions about seeding should be directed to chief of competition Ollie Burruss. Cohorts will start every 20 minutes and the fastest time on the day takes home the title of fastest junior in Vermont. The top 25 high school U18/U20s and top 20 U16s will also be named to the 2021 Eastern States team for Vermont. U16s and U18/U20s will race and be ranked separately and any U14 will race up in the U16 age class. U16s cannot race up in the U18/U20 class.

While we hope that things will feel "normal" out on the course during the race, things are certainly not business as usual this season. We ask that all racers, parents, guardians, coaches, and volunteers familiarize themselves with the state Agency of Commerce and Commercial Development rules regarding racing and the Vermont Snowsports Competition Guidance. Both of these documents govern our ability to host races at this time. Failure to comply with the guidelines laid out in those documents could jeopardize our ability to continue to host races, so please help us by being part of the solution! 

Registration:

Please visit SkiReg.com to register for the event. Registration ends on Wednesday, March 10th at 8pm.

Schedule: 

The following schedule is tentative, contingent upon final participation numbers. We reserve the right to combine fields and move start times. Any changes will be made in the 48 hours leading up to the race. All races will be run as 30sec interval starts with cohorts of no more than 25 athletes at a time.

The following schedule is for both Saturday, March 13 and Sunday, March 14.
10:00am: U18/U20 seed group 1

10:20am: U18/U20 seed group 2

and so on with U16 seed group 1 following immediately after the final U18/U20 seed group.

Start List:

Find start lists at Bullitt Timing’s event page.

Bib & chip: 

COC will be issuing bibs and chips on the day of the race. 

Reservations: 

All athletes and coaches must reserve their snow time via the Outdoor Center's reservation portal. This is a state-mandated practice that allows us to capture contact information for all visitors to campus. Please reserve a slot beginning with the start of your warmup and ending with the conclusion of your cool down. THIS IS MANDATORY. 

Health screening: 

State of Vermont regulations mandate that all race participants fill out two health screenings in advance of all races. The health screening survey is available here. The first screening must take place 24-48 hours before the event. For ease of data management within the organizing committee, the Outdoor Center is requiring this initial screen to be completed by 8pm the night before the race (Friday, March 12th for boys and Saturday, March 13th for girls). Failure to do so will forfeit the right to start. The day of race screen must be completed by one hour before an athlete's posted start time. For coaches and non-racer participants, your screen must be completed by 8:00am on race day. Failure to complete your screen within the mandatory window will result in forfeit of start rights (or being asked to leave the venue in the case of a coach or non-racer participant). No refunds will be given to participants who fail to fill out health screening surveys.

Course: 

A course map is available here. Please note that this map does not show the detail of the specific routing of the course in Murphy’s Field, including jumps and berms. “Air time” off jumps will not be mandatory, though skipping the jumps will require skiing a slightly longer B-line as a penalty. A detailed finish stadium map is available here.

Given that we are limited to 25 athletes at one time, all warming up and cooling down must take place OFF the race trails. These race courses are "open" and competitors are expected to yield to non-racers if necessary. Please help us by being courteous in the event that you need to pass a non-racer. If we receive complaints about racers' conduct, you will be DSQ'd and struck from the results.

Wax Policy: 

Fluorinated waxes, both for grip and glide, are not permitted at the Outdoor Center at any time. This includes both applying these waxes at the venue or applying them prior to arrival at the Outdoor Center. For more information, read our fluoro policy.

COVID19 Mitigation Measures

At a minimum, the following measures will be in place for all races at the Outdoor Center this winter in an effort to minimize the chance of transmission of COVID19. Failure to adhere to these measures may result in loss of start rights. Given the dynamic nature of the pandemic, review complete current updates on the Outdoor Center website to find the latest event participation requirements prior to heading up to the Center.

• Masks are required for all participants (racers, coaches, officials, volunteers).

  • Masks are not required during the strenuous parts of a warmup and during racing.

• Racers need to reserve their COC snow time on race day via our reservation portal.

  • Racers do not need to wear masks during the intense part of their warm up or while racing.

  • Masks must be carried during races and put on promptly upon finishing.

• Racers must complete two health screenings, one 24-48 hours before the race and one on race day.

• No spectators will be allowed. This is a state law.

  • Parents/friends/family members/guardians are encouraged to go for a ski or walk or wait in a vehicle.

• No indoor space will be open to the public.

  • Temporary restrooms are available in both upper and lower parking lots (including a heated toilet trailer with sinks in the upper lot).

  • Racers should be prepared to stage for races out of their vehicles.

  • No public wax space is available. If you would like to learn about renting one of our 4 private wax cabins, please email the race director.

• Participants are required to adhere to proper physical distancing measures, including limiting both duration and proximity of interactions with others.

• All participants must read, acknowledge, and adhere to the Racer Code of Conduct.

Refunds

In the event that we are forced to cancel the event, we will refund participants their entry fees.