All high school interscholastic sailing regattas in the U.S. are sailed under the auspices of the Interscholastic Sailing Association (“ISSA”). ISSA divides itself into districts so teams do not have to travel unreasonable distances for most regattas. New Trier competes in the Midwest district, or “MISSA“, which is itself sub-divided into West, Central, and East leagues.
MISSA classifies each of its regattas into tiers. Tier 1 regattas are the MISSA Great Lakes Championship and the qualifiers for the three national championships. Tier 2 regattas are qualifiers for (a) the Tier 1 regattas, (b) national invitationals, or (c) other out-of-district regattas. All other MISSA regattas are Tier 3.
Tier 3 regattas have more relaxed rules than Tier 1 or 2 regattas: at the discretion of the regatta organizer sailors from different high schools may compete on the same team, 7th or 8th graders may participate, or more entries than usual from one high school may be allowed.
New Trier also occasionally travels to invitational regattas hosted by other ISSA districts:
- Mid-Atlantic (MASSA)
- New England (NESSA)
- Northwest (NWISA)
- Pacific Coast (PCISA)
- South Atlantic (SAISA)
- Southeast (SEISA)