“You are one with your skis and nature. This is something that develops not only the body but the soul as well, and it has a deeper meaning for a people than most of us perceive.” — Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930) Norwegian explorer, scientist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, champion cross country skier
Cross country skiing has evolved over thousands of years, starting as a practical means of travel over snow covered terrain in Scandinavia and China and becoming a universal recreational winter activity and competitive sport.
Men’s cross country debuted at the first Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix, France in 1924. The women’s cross country event debuted at the 1952 Oslo Games. Today, competitive international cross country skiing includes six ski racing events (sprint, team sprint, individual start, pursuit, mass start and relay), and Nordic combined events consist of both cross country ski racing and ski jumping. All Nordic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS).
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The US CROSS COUNTRY SKI SUPERTOUR is a vital component of the US Ski & Snowboard development program, providing top-level racing competition for athletes with aspirations of qualifying for the US Ski Team and competing on the FIS World Cup tour and in the Olympics.
During the 2018-19 SuperTour winter season, top US cross country athletes raced in seven cities across North America in a series of FIS sanctioned cross country events. If you missed the live stream broadcast, you can watch video recordings of the SuperTour events by clicking/tapping the “Watch Again” button or selecting from video posts located on the media player below↓
Athletes competing in the 2018 FIS Nordic Combined Continental Cup are fighting for a spot on their country’s World Cup team. If you missed the December 19-20 live stream broadcast of Nordic Combined cross country racing at Park City’s 2018 International Ski Jumping & Nordic Combined Festival, there’s still time to watch video recordings of the competition. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button on the media players below ↓ You can watch Nordic Combined Ski Jumping competition → here.
If you missed the live stream broadcast of the 2018 Continental Cup Nordic Combined cross country racing on December 14 at Steamboat Springs, there’s still time to watch a video recording of the event. Just click/tap the “Watch Again” button on the media player below ↓ Watch Nordic Combined Ski Jumping competition → here
Information/Resources:
Nansen Ski Club – the oldest continuously-operating skiing club in North America
Cross Country US Ski Team
US SuperTour 2018-19 (official website)
Cross Country Skiing (information, tips & technique, including ‘Beginners Survival Guide’)
Celebrated Norwegian opera singer and ski pioneer, Eva Sars Nansen (1858 – 1907), was an influential 19thcentury advocate for the right of women to participate in winter sports on equal terms with men. She is believed to be the first woman to cross the Hardangervidda mountain plateau on skis, when she did so with her husband Fridtjof Nansen in 1892 wearing an unconventional ski costume designed by her husband and made by her with a skirt reaching only slightly below the knees.
Telemark skiing combines Alpine and Nordic skiing techniques, including cross-country, slalom and ski jumping, and has become an international sport sanctioned by the FIS with competitions involving several race formats.
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Feature photo is courtesy of Flickr user Guillaume Baviere CC BY-SA 2.0
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