Cross Country skiing has been a Winter Olympics event since 1924. The women’s events started taking place in 1952. The Cross Country skiing events will play a large roll in the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games in 2010.

Cross-country skiing is a winter sport and is most popular primarily in Northern Europe, Canada and Alaska. Although not as popular in other countries, the sport has been quickly growing in the United States and Australia.

As a part of the Nordic Skiing family, Cross Country skiing is also used as a combination sport along with Ski Jumping. The combination of the two when used together is an event called Nordic Combined. As a sport, cross-country skiing is one of the most difficult endurance sports, as its motions use every major muscle group and it (along with running, rowing and swimming) is one of the sports that burn the most calories per hour in execution. Modern cross-country ski competition is experiencing a revolution that is resulting in greater compatibility with audiences which began with the addition of the Sprint event to the World Cup and Olympic competitions. Today more and more races are being held in audience friendly formats, such as mass start, sprint, relay and pursuit (a race that involves switching skis and styles halfway through the race).

There are a number of different disciplines involved in the Cross Country skiing portion of the Winter Olympics, here is an example of a few in the Men’s competition:

• 15 km + 15 km double pursuit
• 4 x 10 km relay
• 50 km freestyle mass start
Here is an example of some of the Women’s competition:
• 7.5 km + 7.5 km double pursuit
• 4 x 5 km relay
• 30 km freestyle mass start

An NOC (National Olympic Committee) may enter 28 qualified athletes over the Nordic skiing events with a maximum of 20 athletes for Cross-country disciplines. A maximum of four athletes may participate in a single individual event, and one team in each relay race.

There are three main styles used in cross-country skiing: classic, skating and telemarking. There is special equipment that can be used for all styles.

For the classic style there are four main techniques that can be used to ski in this manner:
• Herringbone
• Diagonal Stride
• Double Pole with Kick
• Double Pole

The Herringbone technique is used for climbing steep hills. A walking or running action with splayed skis and without any glide. The poles are planted alternately behind the skis. A distinctive herringbone pattern is left in the snow.

The Diagonal Stride is an exaggerated running action with parallel skis and a glide on each stride. The poles are planted alternately on the opposite side to the kick. For experienced skiers this technique is used uphill. Less experienced skiers also employ the diagonal stride on the flat.

The Double Pole with Kick uses both poles and they are planted simultaneously to give a powerful thrust. As the poles swing forwards again a single leg kick is made. This technique is used when the skier is still moving too quickly to diagonal stride, but is having difficulty double poling (typically on slight uphill’s or at the bottom of a long hill, just before switching to diagonal stride).

And last but not least the Double Pole, as above but without the kick. During some long races, in reasonably flat terrain, competitors double pole for the majority of the course.