Cross Country Skiing

Cross country is one of the most demanding aerobic sports in the world. It is also the oldest form of competitive skiing and one of the classic Olympic sports, being contested at every Games since the Winter Olympics began in 1924.

Distances and skiing techniques have varied from Games to Games, the goal of covering the distance as quickly as possible has stayed the same.

The Olympic-style discipline involves racing over undulating terrain along a series of prepared tracks. Cross country involves two different skiing techniques: classic and freestyle. The classic technique is the traditional one: the skis are kept parallel and never abandon or deviate from the two tracks marked on the course. The freestyle technique allows the skier to choose a style similar to skating, pushing the skis from both legs. Gripping wax is generally applied to the skis to prevent them from slipping backwards on the uphill sections.

Australian Olympian Paul Murray explains more about his sport.

Australia and cross country

Before the Vancouver Games Australia had been represented by 18 cross country skiers at the Olympics.
Bruce Haslingden and Cedric Sloan were Australia’s first. They participated in the 18km and 50km events at the 1952 Winter Games in Oslo. Neither of them finished the gruelling 50km event and placed 74th and 75th respectively in the 18km event.

Three Australian athletes have competed and placed in the 30-40th place range including Australia’s first female competitor Colleen Bolton. Bolton competed in the 5km classic and the 10km classic at the Lake Placid Games in 1980 placing 36th and 35th respectively.

It was another 26 years before two more Australian women, Esther Bottomley and Clare-Louise Brumley competed at the Torino Games. They were also joined by Paul Murray. Murray and Bottomley are among six athletes vying for Vancouver selection.

Competition Format / Events

Individual Start
A competitor starts every 30 seconds with the best-ranked skiers starting at the end. Skiers race against the clock with freestyle technique and the winner is the competitor with the quickest time. The women’s event is 10 kilometres and the men’s event is 15km.

Mass Start
Competitors start simultaneously lined up in an arrow format with the best-ranked positioned at the arrow’s point. The first skier across the finish line wins. The women race over 30km and the men 50km both with classic technique.

Pursuit
The pursuit event consists of a classic technique portion followed by a free technique portion. Competitors start simultaneously, lined up in an arrow format with the best ranked skiers at its point. At the halfway point of the race, competitors enter the stadium and change skis and poles. The first skier across the finish line wins. The ladies ski 7.5km of classic technique followed by 7.5 km of free technique. The men ski 15km of classic technique followed by 15km of free technique.

Individual Sprint
The individual sprint competition consists of a qualification round and four final rounds: quarter-final, semifinal, A and B finals. For the qualification round, competitors start in 15-second intervals skiing one lap of the course. The top 30 competitors advance to the quarter-finals. The quarter-final, semifinal, and A and B final rounds have six skiers in each heat. The top two competitors from each heat advance to the next round. The A final consists of six skiers competing for the gold medal. The course laps are 1.4 kilometres for ladies and 1.6 kilometres for men.

Team Sprint
The team sprint competition consists of two semifinal heats (qualification) and a final heat. In the team sprint, each team is made up of two skiers, who alternate skiing the sprint course three times each for a total of six laps. Competitors must perform a correct exchange between laps by physically touching their teammate without interfering or obstructing other teams. The winning team is the first team to cross the finish line after the completion of all six laps. There are two semifinal heats, with a total of 10 to 15 teams competing. The top three from each heat will advance, and the next four fastest teams will advance. The course laps are 1.4 kilometres for ladies and 1.6 kilometres for men.

Relays
In the relay event, teams of four ski the first two legs of the relay using classic style, and the last two legs using free technique. Competitors start simultaneously lined up in an arrow format with the best-ranked skiers positioned at the arrow’s point. Competitors must perform a correct exchange between laps by physically touching their teammate without interfering or obstructing other teams. The winning team is the first across the finish line after the completion of the fourth leg. The women ski 4 x 5km legs and the men 4 x 10km legs.

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