CROSSCOUNTRY NEWS


USST Announces 2012 JWC & U23 World Championship Coaching Staff

The following staff selections for the 2012 World Junior / U23 Championships and J1 Nations Cup have been made. The applicant pool consisted of well over 20 coaches this y........... read more

USST Seeks Staff for 2012 JWC/U23 Championships

........... read more

USST Seeks Staff for J1 Scandinavian Cup Trip

Coach and Service Positions Open for 2012 J1 Scandinavian Trip........... read more

Click here for U.S. Ski Team Cross Country News 

SCHEDULE OF ALL EVENTS

There are no events to display.

CROSS COUNTRY

Paintings thought to be at least 6000 years old, discovered in Russia in the 1930s, show a hunter - wearing cross country skis and skiing alongside some reindeer -demonstrate the long history of cross country skiing, which has been essential to survival in cold climates for centurues.  Even today, cross country skiing is maybe the best way to survive - and to stay fit - during the winter season.  In fact, elite cross country skiers are widely regarded as the fittest athletes in the world.  The sport requires a strong culture of training, and the ultimate levels of fitness and toughness in order to succeed.

By the 16th century, the entire Swedish army was fully equipped with skis. The Norwegian army held cross-country ski competitions as early as 1767. The first civilian event took place in the far north of Norway, in 1843. The nordic countries pioneered cross country skiing, which is now known as one of the "nordic" disciplines of the Olympic Winter Games, along with ski jumping and nordic combined.

Cross country skiers competed at the first Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix, in 1924, in 18-kilometer and 50-kilometer races for men. Women cross country skiers made their debut at the 1952 Olympic Winter Games in Oslo. The cross country skiing technique known as skating or free technique became a separate Olympic competitive discipline at the Calgary 1988 Winter Games.
 
Cross country is organized into two techniques: classical, where the skis move parallel to each other through machine-groomed tracks in the snow, and free technique where skiers propel themselves in a manner similar to speed skating, pushing off with the edge of their skis. Classic technique is the original, ancient method of skiing.  Free technique  is more modern, having been pioneered by U.S. Ski Team member Bill Koch in the early '80s, and is slightly faster than classical – almost 10% faster on average.  Bill Koch used the free technique to proprel himself to the overall World Cup title in 1982, and remains the only American ski racer to win not only that title, but also an Olympic medal (silver, 1976) and a World Championship medal (bronze, 1982).

In Olympic cross country skiing, women compete in individual sprint, team sprint, 10 km individual start, 15 km pursuit, 30 km mass start and the 4x5-km relay. Men compete in individual sprint, team sprint, 15 km individual start, 30 km pursuit, 50 km mass start and the 4x10 km relay. The technique used (classical versus free) in the 10 and 15 km individual start, individual sprint, team sprint and mass start alternates with each cycle of Olympic Games.


Indiv. Start
Mass-start
Pursuit
Sprint
Team Events

Individual Start
In this event, women race 10 km and men race 15 km. A competitor starts every 30 seconds with the best skiers slated for starting at the very end. Skiers race against the clock and the winner is the skier with the lowest time.

USSA GENERAL NEWS


2011-12 Competition Guides Available Online

The USSA Competition Guide for each sport has been published and they are available online as downloadable pdf files.

 

Hard copies of the Competiti........... read more

USSA Membership Deadline Quickly Approaches - Oct. 15 midnight MST

PARK CITY, Utah (Sept. 12) - U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association members can save now by completing registration by Friday, Oct. 14. Although the deadline is Saturday Oct 15........... read more

USSA New Sports

With recent approval of the International Olympic Committee the USSA is aggressively working on programming and structure for the new Olympic Sports that will fall under th........... read more