Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing is part of the Nordic skiing sport family, which includes ski jumping, Nordic compined (cross-country skiing and ski jumping), biathlon (cross- country skiing and riflemarkmanship) and ski orienteering (which includes map navigation along snow trails and tracks). Cross-country skiing has been contested at the Winter Olympic Games since the first Winter Games in 1924 in Chamonix, France. The women's events were first contested at the 1952 Winter Olympics.

History Cross-country skiing originated in Fennoscandian countries in prehistoric times. It was still widely practiced in the 19th century as a way of moving from place to place in winter. Moose, deer and other animals were hunted by skiers. Nowadays many people in countries with strong cross- country skiing traditions — like Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia have used or regularly use skis.

Styles and techniques There are two main styles used in cross-country skiing: classic and skating. There is also skiathlon, which combines classic and skating. Specially adapted equipment is available to suit each.

Classic The classic style is often used on prepared trails (pistes) that have pairs of parallel grooves (tracks) cut into the snow. Skis have camper and should leave the centre section of the ski clear of the snow when the skier's weight is evenly distributed between the pair. The centre section of a classic ski will either have "fish scales", or Ski wax that will stick to the snow (called the "kick zone" or "grip zone" of the ski). When full weight is transferred to a single ski the kick zone comes into contact with the snow. [ Glide wax is used on the tails and tips of the skis.

Skate skiing Skate skiing involves a decisive weight transfer onto one ski angled and then the other, supported by the inner edge of the ski on the snow, which looks similar to an ice skater. As in classic skiing, transferring weight completely from one ski to the next is essential to learning to skate. Those who have learned to ice skate or roller-ski may find ski skating technique easier to learn than classic skiing. Skate skiing can be done either with skis specifically designed for skating or "combi" skis for both skating and classic styles, although the latter are not commonly used for racing. Similarly, specialized skating boots or combi boots can be used.

Skiing is great fun! Source Wikipedia