9781422280812

The skate style of cross-country skiing uses shorter skis than the classic style, and competition courses are packed smooth.

The sport of cross-country skiing is also known as Nordic skiing and is the oldest form of the sport, a big reason that its inventors, the Norwegians, remain the best in the world at it. In this discipline , the skiers use their own strength rather than gravity to push themselves over the snow. Cross-country skiing requires strength and endurance, a large reason why it is less popular as a recreational sport than downhill skiing, where gravity does all the work. As a competitive sport, cross-country skiing has evolved over the years. Traditionally, competitors, wearing skis 15 percent longer than the athlete is tall, race in either grooved tracks or fresh snow in events of varying lengths. This is known today as the classic style. There is also the skate style, where there are no tracks, and athletes use shorter skis (only 5 percent longer than the athlete’s height) over a course that has been packed smooth. The style became popular in the 1980s. Rather than skiing with the skis parallel to each other, skate skiers push with alternating legs, keeping their skis at about a 45-degree angle. Another cross-country discipline that evolved from the origins of the sport is the biathlon . The modern version of the sport tests the athlete’s abilities both to ski quickly over a long distance and shoot a rifle accurately.

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