Cross-country Skiing, has been a compulsory discipline since the inaugural edition of the Winter Universiade that took place in Chamonix, France, in 1960. It is one of the oldest disciplines in the Winter Universiade Sports Programme and it was also proposed during the International Winter Weeks in the 1951-1959 period.
The programme of competitions has been updated for the previous Winter Universiades to arouse more interest among spectators and for TV broadcasting. Today’s Cross-Country Skiing competitions are organised for men and women as follows:
Men |
Women |
10km Classic/Free, individual start* |
5km Classic/Free, individual start* |
Skiathlon (7.5km C / 7.5km F) |
Skiathlon (5km C / 5km F) |
Sprint Free / Classic Style* |
Sprint Free / Class Style* |
30km Free/Classic Style, mass-start* |
15km Free/Classic Style, mass-start* |
4 x 10km Relay (CCFF) |
3 x 5km Relay (CFF) |
Mixed: Mixed Team Sprint (Free style) |
*style changing every two years
The running of competitions is always supervised by the FISU Technical Committee Chair for Cross-Country Skiing and the FIS Technical Delegate, who chair all technical meetings concerned. All tracks must follow the requirements of the FIS and go through a homologation process.
Cross-Country Skiing, which is a very popular snow sports discipline at the Winter Universiade, has been a compulsory sport on the WU programme since the inaugural edition of the Winter Universiade in Chamonix, France, in 1960. Until that time Cross-Country Skiing had been on the programme of the traditional International Winter Weeks which were held in 1951 in Bad Gastein, 1953 in Saint Moritz, 1955 in Yugoslavia, 1957 in Oberammergau, and 1959 in Zell am See. The programme of Cross-Country Skiing at the first edition included the individual competitions of men’s 12 km C and women’s 8 km C, as well as men’s Relay 4x8 km and women’s Relay 3x4 km. The men’s and women’s competitions were dominated by the Russians (USSR) who finished always among the top six. Until today’s competitions Soviet students have kept showing their international class. Former medallists participating in the WU include Olympic and World Stars such as Justyna KOWALCZYK (POL).