This is a winter sport in which the concerned athletes compete in both cross country skiing and ski jumping.

The Norwegian soldiers here, have been competing in Nordic skiing since the nineteenth century. The first major competition was actually held in the year eighteen ninety two which were held at Oslo at a skiing festival called Holmenkollen. These events have been held annually. This sport of Nordic combined gained mass popularity n then it was later held in the winter Olympics. Although there is no womens competition for this sport held in the FIS.

The sport was first held in the nineteen twenty four winter Olympics. The Nordic Combined world championships have started since The year nineteen twenty five. The best athletes usually come from Norway, although, Finland, Germany, Austria and the United states are some of the top contenders among all the other countries who participate in the Nordic Combined.

Until the nineteen fifties , first the cross country race would be held n then that was followed by ski jumping. This was apparently reversed; as the distance in cross country racing was too big for ski jumping. There are about six types of combined Nordic events, the three types from them are individual , sprint and team. These three are world championship events. The mass start is the fourth type which was introduced in the year two thousand nine at the championships at the Liberec in the Czech Republic.

Individual

This is apparently the most common form of the race. Also known as individual Gundersen. Before the year two thousand and eight; this event actually consisted of two jumps. One jump was the ski jumping from a normal hill and the other one was a fifteen kilo meter cross country skiing session. The points are scored based on distance an style. The best jumper gets the highest score depending on the height and the skill used in jumping.

Mass start

In this type, a large cross country race is help first. Once the winner is decided a ski jump is set up. The winner of this competition is decided on the Telemark landing. Then winner is then decided on a points based system. This event had first started in the FIS Nordic world ski championship which was held in Liberec in the year two thousand and nine.

In the team categories

Sprint

In this event, only one jump is performed on this large hill. Also the cross country distance from here is about seven and a half kilo meters.

The Hurricane sprint

This is almost similar to the actual sprint competition, however, more time is given based on more distance. The winner usually stands up ahead and the runners up, get to stand behind. The distance that they are standing depends on how much points they scored the last time. The speed of an official cross country skier is around six meters per second.

The Stuff you need

Bindings

These should be attached parallel to the direction of the run. The bindings should be placed so that three quarters of the ski should be used as the front part.

Boots

The boots required are actually pretty high cut with a low cut on the front side. The boots are designed this way so that they could allow the skier to bend forwards during the race.

Connection cord

The cord that actually attached the ski to the boot is mainly what prevents it from wobbling during the ski race.

Jump suit

The suit should be permeable to air. The suit should be of a certain fit, so that the suit fits well on the body and it also is flexible when it needs to be.

Jumping skis

These are almost one hundred and fifty percent the size of the length of the body. These are used mainly for ski jumping on hills.

Check this space in a while to check out more of the incredible sport of Nordic Combined.