: Jed Jacobsohn/Allsport |
TERMS
Classic Style: Skiing technique that consists of straight strides; also called the diagonal style. Skiers must stay within parallel tracks on the snow and travel directly forward.
Freestyle: Skiing technique that resembles a skating motion, with competitors pushing off using both legs. Freestyle has no restrictions and is faster than the classic style.
Individual Start: Start in which skiers begin in 30-second intervals. The women's 10-km classic, men's 15-km classic, women's 30-km classic, men's 50-km classic and the classic portion of the pursuit event use the individual start.
Individual Start Line: The beginning point of the race, marked by individual places 1.5 meters apart.
Jury: Competition officials, consisting of the technical delegate (Jury chair), assistant technical delegate, chief of competition, FIS race director and two foreign members appointed by the FIS. The jury's duties include deciding whether a competition will be postponed in extreme temperatures, whether to accept late entries and whether to change the start order or method.
Mass Start: Start in which all athletes begin at the same time. The women's 15-km freestyle, the men's 30-km freestyle and relays use the mass start.
Mass Start Line: The beginning point of the race in a mass start, marked by an arc of a circle with a radius of 100 meters.
Pursuit Start: In the freestyle portion of the pursuit event, the start in which the winner of the classic race begins first, with the remaining competitors following suit. Athletes start after the leader the same amount of time they lag behind the fastest pace in the classic.
Skis: Basic cross-country equipment, including the classical skis that consist of long, curved tips; the classical skis are light and arch in the middle. Freestyle cross-country skis are shorter, stiffer and have less of a curved tip. Both are longer and lighter than alpine skis, which do not have a pronounced arch in the middle.
Ski Marking: Colors used to differentiate each relay leg, with the first leg being red, the second green, the third yellow and the fourth blue.
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