• Table of Contents
• Rules
• Categories
• Events
• Equipment
• Location
• History

Overview

The cross-country skiing competition includes events for athletes of varying disabilities. Athletes use classical or freestyle technique, depending on the event. The athletes compete both individually and as a team on tracks ranging between 2.5 to 20 kilometres.

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Rules

The winner of every cross-country event is the athlete with the fastest time. In long distances, the groups are divided into three categories: sitting, standing and visually impaired. For short and medium distances, groups can be joined together if the number of participants is insufficient in each individual category.

Athletes compete in standing, sitting or visually impaired events, depending on their disability.

A special scoring system is used to ensure athletes with lesser disabilities within each of these categories do not enjoy an advantage over those with greater disabilities in their event. For example, in a visually impaired race, a totally blind skier isn't expected to perform at the same level as an athlete who has partial vision.

A percentage factor is used to level the playing field. It operates on the same principles as a golf handicap. A skier's actual race time is multiplied by the percentage factor to arrive at the official adjusted race result.

The final race standings are determined by adjusted times, not the raw clock time. Results are calculated using a formula based on the functional abilities of athletes according to disability degree and type.

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Categories

Classification is based on the functional abilities of competitors according to the degree and type of disability. All athletes compete with a pre-determined degree of disability.

The athletes are divided into three categories:
Standing (athletes with a physical disability, LW 2-9)
Sitting (athletes with a physical disability, LW10-12)
Visually impaired (B1-3 classes)

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Events

Men's 5 km Standing (Freestyle)
Men's 5 km – Sitting
Men's 5 km - Visually Impaired (Freestyle)
Men's 10 km – Standing (Classical)
Men's 10 km – Sitting
Men's 10 km - Visually Impaired (Classical)
Men's 15 km – Sitting
Men's 20 km – Standing
Men's 20 km - Visually Impaired
Men's Relay 1x3.75 km and 2x5 km
Women's 2.5 km – Sitting
Women's 5 km – Standing (Freestyle)
Women's 5 km – Sitting
Women's 5 km - Visually Impaired (Classical)
Women's 10 km – Standing (Classical)
Women's 10 km – Sitting
Women's 10 km - Visually Impaired (Freestyle)
Women's 15 km – Standing
Women's 15 km - Visually Impaired
Women's Relay 3x2.5 km

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Equipment

For the most part, the equipment used by Paralympic biathltes - skis, poles, boots, goggles and suits - is similar to that used by able-bodied nordic skiers. However, there may be some modifications to accommodate any special needs of individual skiers.

For example, sit-skiers, who rely entirely on their poles for their forward motion, use longer poles that reach well above their heads when they're on their sledges.

The sledge used by sit-skiers is a customized chair fixed to a pair of skis with a regular cross-country binding. The skis are very similar to standard skis, but a little shorter.

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Location

Pragelato will host the cross-country and biathlon events. It's in Val Chisone, at the foot of the Albergian mountain. The cross-country skiing races will take place in a valley a few kilometres from Sestriere, between the villages of Pattemouche and Granges.

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History

Cross-country skiing debuted at the inaugural Paralympic Games, which were held in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden in 1976.

Male and female athletes used the classical technique in all distances. The freestyle technique grew in popularity in subsequent years and was introduced to the Paralympics in 1992. Since then, events have been divided into classical and freestyle races.