Nordic Combined from A to Z: Useful Information for Beginner to Understand this Sport

Alongside figure skating, cross-country skiing, hockey, ski jumping, and ice skating, Nordic combined is that kind of sport that was an obligatory part of all the Olympic Games in history. The given sport combines features of two different disciplines (ski jumping and cross-country skiing), which can make it extremely difficult to understand all its peculiarities at once and without preparation. So, this very article is going to tell what Nordic combined is and how to understand its main rules.

Equipment

Considering the fact that the two various kinds of sports create Nordic combined, it is not a surprise that some pieces of equipment are unique for each discipline, and some are common. Thus, the set of necessary things includes:

1. Skis – cross-country skis can be up to two meters long; the length of jumping skis should not be higher than 145% of the athlete’s height.
2. Ski boots – for cross-country skiing, ordinary skating boots are used; for ski jumping, however, specially designed boots with highly flexible and firm characteristics are applied.
3. Ski bindings – they fix athlete’s toes of the boots to the skis in cross-country skiing, and must be placed closer to the back end so that no more than 57% of the whole skis’ length must be their front part; in ski jumping, athlete’s heels of the boots are attached to the skis.
4. Ski wax – both cross-country and jumping skis must be covered with glide wax, while kick wax can be used by cross-country athletes only.
5. Ski suit and helmet, with the colors being chosen by countries independently.
6. Ski poles.

General Rules

So, as it has already been mentioned, Nordic combined consists of cross-country skiing and ski jumping. At first, athletes perform one jump each followed by a cross-country race at this very day. Ski jumping competitions are necessary because their results determine athletes’ starting positions in the cross-country race. To explain, an athlete who has managed to show the best result in the ski jumping is going to start first, an athlete with the second best result goes second, and so on. This way of determining the starting positions is also known as the Gundersen method named after a famous Norwegian athlete.

The Olympic Games witness two individual and one team competitions. There are two individual competitions because they differ in the length of ski jumping hills. They are 90-meter and 120-meter long. The distance in cross-country skiing is stable showing 10 kilometers.

Team competitions are organized among four athletes from each national team. Each of these athletes performs one jump from a 120-meter ski jumping hill, with their results being summed to determine the starting positions according to the Gundersen method. Then, a skiing relay takes place, with each member of the team having to overcome 5 kilometers.

Jump Scoring

Every ski jump is estimated by two phenomena – distance and technique. The results of the two are then added together to create the final points.

Distance

These points are calculated according to a certain formula. If an athlete hits a particular mark (it is determined separately for each ski jumping hill), he/she get “basic” 60 points. If an athlete manages to land further than this mark, every extra meter is multiplied by a corresponding ratio (either 2.0 or 1.8 points for 90-meter and 120-meter hills, respectively). The result is then added to the basic points. If it happens, that an athlete fails to reach the mark, the scenario is the opposite. Every missing meter is multiplied by a ratio, and the obtained result is then subtracted from the basic points.

Technique

There are five judged who are to estimate every jump by a 20-point system. The highest and the lowest points are then eliminated, while the others are summed up. First of all, the judges pay attention to the flying stage and the landing. Certain points will be counted off if an athlete falls or touches the hill with any part of his/her body. At the moment of landing, an athlete should take a special position also known as “telemark”.

This means that an athlete should stick out one of his/her feet forward, while the other one should be placed backward. The athlete should then bend his/her knees. The skis should be parallel to each other, while the hands to the sides. If any athlete fails to meet at least one of the requirements above, corresponding points will be counted off.

History

The 1924 Olympic Games were the first international event to witness Nordic combined competitions. All the winning places at the first four Olympic Games were occupied by Norwegian athletes.

There have been a lot of changes in the rules of this sport over its long history. Before 1952, cross-country skiing competitions preceded ski jumping ones. It was until 1956 when the race distance changed from 18 to 20 kilometers. 1994 witnessed as the length of the jumping hills increased to 90 meters. All the Olympic Games before those of 1984 were witnessing only one kind of competitions. In 1988, however, relay skiing was included, with the large hill being introduced in 2002. Prior to 1994, team competitions had taken place among three representatives of each national team, with each athlete having to overcome a 10-kilometer distance. In addition, it had been a common thing for athletes to perform two jumps each.

As we see, Nordic combined has overcome a long distance to become an Olympic kind of sport as we know it today.